How to fix laptop that does not recognize hard drive, external hard drive

The laptop does not receive a hard drive, which affects the use of your laptop for work, study and entertainment. So today, Tnhelearning.edu.vn will show you how to fix a laptop that doesn’t recognize a hard drive, a portable hard drive in detail!

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Cause, how to fix laptop not recognizing hard drive

If the laptop does not recognize the hard drive, then there are most likely some common causes:

Dusty contact pins

The contact pins on the hard drive are dusty due to not being cleaned periodically (or have been used for too long) which is the cause of the laptop not receiving the hard drive.

How to fix : You need to remove the hard drive from the laptop to check, then use a specialized tool to clean the contacts of the hard drive.

In addition, you can also clean the laptop periodically every 6 – 9 months to check the condition of the machine, including the hard drive to minimize the situation where the laptop does not recognize the hard drive.

Virus attack hard drive

Virus attack from malicious software that you accidentally install on your computer, or right-clicking on links that contain strange files, leading to viruses that have the opportunity to enter your laptop, are all causes of computer problems. laptop does not receive hard drive.

How to fix : You conduct a virus scan of the entire hard drive through the anti-virus program pre-installed in the Boot disk. After that, you remove the Boot disk, then restart the laptop to see if the device has received the hard drive?

Moreover, to avoid viruses from entering the hard drive, it is best to install anti-virus software on your laptop to minimize the situation of malicious codes that damage files or damage your data when using your computer.

Wrong BIOS mode setting

In case your laptop often does not boot up, does not recognize the hard drive or has a blue screen error, then the computer may be set to the wrong BIOS mode.

How to fix : You can follow the following procedure to check and reset BIOS mode by:

Step 1 : Access the BIOS by pressing the laptop power button , then press the F2 key.

See more details on how to enter the BIOS of other laptops here.

Step 2 : When the BIOS interface appears, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select Storage > select Storage options .

Step 3 : In the Storage options window, the SATA Emulation section appears with 2 IDE and AHCI modes:

• IDE : is the laptop compatibility mode with old software.
• AHCI : is a new mode developed by Intel, with higher data transmission speed.

If you are in IDE mode, then switch back to AHDI mode. After that, you save the BIOS settings , then restart the laptop to check.

Bad hard drive (bad sectors)

A damaged hard drive can affect an area or the entire area on the hard drive, from which you cannot operate on the computer because the hard drive is no longer able to write and read data.

How to fix : You need to use software (like HDD Regenerator) to check the hard drive status again. After identifying a bad sector error, you need to copy the data currently contained on the hard drive to another device to avoid data loss.

Next, you reset the hard drive and reinstall the software. If there is a repeat of the hard drive failure, it’s best to replace it with a new one!

Rotating shaft, reading disc damaged

When the laptop makes noise, it may be from the hard drive because it has been used for too long or the spindle, the hard drive’s disk has a problem – this is also the reason why the laptop does not recognize the hard drive.

How to fix : Please check the hard drive and repair the hard drive’s spindle (if possible), otherwise, buy a new hard drive to fix this situation.

Cause, how to fix laptop not recognizing external hard drive

In case the laptop does not recognize the external hard drive, it is most likely due to some of the following common reasons:

The hard drive has not been assigned an activation name

When the external hard drive has not been assigned an activation name, it will make your laptop unable to recognize that hard drive.

How to fix it : Try performing the procedure to fix this situation by:

Step 1 : Right-click on the item My Computer (This PC) on the laptop screen, select Manage .

Step 2 : At this point, the Computer Manage window appears, select Disk Management > right-click on the hard drive you want to install the name > select Change Drive Letter and Paths .

Step 3 : When a new window appears, select Change > select Hard drive name in letters from A – Z. You need to name it so that it does not match the drives installed in the laptop. Finally, press the OK button to complete the process of naming the external hard drive.

Unpartitioned hard drive

An unpartitioned external hard drive can also be the cause of the laptop not recognizing the hard drive when you plug it in.

How to fix : Right-click My Computer > select Manage > select Disk Management > right-click on the hard drive you want to partition to select Shrink Volume .

In case, you still can’t fix this situation, then reformat the hard drive by: Go to Disk Management > right-click on the removable drive partition and select Format > proceed to reformat the NTFS standard.

Damaged connection cable

Usually, after a long period of use, the connection cable (especially the cable end) of the external hard drive is damaged when you attach it to the laptop. This also makes the laptop unable to recognize the external hard drive.

Solution : You need to replace the connection cable with a new one.

Connector pins are dirty

With the connector on the external hard drive being dirty, it will make the laptop unable to recognize the hard drive when you attach it to the device.

How to fix : You can use an eraser or soft cloth (microfiber type) to remove dirt stains that are clinging to the connector pins of the hard drive.

Hopefully, the above solutions will help you handle the situation where the laptop does not recognize the hard drive, even the laptop does not recognize the external hard drive! Good luck.