My WD External 1TB HDD not visible in “My Computer” can be seen in Disk Management but has no Drive letter and cannot change because the option is inactive. The hard drive is almost 50% full but it says 100% free. The pc has windows xp os.
What should I do inorder to access the files in the hdd.
note that when I plug in the hdd in my laptop with windows 10 it works perfectly.
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Hi @DjRalf ,
Kindly refer to the article Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive
- When was the last time it was working fine?
- Have you made any recent changes on the computer?
- What happens when you connect the hard drive to the computer? Do you receive any error message?
Method 1
Refer the articles below and try the steps mentioned, check if it helps.
A computer that is running Windows XP cannot detect a USB flash drive, an Apple iPod, or an external hard disk drive
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925196
Why doesn’t my computer detect my new USB device when I’m running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003?
"USB Device not recognized" error - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn
Method 2
If the above step fails then check if the hard drive is detected in the device manager and disk management.
To open Disk Management
a) From the Start menu, click Run.
b) In the Open box, type diskmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
To open Device manager
- Right–click My Computer, click Manage, and then click Device Manager.
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Hello Amelia,
Thanks for your reply. Below are answers to your 3 questions:-
- it works fine on my laptop with windows 10 and another with mac
- its a job i got somewhere and their pc still on windows xp
- There is no error message. Te hdd can be seen in disk manager but without letter can also be seen in device manager but on in my computer thus cannot access the files in the hdd.
Thanks.
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If the WD External 1TB HDD is using a GPT (GUID Partition Table) then it won’t work with Windows XP.
Window XP 32-Bit only supports MBR Partition Table
Windows XP 64-Bit does support both MBR and GPT
This is likely reason the hard drive works fine in Windows 10 (which supports GPT) and does not work in Windows XP
To find out if it is GPT …
Press your Windows Key + R … then type cmd and then diskpart and then list disk
Look under the Gpt Column … if you see a * next to the disk, then it’s GPT
example:
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Thank you for your response. The HDD shows GPT, is there a way I can convert to MBR without losing the files?
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It is possible to convert from GPT to MBR without data loss.
3rd party software from AOMEI and EaseUS can do it.
But, it’s still highly advised to backup your data in case something goes wrong in the conversion process.
In fact, you should always have a backup of important data no matter what the situation.
Thank you so much for your assistance. Can I get name of one software that can do the job or a link to download.
Thanks,
Google and visit the the two companies websites and look for partition software.
I’ve personally used Aeomi software (but not for GPT > MBR conversion) and the Free Edition works well enough.
Can’t stress enough … make a Backup before you try anything !
If something goes wrong … your data is gone.
Thank you
I would suggest that take your backup and try some 3rd party software like Stellar data recovery or easeus.
2 Likes
How did you manage to fix this? It happens to many of us that an external hard drive suddenly stops showing up, and it can be pretty frustrating. Fortunately, this issue is often solvable with the right steps. I came across this helpful article that offers detailed instructions on how to fix an external hard drive not showing up: https://www.cleverfiles.cоm/howto/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html. The guide covers a variety of solutions, from simple checks like ensuring the cables are connected properly to more advanced steps like adjusting device settings in Device Manager. It’s definitely worth a try if you’re still dealing with the problem
