Jan 15, 2024 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
Most people have no idea what they should do if Seagate external drive is not showing up. So, we have compiled a guide where you will learn what led to the issue in the first place and how you can resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
When the external Seagate hard drive is not showing up or being recognized by the system, the reasons are pretty obvious. It includes:
These are the most common reasons that lead to an unrecognizable hard drive. Fortunately, these issues can be fixed easily.
To help the people dealing with an unrecognizable or undetected Seagate external hard drive, we have gathered the following methods that can be effective to fix the drive.
In case the Seagate external HDD is not showing up on the system, you need to change the USB port firstly. Make sure that you have plugged the cable in the right way, and there is no fault in the port or cable. Try another port and get a new cable to see if the hard drive is recognized or not.
If you are lucky, then changing USB might be the only solution you need, and the drive will get detected.
Now, moving forward to the techniques that can fix the issue, you need to access Disk Management. The first and foremost thing to do is to check if the Seagate External Hard Drive is showing up in the disk management or not.
Step 1: Open the Disk Management tool by pressing Windows key + X and selecting the option from the list. You can also open disk management by opening the Run dialog and entering "diskmgmt.msc."
Step 2: When the Disk Management utility opens up, you will be able to see the drives connected to the system including primary and secondary disks.
Step 3: If the drive is listed in the utility, then create a new volume and assign a drive letter to the external hard drive.
If the Seagate external HDD is still not showing up, then continue following the fixes.
One of the most effective ways to fix Seagate external hard drive won't show up on the computer is to reinstall the USB controllers. It means that you have to disable the controllers in the Device Manager and reinstall it. This will allow the controllers to recover the port from the unresponsive condition.
Step 1: Click on Start > Run > Type devmgmt.msc > Hit Enter key and open Device Manager.
Step 2: Expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers and right-click on the USB, which isn't responding. Select the Uninstall option and remove the USB.
Restart your system and once the hardware changes settle down, reinstall the USB controllers. Hopefully, this time, the computer will recognize the hard drive, and you will be able to access the data stored.
There is a possibility that the corrupted drivers or pending update of drivers are interrupting the connection. Seagate external hard drive detected but not showing up might be the result of pending updates. So, update the device drivers as soon as possible.
Step 1: Open Device Manager and select the category of the driver. As we are trying to connect Seagate hard drive to the computer, we will choose the Universal Serial Bus Controller category.
Step 2: Right-click on the driver, and you will see the "Update Driver" option. Click on it and update the driver. If you don't see an update option inside the Device Manager, you can find the driver on the device manufacturer site.
Updating the driver increases the chances that the problem will get fixed.
The last resort will be checking if there is a virus on the hard drive or computer that is leading to this problem. When the Seagate 3TB external hard drive is not recognized due to a virus, that means you'll end up losing the entire drive data.
Generally, an anti-virus and anti-malware program is recommended for the Windows system to prevent such loss. But you can also use the Windows Defender Firewall system to block viruses from infecting your computer and other storage devices as well.
Step 1: Open the Control Panel > Windows Defender Firewall > Turn on the firewall and customize the settings according to requirements.
Step 2: Now go to Settings and select the "Update & Security" option. This will open the Windows Security system. Select the "Open Windows Defender Security Center" and choose "Virus and Threat Protection Settings" from the screen.
Step 3: Turn Real-Time Protection, Cloud-Delivered Protection, and Automatic Sample Submission options.
Once these features are enabled, the Defender will scan all drives and files to detect the virus and remove it immediately.
How To Format Seagate External Hard Drive on Windows or Mac
Once you have fixed the "Seagate external hard drive not showing up in my computer" error, you might face another problem. Sometimes, when we fix such errors, data gets lost. But you don't need to be alarmed as we have the perfect solution for data loss scenarios as well. Here is Recoverit Data Recovery software that can rescue you from using Terabytes of data from the Seagate External Hard Drive. Trusted by more than 5 million users, Recoverit has become the best recovery tool worldwide. Try the tool, and you'll know why users love it.
The key features of the software include:
Here is the user-guide so that you can understand how the software works. Just follow the steps, and you'll be able to recover your lost files.
Step 1: Run Recoverit:
Download the program from the official site and finish the setup. Launch the program and connect your hard drive with the system.
Step 2: Specify Location:
Mark the external drive and press the "Start" button to initiate the scanning process. Make sure that you specify the right target location; otherwise, the scan will take longer than necessary.
Step 3: Preview & Recover:
By default, the software will run an All-Around Scan for the drive, and the results will be displayed on the screen. You can filter the results according to the file path and file type.
Select the files that you want to recover and have a preview. Hit the "Recover" button, and in a matter of seconds, the lost files will be saved on the computer.
Now, you know that when Seagate external hard drive is not detected by Windows 10, there are various fixes that you can try out. Moreover, if somehow you end up losing the hard drive data, the Recoverit Data Recovery tool can help you under all circumstances. So, no more permanently losing your precious files due to random mistakes.
Security Verified. 3,591,664 people have downloaded it.
Sue Wayne
staff Editor