Why isn’t my external hard drive recognized?
Even if your operating system doesn’t detect your storage medium, there are solutions for recovering data from an unrecognized external hard drive. In the best case, this involves simply restoring access to your data, but it may be necessary to repair your external hard drive.
External hard drive not detected: what’s causing the problem?
Identifying the reason why your hard disk is not recognized will determine your data recovery protocol.
1 – USB port problem
A faulty USB port (hardware failure) or a non-updated or corrupted USB device driver (software failure) will prevent automatic detection of any device.
2 – Software corruption of the external hard drive
Non-recognition by your Mac or Windows operating system may be due to a software fault on the external hard drive: corrupted file system, damaged partition, virus or malware…
3 – Computer software failure
Windows and macOS operating systems are supposed to recognize storage devices automatically. If it doesn’t appear in your PC’s BIOS or your Mac’s Finder, your computer may have a software fault.
4 – Hard disk hardware failure
Your external hard drive may have suffered an electronic or mechanical failure, following an incident or accident (drop, shock, lightning strike, water, etc.). In this case, we recommend that you follow our advice on recovering data from a damaged hard disk.
How do I recover data from an unrecognized external hard drive?
Recovering data from an unrecognized external hard drive may mean forcing your computer to detect it. Before you get to that point, or even consider calling in a lab to repair your hard drive, here are the first steps to take:
- Step 1: Check the USB port by connecting your external hard drive to another USB port, another computer or another cable of the same type;
- Etape 2 : s’il n’est toujours pas reconnu, vérifiez si votre disque dur externe apparait dans le système de votre ordinateur :
- in Windows Disk Management: press Windows + R, enter diskmgmt.msc in the “Open” bar and click “OK”.
- in the Finder under macOS: click on “Preferences” to check that the utility displays external disks; to search for external disks, click in the Finder on Utilities > Disk Utility.
- Step 3: If your hardware is not visible in your computer’s system, update your USB device drivers via the Device Manager.
- In all other cases, or if your external hard drive is still not recognized by your computer, we recommend that you contact a laboratory specializing in data recovery.
