The computer does not see the Windows 7 hard drive. Why the computer does not see the new hard drive

Hello! On external drive(Toshiba) was recorded backup systems. After reinstallation, the disk was no longer detected. In the "Computer Management" window, the drive is visible, but the letter cannot be assigned - an error window appears. I don’t want to format it so as not to lose all the data on it.

/ Vitaly Vladimirovich 07.26.2017, 08:01

I'll try to help your grief. You open command line as administrator and enter the commands sequentially:

diskpart --> Enter

list volume -->Enter

A list of disks that are visible in the system will appear. You select your drive, which is not assigned a letter, and rely on its size. For example:

select volume 4 --> Enter

It will look something like this:

Once selected required disk, enter the command:

assign letter=R-- assign the letter R to that

If the letter assignment was successful, a corresponding message will be displayed:

Diskpart: Disk name or mount point assignment succeeded.

This method almost always works.

/ Vitaly Vladimirovich 07.27.2017, 08:33

What I see in your screenshot does not look like a connected external drive, but a connected card reader. This is indicated by the size (0 bytes) and the fact that there are four of them (H, I, J, K). By at least I have this on my other computer. If I insert a memory card into a card reader slot, its capacity appears in this window.

I connected my external drive, look what it shows:

We see that it has a size of 1 terabyte.

What can I advise you? Eat good way. Download TestDisk Live CD from the Internet. It is based on one of the LINUX based operating systems. You open the file manager there and see what is recorded on your external drive. If you see something, you save it to another location, and then format this disk in Windows. It’s difficult to draw any further conclusions remotely.

walter / 07/28/2017, 11:20

Is it worth doing? On the second (different) computer the disk is visible and opens, i.e. works as it should! It's easier to format it there (without Test Disk Live CD). But the question is: will it be visible later on the first one? Or is it better to format using this program (on the first computer)?

/ Vitaly Vladimirovich 07/28/2017, 09:03

I was misled by your screenshot:

This can't possibly be a removable disk. Some kind of glitch in the system. In such a situation, you can use the USB Oblivion program. It is designed to erase traces of connecting USB drives from the registry in the OS Windows family. The utility has test mode work, that is, without actually deleting data from the registry, and, just in case, creates a reg file to cancel all changes. There is also a complete automatic mode work. I think this utility will help with your problem.

There are cases in which a normally turned on computer, after a normal boot process, displays the message “ Operating system not found". This can only tell us that our OS was unable to detect the required system files. If in your practice you have encountered this kind of problem, then thanks to these instructions you can get rid of this problem.

Reasons why Windows 7 will not be able to see the hard drive

There are several reasons why the system does not see hard drive:

1. The hard drive is damaged
2. Main boot record(MBR) “Sector O” is damaged or has errors.
3. Wrong established priority disks responsible for which disk the operating system will be loaded from.
4. It also often happens that in BIOS There is an error in your computer, and because of it there is no way to detect the hard drive.
5. Among the hardware reasons, we can name the following: the interface cable that connects the computer and the hard drive is damaged, then it needs to be replaced and checked. And for SATA It is best to choose a cable that has metal latches.
6. If you just installed new hard drive, and did not have time to properly prepare it and create partitions, then Windows 7 definitely won't see him. To solve this issue, simply download the program Acronis Disc Director and quickly split our disk into partitions. Just don't mix up the discs!

Now let's try to solve the problem. To begin with, we need to find the item "" by clicking on the icon " My computer» using the right button of your mouse.

Then in the paragraph " Computer management", select the sub-item "". Feel free to click next right click By required disk and here we already select an item such as “ Change drive letter«.

You definitely can't go wrong further. In order to swap two disks, you will have to rename them several times. First, you will need to replace the letter on any of the drives with an unallocated one: drive “D”, for example, change to “X”, and drive “E” to “D”, then you can change former disk“D”, and now “X” - to “E”.

Windows 7 does not detect hard drive after system reinstallation

Very often there are cases when, after reinstalling the OS, the hard drive ceases to be visible.Then it will help with this problemthis instruction.

1. If you have a case in which Windows 7 cannot detect the hard drive due to a conflict coming from the motherboard, then first try downloading the necessarydrivers for your computer's motherboard. Save them to disk and downloadthesedrivers in root folder your OS. To do this, insert your driver disk into the drive and after restarting the computer, click the " F6«.

Another way to solve the problem. While the computer is booting, you need to go toBIOS (read how to do this), and in the settings of the system itself, find the parameter responsible for disablingAHCI, and only when you disable this setting will the hard drive be found immediately. You will see how to do this in the pictures below.

If this does not help you, then you need to tackle such a difficult task as integrating driversSATA, or even have to download entire driver packages. Also, there is a possibility that integrating all driver packages along with their updates will help. And they need to be integrated into the OS distribution using any of the methods presented below.

In order to choose necessary drivers and updates, you need to go to the website of your motherboard manufacturer (in order to quickly find out the motherboard model, read).

The solution to this problem is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. In most cases, users who started installing or reinstalling operating system are facing this problem. Don't immediately panic and call service centers to call a specialist to your home, first try BIOS disable option like AHCI, then try to integrate all the motherboard drivers into your computer's distribution.

If the above does not help, then try to determine how the connector is connected HDD, and how correct. This is exactly the device thanks to which it is possible to connect to motherboard hard drive has only two connectors - black and blue, which should be connected to hard drive, since it works more stably.

One press of a button is enough for the computer to turn on. Unfortunately, there are times when the system fails to initialize the hard drive. In this case, the problem can arise not only with additional hard drive, but also the main HDD. Why doesn’t the computer 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, you need to understand the reason that caused the breakdown.

The main reasons for the “disappearance” of a disk

When a hard drive disappears, the first thing that comes to mind is incorrect connection hard drive to the motherboard. In fact, there are several reasons that cause this problem. The main “failures” of the storage medium include:

• Lack of contacts;
• The disk boot priority is incorrectly specified;
• Old operating system;
• The system does not support the connection interface;
• Lack of drivers;
• Lack of nutrition;
• Missing section letter;
• Device conflict;
• BIOS failure.

It doesn’t matter why the computer does not see the hard drive, you need to understand what to do in a given situation.

A common reason that causes a hard drive to “disappear” can be considered to be an incorrect connection. When connecting a cable or power cable, users sometimes do not insert the chips tightly. As a result, the motherboard does not see the hard drive.

The same situation may occur if the connector on the motherboard is not functioning. To correct the situation, you need to double-check the correct connection, as well as the functionality of the port (it is best to temporarily use a different connector). The same applies to cables; it is better to replace them.

Disk boot priority

If you have connected the hard drive correctly, but the system does not see it, most likely the problem is with boot priorities. To fix the problem, you need to 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 this, you need to go to “ Hard Disk Boot Priority" install your disk. Once the setup is complete, you need to press the F10 button for the changes to be saved and the computer to restart. Now all that remains is to wait for the system to boot.

Old operating system

Technologies do not stand in one place. Every year they appear new media information, the volume of which is growing in arithmetic progression. Many users purchase hard drives with a capacity of 1 TB or more, but do not want to part with outdated operating systems. For example, Windows XP.

Unfortunately, outdated systems unable to work with large volumes. The problem can be solved 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 hard drives volume up to 2 TB.

Connection interface problem

Another problem with outdated operating systems is the detection of the 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 don't want to part with their favorite OS need to go to a store that sells SATA-IDE adapters. It should immediately be 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 on weak computers, on which an outdated operating system is installed. When new devices come onto the market ( hard drives is no exception), operating system developers add all the necessary drivers to the distribution.

If the hard drive was connected, but the system detected it as unknown device, you need to download drivers. This can be done either from the official website of the manufacturer or using special driver pack. 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 old 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 absence of a hard drive may be a simple 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 this, you need to pay attention to your power supply. Maybe he's just weak. For the hard drive to work, you will have to consider purchasing more powerful block nutrition.

Partition letter missing

There are times when the system does not see the hard drive connected as additional storage. If the OS installed the driver, there are “traces” in the device manager hard drive detected, 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, you need to click on the “Administration” section.

After a second, a new window will open with a list of control elements. 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 letter, except 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 all that remains is to select any letter. It is recommended that you restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

It is important to note that in 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 context menu right-click, and then format the system by installing the NTFS file system.

There is a device conflict

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 drives made by the same company are installed.

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

BIOS failure

It is extremely rare that a situation may occur when the BIOS fails. It is difficult to say why the computer does not see the disk in this case. Sometimes a DVD-ROM or video card may disappear. The problem can be resolved by resetting the BIOS.

First you need to turn off the power to your PC. Then find the jumper (small “contact closure”) 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. All that remains is to return the jumper to its original location and restart the computer. The system will automatically detect the new disk.

If you are unable to find the jumper, it is recommended to use the second method of resetting the BIOS. After turning off the power, you need to remove the round battery from the motherboard. The reset will occur within one minute. When the battery is returned to its place, the computer can be turned on.

Do I need to contact specialists?

In 95% of cases, cope with connecting hard any user can use the disk. If you have tried all the methods described above and the hard drive still does not appear on the computer, you can contact a specialist. Most likely the problem is a broken 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 completely.

Conclusion

Most often, users who discover a disk connection problem begin to get nervous. You need to calm down, as serious consequences may arise. 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?

Most users create partitions on their hard drive for their convenience. They are usually called C, D, etc., and their usefulness cannot be denied in any way. Let's say you have an operating system on one volume, and all the rest on the second. user files(music, photographs, films). When you reinstall the OS, the partition with your files will not even be touched, which will allow you to save your data and continue to use it in the new Windows.

One of the extremely common problems that users often encounter is that the computer does not see hard drive partitions and cannot find them. This problem occurs unexpectedly and can be caused by a number of reasons affecting the operation of the hard drive. Let's figure out what to do in this situation and how to solve the problem.

Assigning a letter

If your PC or laptop does not see one of the hard drive partitions, then the first thing you need to do is go to special menu control and check whether it appears in the corresponding list. If it is there, then it needs to be assigned a letter.

Let's look at the process in order:

The requested information will be instantly displayed on the screen. Must view local disks, and if there is a missing one, then you need to specify a letter.

To do this you need:

To changes made successfully applied, you need to restart your computer. As soon as the operating system boots, check whether the partition is visible, it should appear under the letter you specified.

Creating a new volume

It is likely that when you go to the management menu you will not find the missing area, instead there will be an unallocated part that cannot be assigned a letter; you can only create a new volume:

But at the same time, you will completely lose the files stored on it. Therefore, if you do not value them, then feel free to use this method, in other cases I recommend using the method discussed below.

All processes are analyzed into Windows example 7, but in other versions, Windows XP/8/10 they will be similar.

Creating a new partition

If the first method did not help and the computer still does not see the hard drive partitions, then the problem may be that the OS itself cannot see it due to the loss of the file system, as often happens, but the data on it will still be saved.

In this case, to correct the situation, we will use one very effective tool, namely Acronis program Disk Director. With its help we recognize the disappeared local hard section disk, we will separate a small part from it, from which we will make new area With file system NTFS and then just merge them.

This may seem very difficult to some, but if you stick to it following instructions, which describes in detail what to do in this situation, you can easily cope with this task:

After you create the partition, all that remains is to merge the problematic and new sections using the “Merge” function.

Now you need to save the changes and reboot the system. To do this, you need to enter the BIOS again and return the boot to its original location - from the Hard Disk. After exiting the BIOS, the system will automatically boot into Windows OS. We check the disk partition again, now it should definitely be displayed correctly.

Partition recovery

In almost all cases when it disappears logical partition hard drive, you can return it. To restore we will use the same Acronis Disk Director.
So here's how to do it:

The procedure for restoring information from a partition that the PC has stopped seeing can take a significant amount of time. The duration of the process depends on the amount and volume of data available on the disk. Therefore, you should be prepared for the fact that the computer may work for quite a long time.

We hope that the methods we have listed for solving the problem are easy to implement, and you can use them to fix the problems that have arisen.

Video: how to solve the problem of unallocated space in Windows 10

There are several reasons why the system does not see the hard drive:

To correctly download and install drivers, perform the following manipulations:

1. Load the Windows distribution into the DVD drive tray. After this, disconnect the computer from the power supply.
2. Insert the SATA hard drive and connect it. Turn on your computer.
3. During the installation process, you will need to press the F6 key at the appropriate moment to start the driver installation process. During the normal course of the system installation, a screen will briefly appear indicating that in order for the system to install normally, you must download missing drivers: “Press F6 if you need to install a 3rd party driver.” Try not to miss the moment, otherwise you will have to start all over again.
4. After a while, an interface will appear to load drivers for the SATA controller. Press the S key to continue installation.
5. To download the drivers, you will need disks with installers; this must be found and downloaded in advance on the Internet, on the website of the manufacturer of the motherboard that is installed on your computer.

Data cable fault

In my example I will try to format external hard disk to make it clearer.

The system will ask again whether to format correctly.

It also happens that there is no disk in the drive, but the operating system stubbornly does not see the hard drive.
IN in this case try to log in BIOS settings First Boot Device and set it as first
boot device your HDD.

The computer does not see the SATA hard drive when installing Windows

If your computer does not see the hard drive when installing Windows, then there are two solutions to fix it
this problem. It should be noted that the computer does not see the hard SATA drive, with IDE such problems do not arise.

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. The first step is to integrate individual SATA drivers or, in some cases, entire packages. You can also integrate drivers together with updates.

You can find out exactly what updates and drivers are required on the website of the manufacturer of your motherboard installed on your computer. To find out what kind of motherboard you have, you can right-click on the “My Computer” shortcut and through the drop-down menu go to “Properties”, where this data is indicated. You can also look at this information in the documents that were given to you when you purchased the computer.
It is worth saying that the situation when the system does not see the hard drive is faced large number users, especially when reinstalling Windows. If you also encounter this problem, then it is not necessary to contact a service center or specialists to solve it. You can handle it quite well on your own.

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

In many cases, it will be helpful for you to ask yourself this question. Yes, it can be very difficult to value in rubles something that has not been bought or sold. Possibly, in addition to the cost alternative way To obtain this data, concepts such as nerves, time, memories, work done or upcoming work, and so on will be involved in the assessment. But it’s still worth trying and at least imagining for yourself approximate cost data. This will help you avoid confusion and take the right steps.

2.6. Diagnostics won't hurt anyone

Even if the problem seems simple to you, and the cost of data is low and you hope to save money by solving it yourself, I strongly recommend using

in a specialized company. I think everyone will agree with me that two doctors can treat the same disease differently. And often both will achieve positive results. But no matter which method of treating a particular disease the doctor chooses, the chances of a favorable outcome will be negligible if he made a mistake in determining the disease itself. In the case where the disk is not visible, this also works. Yes, perhaps your skills, computer literacy and good luck will be enough to solve some simple data recovery problems. But isn’t it better to understand for sure that at least the problem is defined correctly? After all, an error in making a diagnosis is dangerous not only because recovery will not give a positive result, but also because further attempts will be complicated and the likelihood of a successful outcome will be reduced. And no matter how optimistic you are about your chances, it will be better to increase them. Moreover, you don’t have to pay for it, since there are enough companies on the market that provide diagnostics for free.

2.7. Making the right decisions

As a result of the diagnosis, you will receive answers to the following questions:

1. What is the nature of the malfunction?
2. Is data recovery possible?
3. How much will the restoration cost?
4. How soon will you receive your data?

The solution to this problem is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. In most cases, users who have installed or reinstalled the operating system encounter this problem. Don’t immediately panic and call service centers to have a specialist come to your home, first try BIOS disable option like AHCI, then try to integrate all the motherboard drivers into your computer's distribution.

If the above does not help, then try to determine how the connector is connected HDD, and how correct. This very device, thanks to which it is possible to connect a hard drive to the motherboard, has only two connectors - black and blue, which should be connected to the hard drive, since it works more stably.

The wonderful times when no hard drives simply existed have long since sunk into oblivion. Development high technology What makes it different from others is that it does not obey general laws, but rushes forward like a stratospheric rocket.

Tape drive mechanisms may have failed more often than modern ones magnetic disks, but the reasons for their breakdowns were much more understandable. Although... what are we saying? No, we are not encouraging everyone to return to Stone Age. God forbid! We simply present some comparisons, which, according to certain parameters, do not always turn out to be in favor of modern technology.

So, your hard drive has broken down or you suspect that the failure lies precisely in it - in the inadequate operation of this complex and obscure device. You are saved if there is another PC nearby that sees its own hard drive. Just swap these two drives and make sure that the other machine recognizes it as working.

If this is the case, then the problem lies in the incorrect settings of your system. If the second computer doesn’t see your unfortunate screw, it means it’s really faulty, and at the very least you need to take it in for repairs. As a maximum, simply throw it away and replace it with a new one if its surface did not contain some critical data.

We will assume that the screw was detected by another computer and the essence of the problem should be looked for in the settings. It happens that the BIOS ( Basic system input-output) does not recognize this or that hardware. In this case, it is usually not recognized by Windows itself. Let's see this using the example of a hard drive.

BIOS does not see the screw

I had such a case, I changed the BIOS settings, rebooted, but the settings remained the same, that is, they did not change. The problem turned out to be shrunken CMOS battery, after replacing it, all my changes took effect.

Another case was even more interesting: when connecting the second hard drive to the system unit, it did not want to be seen in the BIOS and, accordingly, Windows did not see it point-blank, although I had connected it before this hard drive alternately to two more system units and everything was fine there. The problem turned out to be a faulty 350W power supply, it simply did not pull two hard drives simultaneously. After replacing the power supply, the two hard drives worked perfectly together in this system. So keep in mind faulty unit Power supply can be a problem for even one hard drive.