# Hard drive won't show up in my computer/won't let me on it.



## Uber Grim Kvlt (Oct 15, 2008)

I have been having a problem with my computer for the past week. So I restored the C drive back to it's factory state. After doing so, my external hard drive is no longer recognized. It worked just before doing so. It does not appear under "My Computer", and in the disk management it just shows up as "Local Drive". The computer does not assign it a letter. My flash drive still works when I plug it in, and to make sure it wasn't the computer I tried to use the external hard disk on my laptop, but I still get the same problem. In Disk management it still shows that the same amount of space that was on it, so it didn't get wiped. The add/remove hardware detects it. I tried to use windows to update the driver, but it couldn't find anything. Disk management says it is working fine.

My Dad and I found it very strange that Disk management recognizes that it is there but it won't let anyone access it.

I tried uninstalling it, and reconnecting it, but it still won't let me use it.


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## nego-oh-oh (Jan 22, 2006)

the same thing used to happen to me quite frequently

when i had win2000 and xp on different drives on my

computer.my external hard drive would be just fine on

xp, when i shut down xp and booted to win2000 my external

would do exactly as your external is.(this works all the 

time for me,it might not work for you) open windows 

explorer -> right click on where your external hard

should be

((even if it does show up as a "gray rectangle with

with no drive letter"))

left click on PROPERTIES->

left click on tools ->

left click on CHECK NOW ->

check mark both boxes (left click)

left click on start AND let it do it's thing

i really don't know why it happens all the time,

but the fix always works for me.


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## Uber Grim Kvlt (Oct 15, 2008)

Thanks for the reply. I do not have a tools section under properties.


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## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

go back to diskmanagement, where it shows in the bottom right column, right click, then assign a letter to it.


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## krishnasty (May 16, 2008)

i have a USB hard disk, in which some data were apparently lost, without me deleting it..i used the forum help and ran the testdisk program. now,after i restarted my laptop, my disk is seen on the device mmanager but can access thru my computer or explorer..also, in device manager, a question mark comes infront of the "mass storage controller" and "PCI simple communication protocol" in the other devices list.. wil be grateful if u could resolve my problem..
thnx..


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