format external hard drive windows 10 not visible

#Format external hard drive windows 10 not visible how to
#Format external hard drive windows 10 not visible software

Tip: if the unallocated area shows after accidentally deleting a partition, you can also try 'Partition Recovery' function to search for the partition. Right-click the unallocated area and choose 'Recover Lost Files' option. Launch DiskGenius and find the hard drive that contains unallocated space.

#Format external hard drive windows 10 not visible how to

How to recover data from unallocated partition? The easiest solution is using DiskGenius to scan the unallocated space and recover recoverable files. When a partition on your hard drive becomes unallocated, files disappear at the same time. Way #2: Recover lost files from unallocated disk space Do not write data to existing partitions.ĭo not partition the hard drive: Never try creating partitions on the unallocated HDD before you've managed to recover data.ĭo not run chkdsk and other commands: It is a good idea to keep the hard drive intact, as any changes made by chkdsk or other commands will decrease the successful rate of partition recovery. Stop using the hard drive: It is wise to stop using the hard drive even if only part of the disk is unallocated. So, it is important to pay attention to following points in order to maximize the recovery rate. Considering that the recovery cannot play up to desired effect once data overwriting occurs. Or, alternatively, copy files you wish to restore to another hard disk.Īs you can see, lost partition recovery can be realized with a few simple steps. Click 'Save All' button to save found partitions to current partition table. Click 'OK' button after partition searching completes. Thus, it is safe to click Reserve or Ignore.

#Format external hard drive windows 10 not visible software

The software does not make any changes to the hard drive even if you choose Reserve or Cancel here, as partitions kept during scanning are saved in memory only instead of hard drive. It is not enough to view file names only, and you should double-click a file to open it and view the real content. Preview files in the partition to decide whether it is the one you are looking for. Repeat the action for each found partition until the searching process finishes. Click 'Reserve' to partitions you want to restore and click 'Ignore' when the found partition is not what you want to recover. Then click 'Start' button to search for partitions. Select the hard drive and click 'Partition Recovery' button. Launch DiskGenius on your computer and you can easily locate the unallocated hard disk. After that you can regain access to partitions and files in Windows again. DiskGenius is effective partition recovery software, and it supports to search for partitions on unallocated disks and save lost partitions to partition table. When you want to restore lost partitions, try steps below to get back deleted and lost partitions. Way #1: Restore lost partitions on unallocated hard driveĪn unallocated hard drive does not contain any partition, as a result, you cannot access partitions and files anymore. How do I fix an unallocated hard drive in Windows 10?

The first move is to rescue data from the hard drive, after which you can try creating partition or even repartitioning the HDD. For Windows, a hard drive that can be detected but not showing up due to unallocated issue is not damaged, and users can easily troubleshoot it without losing data. How do I access an unallocated hard drive? You don't have much to worry about if your computer can boot normally and the disk can be detected.

Hardware failure: The hard drive is physically damaged, and everything on the disk is lost. This can be caused by virus, bad sectors, sudden power failure, etc. Partition table corruption: Crucial information that records starting and ending location for each partition, partition type, partition size, etc. Partition gets deleted or lost: When a partition is deleted from hard drive, the disk space taken by the partition will become unallocated and the unallocated partition disappears from Windows File Explorer. Why does my hard drive become unallocated? Unallocated space can appear by reason of following aspects: Unallocated space cannot be accessed by Windows, and it is not displayed in File Explorer as other partitions. Disk space that does not belong to any partition is regarded as unallocated. Each partition will be formatted to a specified file system such as NTFS and assigned a drive letter like D. When setting up a hard drive, you need to partition it first, dividing the hard drive into one or several logical portions. What does it mean when a hard drive is unallocated?