USB stick or external hard drive not showing up? Windows, Mac and Linux fixes
You plug it in and nothing appears, or Windows offers to format it. Don't agree to that yet. Work out where it's getting stuck first, because some fixes erase the drive.
How far does the drive get?
| What you see | Likely cause | Try |
|---|---|---|
| No light, no sound, nothing anywhere | No power reaching it, a bad cable or a dead port. | Plug straight into the computer, try another port and cable. A 2.5-inch drive on a long or cheap cable, or a front-panel port, can be short of power. A 3.5-inch desktop drive needs its own power adapter. |
| "USB device not recognized" on Windows | The connection is flaky or the USB driver got stuck. | Unplug, restart the computer (a full restart, not sleep), plug in again. In Device Manager, uninstall the device with the yellow warning and unplug and replug so Windows reinstalls it. |
| Shows in Disk Management with no drive letter | Windows didn't assign a letter, or it clashes with a mapped network drive. | Right-click the partition, Change Drive Letter and Paths, Add, and pick a free letter. |
| Shows as Unallocated, RAW, or "Not initialized" | The partition table or file system is damaged, or the drive is brand new and blank. | If it's new and empty, initialise it (GPT) and create a volume. If it has files on it, don't initialise or format: recover first (see below). |
| Windows says "You need to format the disk in drive E: before you can use it" | Windows can't read the file system. Often the stick was pulled out mid-copy, or it's formatted for a Mac (APFS or HFS+) or Linux (ext4). | Click Cancel. Try it on the computer that made it. Otherwise recover the files, then format. |
| Mac: shows in Disk Utility but not on the desktop or in Finder | Finder is set to hide external disks, or the volume isn't mounted. | Finder, Settings: tick External disks under both General and Sidebar. In Disk Utility select the volume and click Mount. |
| Mac: opens but you can't copy anything to it | It's formatted NTFS, which macOS reads but won't write. | Copy the files off, reformat as exFAT, which both Windows and Mac can write. |
| Wrong size, such as a 2 TB stick showing 32 GB, or files corrupt after copying | A fake-capacity stick, or a partition smaller than the drive. | Test it with a tool like H2testw or f3, and return it if it's fake. A cheap 2 TB stick almost always is. |
| Clicking, beeping, or spinning up and down | A failing hard drive, or not enough power. | Try a powered hub or its original power adapter once. If it still clicks, stop using it: every attempt can make it worse. Important files need a data recovery service. |
Check these in order on Windows
- Win+X, Disk Management. Does a disk appear when you plug it in and vanish when you unplug it? Then the hardware is fine and the problem is the letter or the file system.
- If it's not there, open Device Manager and look under Disk drives and Universal Serial Bus controllers for a yellow warning. Uninstall that device and replug.
- Try another port and cable, ideally a port on the back of a desktop. Blue or USB-C ports aren't required for a stick to show up.
- For drives that drop out after a while, turn off USB selective suspend: Control Panel, Power Options, Change plan settings, Change advanced power settings, USB settings.
- Still nothing on any computer? Try it in a TV or a games console. If nothing can see it, the stick or the drive's USB board has likely failed.
On a Mac or Linux
- Mac: Disk Utility, View, Show All Devices. If you see the disk but greyed-out volumes, select one and click Mount, or run First Aid. System Information, USB, shows whether the Mac sees the device at all.
- Linux:
lsblklists drives and partitions, andsudo dmesg -wshows what happens as you plug in. An exFAT stick on an older distribution may need theexfatprogspackage.
Save the files before formatting
Formatting (and "initialising") throws away the map of where your files are. If the drive has things you need, copy them off first with free recovery software such as PhotoRec (photos and videos) or TestDisk (lost partitions), saving the results to a different drive. Only then format it, as exFAT if it moves between Windows and Mac, or NTFS if it only lives on Windows. If you're moving big videos, FAT32 is the one to avoid because it can't hold a file of 4 GB or more.
Related
"The disk is write-protected" · New SSD or internal drive not showing up · "You need to format the disk" · Drive clicking or beeping and not detected · Drive shows up but copies slowly · Which format for a TV, car or console · Mac won't eject the drive · Stick says full but looks empty · External drive read-only on a Mac (NTFS) · SD card not showing up · File too large for the destination file system (FAT32) · Phone not showing up on the PC · Back up phone photos to an external drive · What is a file system? (Wirebook)
Questions
Why is my USB drive not showing up in File Explorer?
Usually it has no drive letter, its file system is unreadable (RAW, or formatted for a Mac), or it isn't getting enough power. Open Disk Management to see which: if the disk is listed, add a drive letter or recover and reformat; if it isn't, try another port and cable.
Should I click Format when Windows asks?
Not if there's anything on the drive you want. Formatting erases the file index. Cancel, try the drive on the computer that made it, or recover the files with software like PhotoRec first.
Why does my external hard drive show up on one computer but not another?
Often power (some ports or laptops supply less), a missing drive letter, or a file system the second computer can't read, such as APFS on Windows or NTFS writing on a Mac. exFAT works on both.
Why does my external drive keep disconnecting?
A worn cable, a hub or front port short of power, or Windows USB selective suspend putting it to sleep. Try a short cable straight into the computer and turn selective suspend off.
How can I tell if a USB stick is fake?
If it shows a huge size for a low price, test it with H2testw (Windows) or f3 (Mac and Linux). They write and read back the whole drive and report the real capacity.
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