How to fix the issue of internal hard drive not showing up in disk management?

Have you just connected a new hard drive to your computer? In some rare cases, you may come across a situation where you may experience a scenario where the new hard drive may not be recognized. There are a few scenarios where you would find that they are not shown in Disk Management for some specific reason. However, unless you understand the actual reason, resolving it may not be an easy option. 

The most common issues you are likely to come across in that scenario is to find that “internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management“. You may also experience the issue of external hard drive not showing up Windows 10. We will check out both the scenarios and try to find how to fix these issues. 

How to fix the issue “internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management”?

The typical situations where you would find your hard drive is not recognized by Windows 10 can include the following possible cases: 

• Internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management – This situation can come up if the drive is not connected correctly. Reconnect and check it through BIOS
• Drive not visible in BIOS – The drive may not be initialized and appropriately formatted. 
• External hard drive not showing up Windows 10 – This is a common issue with external hard drives, and we will cover this one separately. 
• Hard drive won’t show up in BIOS, on PC, in File Explorer – This can result due to improper BIOS settings or connection problems with your hard drive. 

In light of the above possibilities, let us check out how to fix the issue “internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management.” 

Fix 1 – Check the Connections

That should be the first step you need to check. The most apparent reason for the issue where you find an internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management is an improper connection. Checking it would be the best option you should give a thought to. 

Ensure that you have connected the hard drive to the power supply and motherboard. Just open the case of your computer and check if the cable is connected to the right ports on the motherboard and Power supply units. Once you are sure the connection is not an issue, you can move to the next solution. 

Fix 2 – Check Disk Initialisation

An improper Disk Initialisation can also cause an issue and result in an internal hard drive, not showing up in Disk Management. Follow the steps here below to initialize a new hard drive: 

• Launch Windows Power Menu with the Windows + X key
• Choose the option Disk management.
  
  

• You should now find the drives connected to your computer. If any of the drives have not been initialized properly, they will show up as unallocated.
  
  

• If you find any of the disks as being unallocated, right-click on the disk and click on Initialise Disk.
  
  

• You will be asked whether you want to use it with Master Boot Record or GUID Partition Table. Choose GPT at this stage. 

Once that done, the disk will be assigned as Basic or Online. However, it will still have unallocated space. You will now need to create a Simple Volume from the disk. 

Here is how you do it: 

• Right-click on the drive ad choose the option New Simple Volume 
• Click Next and assign a drive letter. You can even accept the one suggested. 

In the next step, you will have to format the drive. Choose NTFS when asked.

• Follow the instructions, and you should be able to find your drive listed. 

Fix 3 – Update Your Drivers

An older driver can also be one of the primary reasons that can affect the proper functioning of the drive and render it not showing up in Disk management. 

Ideally, you would need to update your motherboard and chipset drivers and updating them. You can even use any reliable third party driver updater software. 

Fix 4 – Enable the Hard Drive in BIOS

An incorrect setting in BIOS can cause severe issues, and that can be one of the reasons that may stop your drive from being detected. Enabling it from BIOS can sometimes resolve the issue and help you fix internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management.

Here is how it can be done:

• Restart your computer and press the relevant key to enter your BIOS system. The key will be dependent on your computer build and make
• Choose the option Integrated Peripherals using the arrow keys on the keyboard. Press ENTER 
• Use keyboard arrow keys to select the USB Controller. 
• Enable it if it is disabled 

Save and exit from BIOS. Restart your computer, and your issue should be resolved. Check if your internal hard drive is being shown. 

How to fix external hard drive not showing up Windows 10?

External hard drives tend to have a lot of connectivity issues. However, when compared to internal drives, it should be a more comfortable option to resolve. 

Some of the resolutions that should help you fix the external hard drive not showing up Windows 10 issue can be summed up here – 

Fix 1 – Create partitions on the new drive

If your new hard drive does not have a partition, it will not be recognized by Windows 10 in all probability. You will need to create partitions on it, and this can be done through the Disk Management option. 

You can access Disk Management, as indicated in the previous steps. You can follow the same steps as in the case of the internal hard drive we discussed above. Create a simple volume, as explained in the above tutorial. The only difference is you should choose the external drive – which invariably shows up as unallocated. 

Fix 2 – Update your USB 3.0 Controller Driver

The driver may be a culprit here. An outdated driver can cause connection issues in many cases. You can update the driver for your USB controller. 

Thee are a few people who have reported that the issue of connectivity was resolved after the USB controller was updated. You can check the manufacturer version for your USB controller and then download the latest version from the manufacturer’s website. 

Fix 3 – Check your cable

This may sound to be a strange and unusual solution, but you can opt for it. Many users have reported that it solved the issue in their case. Check if your cable has been broken, and may need a replacement. Check if replacing the cable resolves the issue in your case. 

Most other solutions outlined above for the internal hard drive should ideally work in the case of the external hard drive not showing up Windows 10. Check them out and find if it resolves the issue in your case. 

That was all about it. We assume the tips here should ideally help you achieve the best results ever in solving the issue of internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management or even external hard drive not showing up Windows 10. Check out the steps featured here and share your thoughts with us.