External hard drive not showing


  1. Posts : 24
    Windows 10
       #1

    External hard drive not showing


    Hi,


    I've connected an external Samsung USB hard drive (not a stick) to my fully updated Win 10 PC and it doesn't show up in File manager.


    I've gone into Device manager and it shows it as:
    'Samsung M3 Portable SCSI Disk Device'


    but it's not a SCSI drive.


    I tried updating the driver but Windows says it's using the best driver already. This looks like a Windows issue, so what else can I do to force it to recognise the drive?


    Thanks.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 31,470
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #2

    tallonius said:
    ...I tried updating the driver but Windows says it's using the best driver already. This looks like a Windows issue, so what else can I do to force it to recognise the drive?
    You can try uninstalling it in Device Manager and see if it will recognise it correctly the next time. You could also try it in another port (after uninstalling it). If you have a choice, try in a usb2 port.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 12,799
    Windows 11 Pro
       #3

    Try right clicking the start flag and select disk management. It should hopefully show there without a drive letter. If it does, right click the drive in the bottom portion of the window, select 'Change Drive Letter or path', the next screen click add and give it a drive letter. Then it should show in File explorer. Hopefully that is your problem.

    If it wants to 'initialize' the drive, doing so will erase all data on the drive.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 11,618
    Windows11 Home 64bit v:23H2 b:22631.3374
       #4

    In all probability, the above suggestion should work. If not, post a screenshot of Windows Disk Management.

    Disk Management: Disk Management - How to Post a Screenshot of

    Posting screenshots: How to Upload and Post Screenshots and Files at Ten Forums
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 24
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks, I've tried uninstalling it in Device manager - made no difference. This is what my Disk management panel has on it:

    External hard drive not showing-disk-management-panel.jpg
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 31,470
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #6

    tallonius said:
    This is what my Disk management panel has on it...
    Your Disk 4 is presumably the drive you are talking about. It has no drive letter, as essenbe correctly predicted in post #3.

    You can right-click on it in Disk Management and assign it a letter. Then you should see it in File Manager.
      My Computers


 

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