Fixed: USB Flash Drive not Showing Up in
Windows 10/8/7
USB Drive Not Showing Up in Windows
"I’ve tried all the methods I can think of to connect this USB flash drive to my PC, but my computer still does not show up any signals of the drive. All of my projects from this semester are stored on the drive, how can I get to my files?!”
Many users, including you now, have found their USB flash drive or external hard drive not showing up on their Windows PC. Before indicating the possible reasons for this issue, I'd like to know what your specific situation is. Generally, when you say your USB drive is showing up, you mean it disappears from File Explorer. Is your USB drive not showing up in Windows File Explorer but can be seen in Disk Management? Or Is it missing from both Windows File Explorer and Disk Management? To make it clear, go to "This PC" > "Manage" > "Disk Management" and check whether your USB drive shows up. Specify your situation and choose the corresponding tips to follow:
Since there are many reasons why a USB will not be detected by a PC, we offer a number of solutions. Follow these methods and get your missing USB drive back without losing any data. If you are a Mac user, having the same problem, follow this page to fix USB flash drive not showing up on Mac with ease.
Fixes for USB Drive Not Showing Up in Windows 10 File Explorer Only
If your USB drive shows up in Disk Management, it means Windows can still detect your drive. But due to some reasons, the USB cannot show up in File Explorer as expected. The reasons are:
- USB driver issues
- Drive letter conflicts
- File system errors
The solutions vary based on the causes but all detailed below. Follow to fix your problematic USB with ease.
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Fix 1. Update USB Driver | Connect the USB flash drive or external hard drive to PC, right-click on...Full steps |
| Fix 2. Reinstall Disk Driver | Right-click "This PC" and choose "Properties" > "Devices Manager". Right-click the volume...Full steps |
| Fix 3. Recover USB Data | Connect the USB flash drive to your PC and run USB data recovery software...Full steps |
| Fix 4. Resolve Drive Letter Conflicts | TGo to "This PC", right-click it and choose "Manage" > "Disk Management"...Full steps |
| Fix 5. Fix File System Errors | Right-click on the "Start" icon > Type computer management...Full steps |
Situation 1. USB Drive Not Showing Up Due to USB Driver Issues
If there is something wrong with your USB driver, the USB drive will not show up in Windows 10 File Explorer and may show up as unallocated space under Disk Management. When your USB flash drive or USB external hard drive is unallocated space because of driver errors, follow the methods below to make it usable again.
Method 1. Update USB Drive Driver
Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive or external hard drive to PC, right-click on "This PC" (in Windows 10) and choose "Properties".
Step 2. Click "Device Manager" then expand “Disk drives”. Find and right-click the problematic USB drive and select "Update driver"
Step 3. Click "automatically search for driver software online".
Step 4. Wait for the driver to be updated, then reboot your computer. Afterward, you can try to reconnect your USB drive to PC and check whether the USB drive shows up or not.
This method can also be helpful in solving disk-related issues like "The system cannot find the file specified"
Method 2. Reinstall Disk Driver for USB Drive to Make It Show Up on PC Again
Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Properties" > "Devices Manager".
Step 2. Click on "Disk drives", right-click on your USB drive that is not showing up in Windows 10 and choose "Uninstall device". (Make sure you have selected the correct USB device.)
Step 3. In the prompt asking you to confirm the removal, click "OK". (Wait patiently and let the process finish. If it takes too long, you can remove the USB flash drive from the PC.)
Step 4. Restart your computer and reconnect the USB flash drive/external hard drive to the PC. After the computer restarts, the driver will be automatically installed.
Method 3. Recover Data and Create New Partitions
If your USB still won't show up in Windows 10 and show up as unallocated space in Disk Management after updating or reinstalling the driver, you are recommended to recover data from your USB drive and then create new partition to make it ready for data storage.
If the USB shows up in Disk Management, but you’re unable to open the drive. It is time to use recovery software to get back your data. To recover files from unallocated space, you can use the hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. EaseUS data recovery software will help you recover files from your USB drive that shows up as unallocated effectively. It allows you to restore data from an inaccessible, RAW, or formatted USB drive and other storage devices with a few simple clicks. You can download it now and follow the guidance provided below to restore data from your USB flash drive easily.
Generally, unallocated space will show up as lost partition in EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Select the correct partition and then start the scanning process.
To recover data fro
USB Drive Not Showing Up in Windows
"I’ve tried all the methods I can think of to connect this USB flash drive to my PC, but my computer still does not show up any signals of the drive. All of my projects from this semester are stored on the drive, how can I get to my files?!”
Many users, including you now, have found their USB flash drive or external hard drive not showing up on their Windows PC. Before indicating the possible reasons for this issue, I'd like to know what your specific situation is. Generally, when you say your USB drive is showing up, you mean it disappears from File Explorer. Is your USB drive not showing up in Windows File Explorer but can be seen in Disk Management? Or Is it missing from both Windows File Explorer and Disk Management? To make it clear, go to "This PC" > "Manage" > "Disk Management" and check whether your USB drive shows up. Specify your situation and choose the corresponding tips to follow:
Since there are many reasons why a USB will not be detected by a PC, we offer a number of solutions. Follow these methods and get your missing USB drive back without losing any data. If you are a Mac user, having the same problem, follow this page to fix USB flash drive not showing up on Mac with ease.
Fixes for USB Drive Not Showing Up in Windows 10 File Explorer Only
If your USB drive shows up in Disk Management, it means Windows can still detect your drive. But due to some reasons, the USB cannot show up in File Explorer as expected. The reasons are:
- USB driver issues
- Drive letter conflicts
- File system errors
The solutions vary based on the causes but all detailed below. Follow to fix your problematic USB with ease.
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Fix 1. Update USB Driver | Connect the USB flash drive or external hard drive to PC, right-click on...Full steps |
| Fix 2. Reinstall Disk Driver | Right-click "This PC" and choose "Properties" > "Devices Manager". Right-click the volume...Full steps |
| Fix 3. Recover USB Data | Connect the USB flash drive to your PC and run USB data recovery software...Full steps |
| Fix 4. Resolve Drive Letter Conflicts | TGo to "This PC", right-click it and choose "Manage" > "Disk Management"...Full steps |
| Fix 5. Fix File System Errors | Right-click on the "Start" icon > Type computer management...Full steps |
Situation 1. USB Drive Not Showing Up Due to USB Driver Issues
If there is something wrong with your USB driver, the USB drive will not show up in Windows 10 File Explorer and may show up as unallocated space under Disk Management. When your USB flash drive or USB external hard drive is unallocated space because of driver errors, follow the methods below to make it usable again.
Method 1. Update USB Drive Driver
Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive or external hard drive to PC, right-click on "This PC" (in Windows 10) and choose "Properties".
Step 2. Click "Device Manager" then expand “Disk drives”. Find and right-click the problematic USB drive and select "Update driver"
Step 3. Click "automatically search for driver software online".
Step 4. Wait for the driver to be updated, then reboot your computer. Afterward, you can try to reconnect your USB drive to PC and check whether the USB drive shows up or not.
This method can also be helpful in solving disk-related issues like "The system cannot find the file specified"
Method 2. Reinstall Disk Driver for USB Drive to Make It Show Up on PC Again
Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Properties" > "Devices Manager".
Step 2. Click on "Disk drives", right-click on your USB drive that is not showing up in Windows 10 and choose "Uninstall device". (Make sure you have selected the correct USB device.)
Step 3. In the prompt asking you to confirm the removal, click "OK". (Wait patiently and let the process finish. If it takes too long, you can remove the USB flash drive from the PC.)
Step 4. Restart your computer and reconnect the USB flash drive/external hard drive to the PC. After the computer restarts, the driver will be automatically installed.
Method 3. Recover Data and Create New Partitions
If your USB still won't show up in Windows 10 and show up as unallocated space in Disk Management after updating or reinstalling the driver, you are recommended to recover data from your USB drive and then create new partition to make it ready for data storage.
If the USB shows up in Disk Management, but you’re unable to open the drive. It is time to use recovery software to get back your data. To recover files from unallocated space, you can use the hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. EaseUS data recovery software will help you recover files from your USB drive that shows up as unallocated effectively. It allows you to restore data from an inaccessible, RAW, or formatted USB drive and other storage devices with a few simple clicks. You can download it now and follow the guidance provided below to restore data from your USB flash drive easily.
Generally, unallocated space will show up as lost partition in EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Select the correct partition and then start the scanning process.
Step 1. Run USB data recovery software.
Connect the USB flash drive to your computer and launch EaseUS USB data recovery software on your PC. Select your USB drive which marks as a removable disk, and click "Scan" to start finding your lost files.
Step 2. Scan all lost files from USB.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will thoroughly scan your USB flash drive and find all your lost data on it. After the scanning process, use the Filter feature to filter a specific file type. You can check and preview found USB files in this program.
Step 3. Restore all lost files from USB.
A double-click will allow you to preview the file results. Choose the target files and click "Recover" to save them to a secure location on your PC or other external storage devices.
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