First of all, you need to define what is HDD. A hard drive (called a "hard drive" in slang) is a device for storing data. In fact, all information on a computer is stored on it (with a few exceptions).

The hard drive contains the operating system and all the data to which it has access.

Accordingly, when the system does not detect any of these devices, all files written to it become inaccessible. The causes of the problems and how to overcome them will be described below.

An external hard drive can also be affected by the “diseases” listed below.

Diagnostic Measures

If the computer does not see the disk, you need to decide on the "culprits". That is, find out if the problem lies in the device itself or in the system. To do this, you will have to connect the hard drive to another computer.

If it recognizes the device, then the problem is in the system, if not, then the hard drive itself is faulty. It is better to entrust further work on it to the masters. Or take advantage warranty replacement or repair.

If the problem is in the "native" system hard drive, that is, several ways to eliminate it on your own. The few things you can do yourself will help you avoid spending on professional services.

Some Helpful Tips

• Enter BIOS settings it is possible by pressing the F2 or Del keys until the system starts loading;
• It is better to remember the correct connection of cables with SATA outputs;
• It is better to wrap the hard drive removed from the system unit in an antistatic agent;
• The lower part of the device, which is with boards, is also better to always put on antistatic.

Main problems and solutions

There are a number of problems with the hard drive that you can overcome with your own hands. Conflict software or outgoing contacts can be corrected without contacting specialists.

Outgoing contacts

The problem may lie in the banal lack of contact. To fix it, you will need to remove the cover of the system unit and try reconnecting the cables. If the result is not followed, then you can use other, parallel cables.

Incorrect BIOS settings

In the case when even the BIOS does not detect the hard drive, you need to look at the system date. Its incorrectness indicates a configuration failure. Resetting the settings will help fix the situation. To do this, you will need to remove the battery on the motherboard, wait 10-30 minutes and install it back.

After these simple steps, the hard drive should be defined as a physical device.

The problem may be in the order of boot devices. In this case, you do not need to completely reset the BIOS settings. It is enough to find the menu item, in the name of which there is the word "Boot".

It will list the priority of devices to boot. In this list, you need to move the HDD to the first line.

Not enough food

If the device periodically disappears and appears, then you need to listen to it.

The characteristic buzzing sounds of changing cycles of work indicate a lack of power. Then you will have to purchase a more powerful power supply or turn off some less important device.

Device conflict

Two hard drives of the same brand in the system can cause conflicts. To avoid them, you need to check and configure each with separate connection to the system.

Bus version

Versions of Windows prior to Vista may not support the SATA(SATA II) interface.

The easiest way in this case is to change the operating system to a newer one. If this is not possible, then you still have to reinstall the OS, but with integrated drivers for SATA interfaces.

OS problem

If the BIOS detects the device, but Windows does not see the hard drive, then manual configuration will be required. Windows tools. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Open the "Control Panel" in the drop-down panel "Start";

2. Double-click on the "Administration" item;

3. In the window that opens, the item "Computer Management";

4. In the list on the left, the item "Disk Management".

All connected disk devices will be displayed in the lower center part of the Computer Management window. One of them will be without a volume label (letters, C:, D:, etc.). Right-clicking on the tile for this drive will open a drop-down menu that contains the line "Change Drive Letter".

Clicking on this item will bring up a window where you can assign a volume label, in the A-Z range. After that, you should restart your computer.

Note! The cause of the malfunction may also lie in an inappropriate file system. For normal operation, it must certainly be NTFS. Information about the volume's file system can be found in the corresponding tile in the Disk Management window. If there is a system other than NTFS, then you will have to reformat the disk.

None of the methods helped to revive the "patient"? Then you can not do without the help of specialists. The problems are much more serious and only the masters can save the hard drive.

The computer does not see the hard drive. What to do?

Why the computer does not see the hard drive and how to solve this problem? This video is dedicated to answering these questions.

This article explains in detail what to do if Windows 7 does not see the hard drive. You will also learn how to deal with errors and problems that arise when reinstalling the Windows operating system.

This is information that will be useful for everyone to know, because in our time Personal Computer is present in almost every home. And most often, Windows is used as the operating system. Simply put, if you have problems with the operating system while working on your computer, then this article will help you. Let's analyze the situation when the system does not see the hard drive. Initially, you need to perform a couple of simple steps:

Find the My Computer icon on your desktop, hover your mouse over it and right-click. A menu will be displayed in which you need to click on the line "Management" (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Context menu

In the "Computer Management" window that opens, click on the "Disk Management" line from the "Storage Devices" category (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Computer management

Figure 3 - Change drive letter

Now it remains to change the letters of the drive title so that the OS can find it. Also, those who installed Windows 7 instead of Windows XP can move the settings of the programs installed on the computer and the My Documents folder to the Windows system directory, which will allow you to use the new OS. Hard drive not detected during Windows reinstall

Quite often during reinstallation Windows users faced with the problem that the hard drive is not detected. There are several ways to fix this issue.

Method 1. The most famous method is to disable AHCI in the operating system through the BIOS ( base system input output). Immediately after you do this, the computer will be able to detect the hard drive. Now we will describe in more detail how to do this:
1. Restart your computer. Press "F2" or "Delete" on your keyboard from the moment it starts to turn on. This will take you to the BIOS settings.
2. Select the operating system settings menu and turn off AHCI mode as shown in (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Disabling AHCI

Method 2. It may well be that the computer does not see the hard drive due to problems with motherboard(when reinstalling any Windows versions). In this case, you need to download the driver for the motherboard of your computer on the Internet and burn it to disk. Then, using this disk, add the driver to the root directory of the operating system.

This is done in the following way:
1. Insert the driver disc into the drive.
2. Restart the computer and while it turns on, press "F6" on the keyboard.

Method 3. If the two methods described above did not bring the desired result, then you will have to integrate SATA drivers into the OS distribution. First you need to integrate individual SATA drivers or, in some cases, entire packages. You can also integrate drivers together with updates.

You can find out which updates and drivers are required on the website of the manufacturer of your motherboard installed on your computer. To find out what motherboard you have, you can right-click on the "My Computer" shortcut and go to "Properties" through the drop-down menu, where this data is indicated. You can also see this information in the documents that you were given when buying a computer.
It is worth saying that the situation when the system does not see the hard drive is faced big number users, especially reinstalling Windows. If you also encountered this problem, then it is not necessary to contact the service center or specialists to solve it. You'll be fine on your own.

First of all, if the hard drive is not detected when reinstalling the operating system, you must resort to the methods that were described earlier (integrating motherboard drivers and turning off the AHCI setting via BIOS system). If these actions did not give the desired result, then you will need to check whether the connection is correctly made on your hard drive. Figure 5 shows an example of a correct connection.

Figure 5 - Connecting the hard drive

The main thing that you should learn for yourself is that the device, thanks to which the hard drive is connected and attached to the computer motherboard, has two main connectors. One of them is black, the second is blue (light blue). And this characteristic is such, regardless of what version of the Windows operating system you have. We are interested in the blue connector, which is responsible for hard work disk and disk drive (device for external reading). It is better to connect the hard drive to the blue connector, because, as practice has shown, the black connector is rather unstable.

If, after performing a connection check, the hard drive is still not detected or a message is displayed stating that the HDD device is not working correctly, then most likely it is all about software errors.

If none of the methods described above helped, you will have to contact qualified specialists.

Having a personal computer or laptop, you notice that your computer can't see hard drive, or built-in USB device. Problems can be related both to the hardware reasons of your PC, and to probable operating system (OS) errors. It is also allowed that BIOS does not see hard disk due to a misconfiguration. The best option is to check by connecting the hard drive to another PC, in order to be able to fully verify who is the "culprit" of the emergency.

We look at the following characteristics of the device, if the hard drive still recognizes the existing device, then the problem lies in the system itself, if, then the reason lies in the disk itself. If there is a force majeure, never try to “treat” your personal computer or laptop on your own, entrust the complete “treatment” to a specialist.

Sometimes there is a problem in the "native" system, where you can carry out preventive maintenance yourself, but remember that all troubleshooting work must be done if you have an idea about the device of your personal computer.

In case if laptop does not see hard drive, perform simple manipulations that will help you avoid unnecessary costs for a specialist who will accurately perform the available operations to return a PC or laptop to life.

• We enter the available BIOS settings using the F2 or Del keys, be sure to wait until your device is configured and loaded.
• If necessary, remember the correct connection of cables with SATA outputs.
• If you removed the hard drive, then the best way preservation will be storage with the help of materials having antistatic.
• If there is a lower part of the device where the board is located, also put the spare part on the antistatic.

W indows 7 does not see the hard drive, we are looking for problems

You can troubleshoot the hard drive yourself, and then you can clarify why Wwindows does not see hard drive. Software conflict situations, as well as possible withdrawal of contact connections, can be carried out independently. Consider the reasons why the system does not see the hard drive, And possible options elimination on your own.

• The contacts are gone. The reason why the computer does not see the hard drive is banal, your contacts have gone. Remove cover, reconnect all contacts. If the result does not work, try using parallel cables.
• BIOS settings. Your computer, BIOS does not see the hard drive due to incorrect settings. Checking system unit dates. If there is a reason for this, reset the settings. We remove the battery built into the board, wait 10-30 minutes and put it back in place.
• Minimum power supply. If there is a characteristic buzzing when changing work cycles, and Windows does not see the hard drive, then you may need to buy a new power supply or from time to time you will have to turn off one of the most important devices.

In addition, there are additional factors that indicate that Windows does not see the hard drive for certain characteristics.

Why BIOSdoes not see the hard drive, fix the problem yourself

If you removed the battery, which is located on the motherboard, and put it back in place after 30 minutes, then the hard drive can accurately detect the connected device. Sometimes Windows does not see the hard drive due to the boot order of embedded systems.

In this case, you do not have to reset the existing BIOS settings. For these purposes, it is enough to enter the menu, and use the Boot menu, which will become a priority during the boot process. In this case, set the HDD option to the topmost position in the first place in the menu.

Pay attention to the characteristic "clicks" of the hard drive. If necessary, you can reduce the noise by adjusting the AAM option, which is responsible for the noise level. This option reduces the movement speed for the built-in drive head, thereby reducing or eliminating clicks. In some cases, experts recommend using the MHDD utility, which will help you effectively fix the problem.

Additional reasons why Wwindows 10 not seeing hard drive

In addition to the above characteristics, you can additionally find out why Windows does not see the hard drive. Experts recommend paying attention to the following:

• If two disks of the same manufacturer are involved, they can cause a conflict of operation. In this case, it is necessary to start the device one by one.
• Tire problem. Some versions of Windows prior to Vista did not support SATA(SATA II). In this case, it is recommended to update the operating system.
• Direct problem in the OS.

If you suspect that Windows is not seeing the hard drive because of the operating system, try the following.

1. In the panel part "Start", open the option "Control Panel".
2. Try clicking twice "Administration".
3. In the dialog box that opens, look for "Computer Management".
4. On the left side there is an item "Disk Management".

Now you see all your drives, and one of them doesn't have a volume letter (letters, C, D, etc.). On the viewed tile on the right, click the drop-down menu, with which we use the option "Change drive letter". In this case, you need to specify the literal value of the free type in Latin from A to Z.

If you have tried all the methods and do not find the reason why the computer does not see the hard drive, then seek help from a specialist who, using professional diagnostic equipment, will identify the exact causes and problems of the failure to start your personal computer.

Every computer has a hard drive that stores the software and other files it needs to work. Note that this component is very sensitive, and problems with it often occur. This is due to the presence of elements moving at high speed inside the disk. One of possible problems is a situation where the computer does not see the hard drive. Why is this happening and how to solve it? We'll talk about this.

Problem in connection interface or power supply

First you need to check if the disk is working. To do this, it must be connected to another computer. This is easy to do: just remove 4 (or even 2) screws, pull out the power cable and SATA cable and connect it to another computer. If he sees the disk, then this will clearly indicate a problem with the computer from where the drive was removed.

Why does the computer not see the hard drive if another system was able to notice it? There may be several reasons:

There is a small chance that after these manipulations, the hard drive will work. These are the most elementary operations that the user can quickly take to solve this problem. If nothing helped and it is still unknown why the computer does not see the hard drive, then you need to look deeper for the cause.

BIOS settings

The BIOS may well be the reason why the computer does not see the hard drive. Therefore, its settings must either be changed or reset. The last option is the easiest. To do this, we restart the computer, enter the BIOS system (usually you need to press F2 or Del when you reboot) and look for the "Load Optimized Defaults" menu item. It can also be the string "Load Optimal Defaults". We select this item, press Enter, the system asks us for confirmation, we agree. Now press F10 (save and exit), confirm the action, the computer restarts again. The system will then be able to see the hard drive, after which it will boot.

No interface support

If the computer does not see the hard drive, the cause may be the SATA interface, which older operating systems cannot work with. However, there is an opinion that this problem is solved by downloading drivers for SATA or installing a Windows distribution kit in which required drivers are preset. However, the easiest option is to install a more recent operating system (Windows 7, for example), where the necessary drivers are available by default.

By the way, the lack of drivers in the system is possible if you use pirated copies of software in the form of various assemblies from unknown users.

Device conflict

If several SATA interfaces are connected to the computer at once hard drives from different manufacturers, there may be a device conflict. Checking if this is actually the case is quite easy. To do this, turn off each drive in turn and see how the system reacts to this. It may turn out that after disconnecting the first disk, the operating system will freely detect the second drive, and when the second one is disconnected, it will see the first one without any problems. In this case, the reason why the computer does not see new hard disk, it will be obvious - a device conflict. If the disk is new, then it is advisable to replace it with another one - from the same manufacturer as the main one.

Operating system problems

In some cases, it is not clear why the computer does not see the hard drive, while Windows loads, and information about it is displayed in the BIOS. In this case, there is a problem with the operating system. You can try to solve this problem by means of Windows itself.

To do this, open the "Control Panel" and go to the "Administration" section. There is an item "Computer Management". We select it and see "Disk Management" in the tree on the left. Right-click on it, the context menu is called, click on "Change drive letter or path." A new window opens in which we can change the drive letter. Specify a new letter, click "OK", restart the computer.

In some cases, this helps to solve the problem, but not always. This solution works when there is already another device in the system (for example, a DVD drive) that is assigned the letter D, which is used to designate the default primary disk partition.

When the disk is not enabled by the system

When you connect an additional hard drive, the system may crash and not prepare it. However, you can also do it manually. To do this, go to the same section "Disk Management". All disks connected to the computer will be displayed there - working or not. If there is a line "No data" opposite the additional disk, then this means that it has not been initialized. Right click on it and select "Initialize".

Also opposite the disk may be written "Unallocated". Right-click on it, select the option "Create a simple volume" and follow the instructions of the system.

If the drive system is RAW, it means that the drive needs to be formatted in file format. NTFS system or FAT32. Click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Format" option. In this case, all information from the drive will be deleted.

If the computer does not see the external hard drive

Note that an external drive is a more modern analogue of a flash drive. It connects via a USB interface. Therefore, if the computer does not see an external hard drive, then first of all you need to try to connect it to another USB port.

If this does not help, then you need to change the drive letter. The way to do this is described above. It is also worth considering that new disk may not be formatted. This will have to be done on your own. You need to format it in FAT32 or NTFS in the same "Disk Management" section. Be careful, as formatting permanently deletes all data from the disk.

Lack of drivers is another reason why the computer does not see the hard drive. What to do in this case? Yes, you just need to install the driver. It is possible that a disk with utilities came with the external hard drive - they need to be installed. If there is no disk, then the necessary "firewood" can be found on the Web, downloaded and installed. And although in 90% of cases Windows automatically connects external hard drives (the drivers are already in the system), sometimes it happens that you need to download applications yourself.

Finally

These are the main reasons why the computer does not see the hard drive. You now know what to do in these cases, but if nothing works, and the system still cannot recognize the presence of a drive, then a hardware failure of the device cannot be ruled out. It can be determined exactly by connecting the drive to another computer. And even if another system could not recognize it, then it is clearly broken. However, if it is new, then it will be replaced under warranty. As for old discs that are more than 5 years old, then you should not worry about them, since they do not have the longest life. Drives are extremely sensitive devices with moving parts inside. And if we are talking about SSD drives, then these do have a limited service life, since memory cells disappear when information is written and erased.

In general, now you understand why the computer does not see the hard drive and how to fix a similar problem. Note that this is a common phenomenon, which in most cases is solved by a software method.

One press of a button is enough to turn on the computer. Unfortunately, there are times when the system fails to initialize the hard drive. In this case, the problem may arise not only with additional hard drive, but also the main HDD. Why does the computer not see the hard drive and how to deal with it?

In fact, there are several reasons that contribute to hard drive failure. In most cases, the problem can be fixed on your own. To correct the situation, it is necessary to understand the cause of the breakdown.

The main reasons for the "disappearance" of the disk

When a hard drive fails, the first thing that comes to mind is wrong connection hard drive to the motherboard. In fact, there are several reasons for this problem. The main “breakdowns” of the information carrier include:

• Lack of contacts;
• Disk boot priority is incorrect;
• Old operating system;
• The system does not support the connection interface;
• Lack of drivers;
• Lack of nutrition;
• Lack of partition letter;
• Device conflict;
• BIOS failure.

It does not matter for what reason the computer does not see the hard drive, you need to understand what to do in a given situation.

A common cause that causes the “disappearance” of a hard drive can be considered an incorrect connection. When connecting a cable or power cable, users sometimes loosely insert the chips. As a result, the motherboard does not see the hard drive.

The same situation can be if the connector on the motherboard is not functioning. To correct the situation, you need to double-check the connection is correct, as well as the operability of the port (it is best to temporarily use another connector). The same applies to cables, it is better to replace them.

Disk boot priority

If you connected the hard drive correctly, but the system does not see it, most likely the problem lies in the boot priorities. To fix the "breakdown", you must enter the BIOS. To do this, press one of the following buttons (each computer has its own key):

• delete;

When the BIOS loads, go to the "Boot" tab. After that, you need to install your disk in the "Hard Disk Boot Priority" item. Once the setup is completed, you need to press the F10 button so that the changes are saved and the computer restarts. Now it remains only to wait for the system to boot.

Old operating system

Technology does not stand in one place. Every year there are new carriers of information, the volume of which is growing exponentially. Many users purchase hard drives with a capacity of 1 TB or more, but at the same time they do not want to part with outdated operating systems. For example, Windows XP.

Unfortunately, legacy systems are not capable of handling large volumes. You can solve the problem by simply reinstalling the operating system. If you don’t want to do this, you can use specialized software, such as Partition Manager. Programs add support for hard drives up to 2 TB.

Connection interface problem

Another problem of obsolete operating systems is the definition of a SATA connector. If you connect a hard drive to such a port, the system will not detect it. You can solve the problem by reinstalling the OS.

Those who do not want to part with their favorite OS need to go to a store that sells SATA-IDE adapters. It should be immediately noted similar devices may not be in every store, so it will take some time until the adapter is delivered to the warehouse.

Lack of drivers

A similar situation occurs in weak computers that have an outdated operating system installed. When new devices enter the market (hard drives are no exception), operating system developers add all the necessary drivers to the distribution kit.

If the hard drive was connected, but the system identified it as an unknown device, you need to download the drivers. This can be done both from the official website of the manufacturer's company, and with the help of special driver packs. For example, Driver Pack Solution.

Installation does not take much time. After installing the drivers, the hard drive will be automatically detected. You may need to restart your computer.

Lack of nutrition

Some users of older devices write: "what to do if the computer does not see the disk." At the same time, the wires and connectors are working, and the system is new. In fact, the reason for the lack of a hard drive can be a banal lack of power.

When purchasing a new drive, you need to ask the seller how much energy the device consumes. It is also necessary to calculate how much energy the system unit and all its components consume. After that, you need to pay attention to your power supply. Maybe he's just weak. In order for the hard drive to work, you will have to consider purchasing a more powerful power supply.

Partition letter missing

There are times when the system does not see a hard drive connected as an additional drive. If the OS has installed the driver, "traces" of the hard disk are found in the device manager, but the drive is not displayed in "My Computer", you need to go to administration.

To do this, open "Start" and then select "Control Panel". In the window that opens, click on the "Administration" section.

After a second, a new window will open with a list of controls. You need to find the "Computer Management" section, and then go to it.

In the next step, in the left column, you need to find the "Disk Management" item. All connected drives will be assigned a drive letter, except for the one you recently connected. You need to right-click on the hard drive, and then select "Change drive letter" from the context menu. Now it remains only to choose any letter. We recommend that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

It is important to note that in rare cases, even after assigning a letter, the hard drive does not appear in My Computer. Most likely the reason is an unsupported file system. In "Disk Management", you need to call the context menu with the right mouse button, and then format the system by setting file system NTFS.

Device conflict occurs

Users sometimes do not understand why the computer does not see the disk if the connection is made correctly? In rare cases, a device conflict may occur. This happens when two identical discs from the same company are installed.

To fix the problem, you need to alternately connect the disk to the motherboard, and then specify in the BIOS the hard drive on which the operating system is installed.

BIOS failure

Very rarely, a situation may occur when the BIOS fails. Why the computer does not see the disk in this case is difficult to say. Sometimes a DVD-ROM or video card may go missing. The problem can be solved by resetting the BIOS.

First you need to turn off the power of the PC. Then find the jumper (a small "contact breaker") located on the motherboard. It can be found near the battery. The jumper should be moved to pins 2-3. Now you need to wait about 15 seconds. This time should be enough to reset the settings. It remains only to return the jumper to its original location, and restart the computer. The system will automatically detect the new drive.

In the event that you could not find the jumper, it is recommended to use the second BIOS reset method. After turning off the power, you need to remove the round battery from the motherboard. The reset will take place within one minute. When the battery is replaced, the computer can be turned on.

Do I need to contact specialists

In 95% of cases, deal with connecting a hard any user can. If all the methods have been tried, the description above and the hard drive has not appeared in the computer, you can contact the specialists. Most likely the problem lies in the failure of the hard drive or motherboard.

You can also contact specialists if the disk is malfunctioning. In this case, the device makes characteristic sounds, errors appear, or the disk disappears altogether.

Conclusion

Most often, users who find a disk connection problem become nervous. You need to calm down, as there may be serious consequences. You should analyze the situation, and then go through the methods described above. In most cases, you can solve the problem on your own. If you decide to use specialized software, carefully study the functionality and instructions.

Video review: what to do if the PC does not see the hard drive?