Some external storage devices are preformatted exFAT for compatibility with both Mac and Windows computers. If you use the drive only on a Windows computer, you can optimize file copy performance by formatting the drive NTFS. Choosing a file system. Adata claims this is the most compact external SSD, and with dimensions of 72.7 x 44 x 12.2mm and weighing only 37g excluding the cable, it is smaller and lighter than Samsung's T3 and T5 drives. Some external storage devices are preformatted exFAT for compatibility with both Mac and Windows computers. If you use the drive only on a Windows computer, you can optimize file copy performance by formatting the drive NTFS. Choosing a file system. External solid-state drives are, essentially, internal SSDs (the same kind that power laptops or live inside desktops) with an outer shell and some bridging electronics. As a result, external. Ultra Touch SSD Get capacities up to 1TB, USB-C and USB 3.0 compatibility, SSD speeds, and a palm-sized, lightweight, fabric design.
Is your SSD not showing up in Windows File Explorer or Disk Management? This tutorial describes four cases of Windows 10 not detecting a new (old) SSD, and you can try to fix the issue accordingly. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard when it's necessary to recover data from an inaccessible/formatted Solid State Drive.
Windows On External Ssd
Relax if your SSD disk is not showing up on your computer. There are four common cases, check and follow the corresponding solution to get rid of this issue now.
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Case 1. Drive Letter Missing | Open Disk Management > Locate and right-click SSD partition > 'Change Drive Letter and Path'..Full steps |
| Case 2. SSD Not Initialized | Open Disk Management > Right-click SSD and select 'Initialize Disk'..Full steps |
| Case 3. Unsupported File System | SSD becomes RAW, unallocated, Run EaseUS recovery software and restore data..Full steps |
| Case 4. SSD Driver Issue | Open Device Manager > Go to Disk drives > Right-click SSD and select 'Uninstall'..Full steps |
SSD not showing up in My Computer
'I recently installed a Samsung SSD on my Windows 10 computer, but I find it not showing up under My Computer where the other hard drive is present. Is there any way to display the SSD?'
New SSD not showing up in Disk Management
'I got a new M.2 SSD from Intel. When I connected it to my PC, it does not show up in the File Explorer nor Disk Management. I don't know where goes wrong. Please help.'
The above users' stories are telling the same thing that happens to a Solid State Drive (SSD), which does not show up as other connected hard drives. In Windows 10, as well as earlier Windows operating systems, an external storage device not detected issue would throw people into unpleasant situations. They can't add files and content to the SSD, nor can they access the existing data on it. Therefore, the biggest concern is how to fix the 'SSD not showing up' problem quickly and easily.
Next, we list four cases of SSD not showing up in Windows 10, and you can try to fix the issue accordingly. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free when it's necessary to recover data from an inaccessible/formatted Solid State Drive.
- Important
- Solutions from Case 1 to Case 3 are based on the prerequisite for the SSD is not showing up in File Explorer but you can find it in the Windows Disk Management. And the Windows Disk Management solutions can be replaced by third-party free partition manager software as well, like EaseUS Partition Master, including change drive letter and paths, initialize hard drive and format a hard drive partition. The advantage of using third-party software over Disk Management is the ease of use.
Case 1SSD not showing up because the drive letter is missing or conflicting
Sometimes your SSD not showing up is because the drive letter of the SSD is missing or conflicting with another disk, Windows OS is unable to recognize it. You can solve this problem by assigning the SSD a new drive letter in Windows Disk Management manually.
To assign the SSD a new drive letter, follow the steps:
- Step 1: Right-click on 'This PC', select 'Manage'. Under the Storage section, click 'Disk Management'.
- Step 2: Right-click on the SSD partition and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths…'.
- Step 3: Among Add, Change, and Remove, click the 'Change' button, and then select a drive letter from the list. Click 'OK' to confirm.
External Ssd Drive For Laptop
Case 2SSD not showing up because it is not initialized
If you get a new SSD and it won't show up in Windows Explorer, it's likely in the 'uninitialized' state. You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it.
Also, for an old SSD that shows the error 'disk unknown not initialized', the result is the same. In these two situations, to fix the problem, you can try to connect the SSD to another working computer to check if it reports the same error. Otherwise, you need to initialize the SSD in Windows 10.
To initialize an SSD, follow the steps:
- Step 1: Open Disk Management on your computer.
- Step 2: Find and right-click the SSD you want to initialize, and then click 'Initialize Disk'.
- Step 3: In the Initialize Disk dialog box, select the disk(s) to initialize. You can select whether to use the master boot record (MBR) or GUID partition table (GPT) partition style.
'Which one should I choose, MBR or GPT?' If you want to know the difference between MBR and GPT, read this article to get more information.
Case 3SSD not showing up because the file system is not supported
If the above two methods do not work in your case, we need to think further. One presumption is that the file system has corrupted or Windows does not support the current file system.
Install Windows 10 On External Ssd
As investigated, the relevant file system issues are mainly displayed as 'RAW', 'Free space', or 'Unallocated space'. To fix the file system issue, reformatting the disk would be enough.
- Warning
- As Disk formatting will completely erase data on it. If you didn't create a data backup before, download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for FREE to recover data from formatted SSD.
Step 1. On EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the drive marked as SSD where you lost data, and click the Scan button.
Step 2. When the scanning finishes, find lost SSD data from 'Deleted Files' or 'Lost Files'. 'Filter' and 'Search' may also help you find lost data via file types, file names, and extensions.
Step 3. Double-click to preview lost SSD files, select desired data and click the Recover button. Choose another safe instead of the SSD to keep the recovered data.
Case 4SSD not showing up because of disk driver issues
Another possible situation is the SSD is detected but it is not displayed in 'My Computer'. This is because the disk drive is not installed correctly. So, you can try to reinstall the SSD driver to check if it can help to fix the issue.
- Step 1:Right-click on 'This PC', select 'Manage'. Under the System Tools section, click 'Device Manager'.
- Step 2:Go to Disk drives. It should list the storage devices that you have connected to your PC.
- Step 3:Right-click the SSD and choose 'Uninstall device'.
- Step 4:Remove the SSD and restart your system. Try to connect the SSD again to check if Windows 10 detects the SSD as normal.
Conclusion & FAQs
SSD, plus every other form of storage media, are prone to mechanical failure and physical damage. We need to make further plans to safeguard data on the storage drive. Backup is always a wise choice. It's never too late to take action to save a copy of hard drive data to another safe location, like a backup drive, cloud, or network drive.. To make a whole backup of your hard drive, EaseUS Todo Backup Free can do you a favor.
In conclusion, upon the topic of SSD not showing up in Windows 10, we analyzed four cases in total and showcased the corresponding fixes. During the middle and final repair process, we recommend three assistive tools.
- EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: to recover lost data from inaccessible and formatted hard drive/partition.
- EaseUS Partition Master: to assign a drive letter, initialize a disk, and format a hard drive.
- EaseUS Todo Backup: to back up a hard drive/partition.
In the end, we selected some top asked questions that are related to the SSD not showing up problems in Windows. For example:
1. Why is my SSD not showing up?
Driver issues are one of the major reasons. Just like a hard drive, most times the SSD is detected but not showing up in My Computer because the disk driver is not installed properly. So, you can try to reinstall the SSD driver to check if it can help to fix the issue.
2. How do I get my new SSD to show up?
If you get a new SSD and it won't show up in the Windows Disk Management, it's likely in the uninitialized state. You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it. Microsoft and windows 10.
3. How do I fix SSD not detected in BIOS?
To make BIOS detect the SSD, you need to configure the SSD settings in BIOS as follows.
- Restart your computer, and press the F2 key after the first screen.
- Press the Enter key to enter Config.
- Select Serial ATA and press Enter.
- Then you'll see the SATA Controller Mode Option.
- Save your changes and restart your computer to enter BIOS.
