Are you unable to access your Seagate external hard drive when connected to your PC? Well, I must say that you have come to the exact right webpage because here you will definitely be going to know how to fixSeagate external hard drivenot detected error.
It will not recognize my external hard drive plugged into any USB port. That is, the external drive does not appear in My Computer and or on the list of drop-down drives. The external hard drive does work on my Dell 4100 series computer (really ancient). The hard drive itself was made at about the same time as the 8300 series computer (ca. But, sometimes it is impossible to delete or format a partition or volume on a hard disk by using the Disk Management tool, because the hard disk is not recognized by Windows for a variety of reasons. When the file system on the disk is corrupted or because the hard drive is in RAW format, etc.). Colors of products may not be perfectly accurate due to variations caused by photographic variables and monitor settings so it may vary from images shown on this site. Although we endeavor to present the most accurate and comprehensive information at the time of publication, we reserve the right to make changes without prior notice. G-DRIVE USB delivers high performance storage in a compact, yet stylish package. Encased in an all-aluminum enclosure, an enterprise-class Ultrastar drive inside, and featuring a fast USB 3.0 interface, G-DRIVE USB is perfect for storage-intensive multimedia files to meet the needs of the creative professionas. Colors of products may not be perfectly accurate due to variations caused by photographic variables and monitor settings so it may vary from images shown on this site. Although we endeavor to present the most accurate and comprehensive information at the time of publication, we reserve the right to make changes without prior notice.
Also, you will get to know how to recover data from Seagate external hard drive not recognized, if the data gets deleted while fixing this error.
Getintopc adobe animate. But first, let’s get started with its fixes…
How To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized or Not Detected Error
You can try the below solutions to fixSeagate external hard drive unrecognized or undetectable error. These solutions will definitely help you resolve this error now.
Important Note: The below-mentioned solutions are not only applicable to fix Seagate external hard drive driver not recognized the problem but also to fix Seagate external hard drive light not blinking and therefore it is not detecting.
Besides that, these solutions can also be used to fix all other external hard drives such as Samsung, Hitachi, Toshiba, LaCie, Thunderbolt, eSATA, Firewire, etc that does not get recognized by your Windows computer.
Solution #1: Connect External Hard Drive To Another PC or Mac
Sometimes, the USB port of your system does not work properly or the USB port itself is damaged.
So, if you notice that external hard drive light is blinking but it is not getting read by the system, then you can try to connect the hard drive to another system and check if it is getting recognized. Or you can try another USB port to connect the drive to your PC.
You can also try to reboot the PC and retry to connect your hard drive once again.
If it works – it is good. If it does not, then follow the next solution.
Solution #2: Scan External Hard Drive With Virus Cleaner/Anti-Virus Software
If you are confident enough that the virus has infected your Seagate external hard drive and because of this reason, the drive is not getting readable by the system, then you can use Virus Cleaner or Anti-virus software. This software will help you to scan and remove all viruses from your hard drive and PC. After this, you can format the hard drive to make it recognize.
Note: Apply this solution only when you are confident that virus infection has made your external hard drive unrecognizable, or else skip this solution.
Solution #3: Unhide Hidden Devices To Make Seagate External HDD To Get Recognized
- On your PC click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- Hover mouse to View and select Show hidden devices.
- Next, expand all notes just by clicking on the + (plus) symbol.
- If you find any greyed entries, then right-click on it and select Uninstall.
- Now Reboot PC and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #4: Uninstall Hard Drive Driver to Solve External Hard Drive Undetectable Error
G Drive 1tb Not Recognized Expired
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and check if any device is showing as unrecognized.
- If it shows unrecognized, then delete or uninstall the drive by going to the driver tab and then check whether external hard drive displays up in My Computer or not.
- If it doesn’t display up, then restart or reboot your PC. If external hard drive shows but later it gets disappeared, then open Disk Management and change the name of your external hard drive only.
This will solve all the problems.
Solution #5: Switch ON Root Hub to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized Issue
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right-click on USB Root Hub > Properties > Power Management > uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
- Repeat the process for all USB Root Hub shown in the list and then restart/reboot system and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #6: Make Changes In Registry To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized Error
Note: Follow this solution very carefully.
- On your PC click Start and in search address bar type regedt32 and then click on Yes.
- After this backup your registry. Go to File>Export.
- On the left panel go toHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlClass{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
- On the right panel, if you see any lowerfilters or upperfilters, then delete
- After this re-try to connect external hard drive again.
Solution #7: Format And Repartition Seagate External Hard Drive
Another solution you can try is to format and repartition the Seagate external hard drive. It is possible to format this hard drive using the drive management or any third-party tool. But, here, you can try these below steps to format and repartition Seagate external hard drive in Disk Management:
- First of all, you have to go to Start menu on your Windows PC ad then type there ‘CMD’.
- Now, you have to make a right click on Command Prompt and then simply select Run as administrator and click there Yes to confirm if it prompts.
- Now, type the below commands one after another and then hit Enter key after each command you type in the command prompt window:
diskpart
list disk
select disk # (replace # with the letter of the USB drive)
clean
list disk
select disk # (replace # with the letter of the USB drive)
clean
- Next, you have to go to Start menu and then simply type there ‘create and format disk partitions’ and then open it.
- Now, you have to choose there ‘New Simple Volume….’
- Now, in the next step, you have to follow the steps by step instructions directed to finish the creation. Next, you will be prompted to format the external hard drive to access it.
After performing the above steps, your Seagate hard drive not recognized will be easily fixed.
Recover Data From Unrecognized or Undetectable Seagate External Hard Drive
Many people have asked – how to recover data from Seagate external hard disk which is not detecting? So, when your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized by Windows or Mac computer, then the first thing that will worry you – is the data stored within the hard drive.
So, the first precaution you must take is to restore data from Seagate external hard drive. For this, you can use External Hard Drive Recovery Tool which is suitable and perfect hard drive data recovery. It will allow you to restore almost all file formats of photos, videos and audio files from your Seagate external hard drive on Windows or Mac.
This recovery software for external HDD can easily detect your unrecognized external hard drive and deeply scan and extract digital media files. These media files recovery include pictures, photos, videos, movies, music, songs and other audio files from any external hard drives, including Seagate external HDD as well.
Important Note:As soon as you notice that your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized on your Windows or Mac computer, then you must stop using it and do not add any new data on it. Because adding new data will overwrite the existing data and you will lose the chance for recovering files from it. After this, immediately apply the External Hard Drive Recovery Tool, scan it and recover digital media files from it.
* Free version of the program only scans and previews recoverable objects.
Here, you can go through the step by step guide to recover deleted data from Seagate external hard drive in just three simple steps.
What Is External Hard Drive
In the era of today’s world, the external hard drive has major benefits in storing huge amount of data and hence many people would like to buy an external hard drive with a USB port so that they can store lots of data with ease.
Among several external hard drives, Seagate external hard drive is mostly used by a large number of people all across the world, because of its good performance.
However, sometimes when you plug Seagate external hard drive into the USB port of PC or Mac then the hard drive is not detected by the system. If your Seagate external hard drive is brand new, then you can directly go to manufactures to deal with the problem or you can replace it with another hard drive.
G Drive 1tb Not Recognized Mac
Reasons: Why Seagate Hard Drive Not Detected Error Occurs?
There could be several reasons that can make your Seagate hard drive not detected. Some of the common reasons are mentioned below:
- The hard drive might have got damaged
- The USB port of a PC or Mac computer might be damaged or Seagate external hard drive not working
- Maybe your external hard drive has got infected with virus or malware
- Hard drive driver installed on your system might have been outdated
- Hard drive failure or maybe hard drive contains bad sector or it has gone bad or corrupt itself
These are some common problems. So, what you can do to fix these problems when your Seagate hard disk not detected or not recognized?
Just Relax! Below you will find the solutions that will help you to effectively fix these problems and makes your Seagate external hard re-usable once again.
Related External Hard Drive Issues And Solutions
Why Is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up?
Many people have also asked that – why is my external hard drive not showing up?
Well, the reasons could be various such as in some cases when you try to connect your drive to PC with a USB port you will find that hard drive is not detected. The issues could be caused by partition issue on your external hard drive, wrong file system usage, driver issues, dead USB ports or other issues. In worst situations, the drive itself might be simply dead.
So, how to make external hard drive to show up? Below follow the steps to do so:
- Press Windows Key + R to open RUN dialogue box.
- In RUN Box type diskmgmt.msc and hit ENTER.
- Here, you can see the external hard drive listed in the Disk Management Window, even if it doesn’t show up in My Computer since it doesn’t contain any partitions, it should show up here.
How Do I Fix My External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
There are many people out there asking for a solution – how do I fix my external hard drive without formatting?
Well, you can follow the above-motioned solutions 1- 6, in order to fix external hard drive issues without formatting. However, if you are looking to format the external hard drive but getting the not formatted error then learn here – How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Formatted Error.
If you are looking to recover inaccessible data from drive without formatting it then please visit – How To Recover Files From USB Drive Without Formatting It?
Conclusion
Here I have provided several solutions and I am sure that it will help you to fix Seagate external hard drive not detected or not recognized error.
However, it is also important to recover digital media files from the external hard drive if the data has been deleted from it unintentionally.
You can try External Hard Drive Recovery Tool to do so and keep safe your data then by keeping a regular backup.
So, just try all the solutions mentioned here and use your external hard drive without any interruption.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in June 2018. This updated version is completely revamped for comprehensiveness, freshness, and accuracy.If you have found this post helpful and useful, then please do not forget to share it.
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Alex is an expert technical writer with 7+ years of experience. His in-depth knowledge about data recovery and fascination to explore new DIY tools & technologies have helped many. Alex has a great interest in photography and loves to share photography tips and tricks with others.
Summary : In a worst-case scenario, if a hard drive can’t be repaired, we have mentioned how you can get back your data safely from such hard drives with the help of Stellar Data Recovery software.
An external hard drive may stop responding on Windows due to problems related to the system or storage hardware and software. In some cases, trying a different port or PC may work. But if it doesn’t, do not try to repair the drive by using any third-party drive or partition manager software such as Disk Management in Windows. Instead, follow this comprehensive guide to repair your ‘not responding’ hard drive without any risk of data loss.
Possible Causes for Hard Drive Not Responding
- Bad sectors
- File system errors
- Virus and Malware infection or corrupt file (Virus or Malware).
- Damaged device driver issue
- Overheating
- SMART errors
- Mechanical or physical error
How to Fix the External Hard Disk Is Not Detected Issue?
You can follow these steps to fix the problem with your hard drive.
1. Inspect Hard Drive
Carefully inspect your hard disk for any physical damage. If it looks fine, connect it to your PC and observe the drive for any screeching or clicking noise.
- Check the connecting wire or cable for damage or loose connection.
- Get closer to the connected drive and check if the drive is on and rotating continuously. It should not stop and run intermittently. If that is the case, there could be some internal mechanical problem or software related error.
- On your PC, install and run Stellar Data Recovery Professional. It’s free to download.
- Choose ‘Monitor Drive’ under the ‘Waffle icon’ to check the disk health and temperature. Make sure the drive is not overheating and health status is good. Further, click ‘Smart Status’ and check the SMART attributes for any warning signs.
- You may also scan the drive to check bad sectors, which might be the reason why the drive is not responding or stops responding.
- If the health is poor, click ‘Clone Disk’ and watch this video to create a disk clone of your failing hard drive.
CAUTION:If the data is critical and you don’t want to risk permanent data loss, you must use a powerful DIY data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional. Post recovery, you can go ahead and perform various checks and fixes discussed in this post and other sites, including drive formatting without worrying about data loss.
Watch this video to learn how to scan your affected drive and recover inaccessible data.
Now that you have your data back, go ahead and apply following fixes to repair your hard disk.
2. Run CHKDSK
File system errors are caused by improper disk usage, virus/malware infection, and buildup of bad sectors in the hard drive due to logical or physical damage.
CHKDSK is a command-line based Windows utility that checks the hard disk integrity, repairs various file system errors, and tries to recover readable information from bad sectors. Running CHKDSK scan may fix your corrupt or RAW hard disk, which could be a reason why your hard disk is not responding.
Follow these steps to run the CHKDSK scan on your affected hard disk:
- Connect the drive to a different Windows PC and press ‘Windows + Q’.
- Type CMD, then right-click on Command Prompt and choose ‘Run as Administrator’.
- Type chkdsk X: /r /f in the command prompt windows and press the ‘Enter’ key.
Replace letter X with your external hard drive letter /r & /f are the CHKDSK parameters.
This begins CHKDSK scan, verification, and repair process. When finished, restart system and reconnect the external hard drive to the PC. Check if you can access it.
3. Use an Antivirus & Anti-Malware Tool
Windows android folder. When a virus or malware infects the external drive, it can cause some serious trouble that can lead to data loss. If a hard drive stops responding, it could be a corrupt or virus/malware infected file on the hard drive that must be removed to fix the drive error.
You can use Windows Defender tool in Windows or leverage a reliable third-party antivirus and anti-malware tool to quarantine the infected file(s).
4. Re-Install the Drivers
Sometimes, due to corruption and damage to the disk device drivers, you may experience this issue. You can easily fix this by re-installing or updating device drivers via ‘Device Manager’. The steps are as follow,
- Press ‘Windows+S’ and type ‘Device Manager’.
- Click on ‘Device Manager’.
- Expand ‘Disk Drives’ and right-click on your external hard drive name.
- Choose ‘Uninstall’. Click the ‘OK’ button to confirm uninstallation.
- Now restart the system. You may also disconnect the drive and then connect it after a few seconds to begin device driver installation.
- Then open File Explorer and check the drive
If this doesn’t work, go to your hard drive manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers available for your hard drive model. Install them manually and restart the system.
5. Format the Disk
Use Disk Management tool or DISKPART utility to full format the drive. You may also choose to low-level format your affected hard disk by using HDD LLF tool.
While full format or low level formatting will take a while to complete, it will fix most disk errors and clean the drive from pesky malware or virus infected files.
In case the drive is still not repaired and data recovery software did not work, immediately contact a data recovery expert. There is a possibility of hardware or mechanical failure, which can’t be fixed by a user and requires expert help.
Conclusion
Keep your system protected by installing a trusted antivirus or anti-malware software. Run scheduled CHKDSK scans and leverage a SMART drive monitoring utility to monitor your system drive or external hard drive health on the go. This will help you prevent most common disk errors that may cause issues such as hard drive is not responding.
Above all, keep a regular backup of all your important files.
Whats new in premiere pro cc 2019. But if such error occurs, start by inspecting the drive physically and then leverage a DIY data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional. It comes equipped with a SMART drive monitor utility that lets you known hard disk health status and whether it requires replacement. The software will also help you restore data from such hard drives that stop responding due to corruption and file system errors.
If the data is critical and more important than the disk, follow this guide and immediately get back data from your Windows-based hard drive.