![]() Type "select disk 2" and press Enter to select the disk you want to clean. If you see the drive in question appear-pay close attention to its size-make a note of its name. When the prompt appears, type "list disk" and press Enter to see the disks plugged into your system. Open the Start menu, type "diskpart," and press Enter to open the run command. Again, this will erase anything on it, so only continue if you have no other options-and make extra sure you're cleaning the correct disk, or you could lose a lot of data. To regain your drive's full capacity, you'll need to run Windows' "clean" command, which will return the drive to a completely unformatted state. This is extremely common with SD cards formatted with Linux distributions for the Raspberry Pi, for example. In some more specific cases, the drive will appear in Disk Management, but merely formatting the drive won't work. If you're lucky, one of these simple steps should get your new drive up and running. This will also solve the problem if the drive is formatted for another operating system, as described above.īe warned that formatting it will erase any data on the drive, so only continue if you're sure you don't need anything from it.įinally, if your drive is online and formatted, but doesn't show a drive letter next to its name, right-click the volume and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths to add a drive letter. If the disk hasn't been formatted (it'll say "Unallocated" under a black bar), right-click it and choose New Simple Volume. If it's offline, right-click the disk's name (e.g. If it does, make sure it's online and formatted. Once Disk Management loads, scroll down to see if your disk appears in the list. Open the Start menu and type "disk management," and open Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions. If your drive is powered on but still isn't appearing in File Explorer, it's time to do some digging. If you find the drive working in another port or on a different computer, you may need to do some extra work to fix the port. It's possible the drive just isn't formatted for the computer you're trying to use, and you'll need to copy that data onto a drive that's formatted for cross-compatibility.Ī more serious issue is that the port in question could be failing. So if you can't get the drive showing up on a Windows PC, try plugging it into a Mac. If you're a multi-platform household, I'd especially recommend trying it in a computer that runs another operating system. You might also try it in another computer. It's also possible there's an issue with the USB cord, so take a moment to try the drive again with a spare hookup. If it's plugged into a USB hub, try plugging it directly into the PC instead. If it's plugged into a USB 3.0 port, try a USB 2.0 port. It could just be finicky with your specific drive. If the drive still isn't working, unplug it and try a different USB port. Don't immediately plug it back in, though give the system some time to properly start up before trying the drive again. Giving the system a reset can give the computer a second chance to recognize the drive.įirst, unplug your drive, then restart your computer. ![]() If the CPU is under a lot of stress, or some other unknown hiccup occurs, it can prevent the drive from showing up. Have you tried turning it off and on again? It's a cliché at this point, but giving your computer a reset really can help. ![]() With any luck, your drive will appear normally once it gets the juice it needs. If it came with two USB plugs, make sure they're both plugged into your PC. If your drive came with an AC power adapter but you haven't plugged it in, try hooking it up (and pressing the power button, if there is one). While some drives can draw enough power from your computer's USB port, others-especially larger drives not intended to be portable, like the Western Digital My Book-may require wall power to spin up. Just because you plugged the drive into your computer doesn't mean it's necessarily receiving the power it needs. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages. ![]()
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