All of a sudden, your hard drives, be it internal or external, old or new, are not recognized by your computer. You unplug the cable and restart the computer, yet your hard drive that used to be like a hard drive—now it’s not showing up where it should be.

It happens to all of us: a hard drive can not be detected. It’s devastating because the worst thing that can happen is that your hard drive has failed, which might lead to tragic data loss.

There are multiple reasons that your hard drives can’t be recognized. It can be caused by hardware or software issues. So how to recover data from hard disk which is not detecting? In this article, we will introduce all possible causes and fixes as well as the data recovery tool that can help you solve the problem easily. Just keep reading.

Before moving on to the steps on how to recover data from hard disk which is not detecting with the best data recovery software, let’s take a look at the causes for a not recognized hard disk in general.

Wear & Tear: The data on hard drives is stored magnetically. That’s why internal and external hard drives wear out after a few years. Excessive usage also leads to physical damage, hence your hard disk can not be detected.

Hard Disk Damage: Hard disks are delicate devices. Any improper handling, dropping, water, etc. can cause fatal damage, so your hard disk may not be recognized.

Bad Connection/Power Surge: When your external hard drive can not be detected, it could be that the USB cable is broken. Besides, a power fluctuation can also cause a hard drive crash.

Malware/Virus Infection: Another possibility for hard disks not detected is a malware attack or virus infection, which causes the data on hard disks unreadable.

Lost/Corrupted Partition Tables: When a hard disk’s partition tables are lost and corrupted, the file system stops functioning properly. And in most cases, the hard disk will appear to be blank.

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Now you know all the general causes for a not recognized hard disk, it’s time to see how to fix the issue. When a hard disk can not be detected, the error can take many forms. Here we’ve concluded 6 possible scenarios you may encounter and how to fix them with simple steps.

System Configuration Issue

When a removable/external hard drive can not be recognized on your computer, it can be caused by an incorrect or incomplete system configuration. The most straightforward solution is to format the hard disk to repair the MBR and GPT. Here’s how.

Step 1. Plug your hard disk into the computer. Go to Start > Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the volume of the external hard disk and choose “Format.”

Step 3. Specify the name for the disk, and click “OK” to format the disk.

Now you need to learn how to recover data from an external hard disk which is not detecting. Don’t worry, you can always get your data back with iTop Data Recovery. The software can help you recover a formatted hard drive even without backup!

Windows Prompts “Access is Denied” Problem

Sometimes you might get an “Access is Denied” prompt when the hard disk can not be detected. This is because users didn’t get the necessary permission. To solve the problem, simply get those permissions with the steps below.

Step 1. Go to My Computer > This Computer. Right-click on the disk you can’t access.

Step 2. Click on the Properties > Security > Change. In the new pop-up window, click on the Add button and add a new user.

Step 3. In the Permissions section. Check the box for “Full control” to get access to the hard disk.

Windows Indicates "Unrecognized USB Device"

Another case you might stumble upon is an unrecognized USB device. You may find Windows indicates “Unknown USB device” with an exclamation mark in the Device Manager. You can follow the steps below to fix it.

Step 1. Open Settings and search “Device Manager.”

Step 2. Locate “Universal Serial Bus controllers’’ in the Device Manager, and find the unrecognized item. Right-click on the item and choose “Properties.”

Step 3. A window will open. Choose the Driver tab, then click on the “Update Driver” and “OK.”

System Service Registry Problem

When a hard disk can not be detected, it could be the USB ports are not enabled. To fix the issue, all you have to do is make a simple registry tweak to enable USB ports. Here’s how.

Step 1. Press “Windows+R” to open the Run window. Type in “regedit” and click “OK.”

Step 2. In the Registry Editor window, paste in the command below:

Step 3. Find the “Start” registry. If the value data is 4, change it to 3. Click “OK” and restart the computer.

Insufficient Power Supply/Bad Connection

Have you checked the connection when a hard disk is not showing up? Sometimes the culprit is the insufficient power supply or bad connection(broken USB cable). You can change the connection between the hard disk and the computer to fix it. Here’s how.

Step 1. Check if the cable is tightly connected or broken.

Step 2. If the cable is broken, replace it with a new one and try again.

Step 3. You can try to replug the USB cable to a USB 3.0 or higher port (blue USB port with a lightning mark).

Hard Disk has Bad Sectors

Another possibility for a not detected hard disk is there are too many bad sectors or the partition tables are corrupted, which might lead to data loss. So how to recover data from hard disk which is not detecting? You need to fix the bad sectors/partition tables before recovering lost data.

Here’s how to recover bad sectors in simple steps.

Step 1. Select the target hard disk in “My computer.”

Step 2. Right-click on the disk and choose Properties > Tools > Error checking.

Step 3. Click on the Check tab to scan the drive and recover the bad sectors.

       

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With the fixes above, you know how to fix a hard disk that is not detecting. Please mind that any of the solutions above might cause data loss or data corruption. But don’t fret, you can always get your data back with a qualified data recovery tool, for instance, iTop Data Recovery, the best data recovery software on the block.

Just have a look at the features that make it outstanding.

Easy to use: Designed with an intuitive UI, it takes only two steps point and click to recover hard drive data.

Recover 1000+ File Types: With iTop Data Recovery, you can recover deleted photos, videos, documents, emails, and many more types of files easily.

Support All Storage Devices: Supporting HDD, SSD, USB, SD, CF, and more, iTop Data Recovery allows you to recover any file from any device.

High Success Rate: With a 95% success rate outperforming many competitors, iTop Data Recovery can help you get your data back from any data loss situation!

How to Recover Data from Hard Disk Which is not Detecting with iTop Data Recovery

Step 1. Free download and install iTop Data Recovery on PC.

Step 2. Select the file type and location. Click the Scan button to start scanning lost files.

Step 3. Preview the identified files. Save them to a designated location if they are recoverable.

It can be distressing when a hard disk can not be recognized. Because what lies ahead could be a data loss disaster. So how to recover data from hard disk which is not detecting? This article has introduced all the possible causes of the fixes, just troubleshoot the problem with the guide. Even if the data loss does happen, don’t fret, iTop Data Recovery is here to help. With iTop Recovery software, you can even recover lost files that are not properly backed up. With an intuitive design, even experienced users can pick it up. Just give it a try and get all your data back effortlessly today.