What to Do to Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Showing Up

Part 1: Why Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Showing Up/Recognized?

Are you wondering about why Toshiba external hard drive not showing on my computer? If yes, then we have got an answer. Well, there are times when you connect your Toshiba Hard Drive to the PC and get a message that reads like "Hard Drive Not working" While coming across this error message, you will not be able to view your Toshiba External Hard Drive on your PC. Apart from this, you even hear the connection sound, but when you see your PC's screen, nothing shows up because AutoPlay does not run.

• Absence of drive letter
• Outdated driver
• Virus attack
• Corrupt File System in the External Hard Drive
• Missing important hardware and software updates
• Power failure
• Unsafe ejection
• Partition issues
• Dead USB Port
• Unreadable Disk structure

As you have got to know the reasons behind the Toshiba Hard Drive issue, let's now proceed further to the methods on fixing this issue.

Part 2: How to Fix Toshiba Drive Not Showing Up on PC

Here's a listicle of top and the most advisable methods on fixing Toshiba Drive Not Showing Up on PC issue.

1. Check Toshiba Hard Drive Connection

The first and foremost way to fix Toshiba Hard Drive is by checking the Hard Drive Connection. There are a handful of tips stated below by which you can check the connection between your Toshiba External Hard Drive and PC.

• Connect your Toshiba Hard Drive to another PC
• Use another USB cable to connect Toshiba Hard Disk
• Use the original cable to connect your Hard Drive
• Connect your Hard Drive to another USB Port involving the rear ones on your PC

2. Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Problem with CMD Command

Another way to fix the Toshiba External Hard Drive issue is by using CMD Command. CHKDSK command is the Windows utility that can easily check the integrity of the External Hard Drive and troubleshoot many File System problems like lost clusters, directory errors, and so on.

Refer to the steps below on how you can fix the Toshiba External Hard Drive issue with CMD Command:

• Start with typing "cmd" in the search box and press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.
• Now, right-click on it and choose the "Run as Administrator" option.

• Next, type the "chkdsk *: /f" in the Command prompt Windows and hit the "Enter" key. You can replace * with your Toshiba External Hard Drive letter.

  

Now, you can connect your Toshiba Hard Drive and check if it is now recognized or not.

3. Create a New Partition

There are times when the Toshiba External Hard Drive is not visible in Windows Explorer. However, in case you verify it in the Disk Management, you can see it there. Therefore, to check and repair your External Hard Drive, follow the steps below:

• Initially, in the search bar, enter the "disk management" and open it instantly.

  

• Next, right-click the unallocated space, select the "New Simple Volume" option, and tap on the "Next" button.

  

• Now, you have to select the "Volume Size" and click on the "Next" button again.

  
• At this time, assign the "Toshiba Drive Letter & Path" and again click on the "Next" button to complete the process.
• Now, click on the "Finish" option and wait for a few minutes.

And it's done! You have created a new partition successfully in just a few simple and easy-to-follow steps.

4. Update the Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver

If none of the above-stated methods worked to Fix the Toshiba External Hard Drive issue, then try fixing it by updating the drive driver. Actually, this issue can occur due to the outdated or corrupted hard disk driver; therefore, updating the Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver can work wonders to fix this issue.

Here's what you need to do:

• Connect your Toshiba External Hard Drive to the PC.

• Now, right-click on "My Computer/This PC" and select the "Properties" option from the drop-down list.

  
• Here, tap in the "Device Manager" option and expand the "Disk Drives" option.
• Next, locate and make the right-click on the problematic Toshiba Hard Drive and choose the "Update Driver" option from the list.

• Now, click on the "Search automatically for driver software" option and wait till the drive driver gets updated.

  
• Restart your PC and try reconnecting Toshiba External Hard Drive to your PC.

You can now check if it shows up or not.

5. Change the Toshiba Drive Letter

Changing the Toshiba Drive Letter can also help you fix Toshiba external hard drive not recognized windows 10 issue on your PC. Here's how this method works:

• Go to "My Computer/This PC," right-click on it, and select "Manage"> "Disk Management."

• Now, right-click the Volume on your Toshiba External Hard Drive and choose the "Change Drive Letter and paths" option.

  
• Next, in the new windows, click on the "Change" button.
• Here, assign a new drive letter to your Toshiba External Hard Drive and hit the "OK" button.

That's all! You have successfully changed the Toshiba Drive letter. You can now check if the issue still persists or not.

6. Boot PC in Safe Mode

A lot of times, you may not be able to find the exact reason why Toshiba external drive not showing up. Thus, in this situation, you can consider rebooting the computer in the Safe Mode. By doing so, you will be able to fix the issue of your hard drive. Here are the steps to reboot the PC in the Safe Mode:

• Open the “Settings” of your computer.
• Tap on the “Update & Security” option.

• Click on the “Recovery” option from the left pane.

  

• Tap on the “Advanced startup” and tap on the “Restart now” option.

  
• It will restart your computer instantly, and a startup settings screen will appear.

• Press the “F4” key, and the computer will go into the Safe Mode.

  

Finally, connect your Toshiba hard drive again to the computer and check whether it is recognized by the system or not.

7. Check The Power Management for USB Controllers

Often times USB devices may not work, but in worst scenarios, an entire USB hub may stop working. Thus, to check the power management for the USB controllers, follow the below-listed steps:

• Switch on your computer and click on the “Start” option.
• Click on the “Run” option and type the “devmgmt.MSC” command in the box.

• In the “Device Manager” window, tap on the “Universal Serial Bus Controllers” option.

  
• Now, right-click on the USB Root Hub.
• From the provided options, click on the “Properties” option.

• Click on the “Power Management” option and disable the “Allow the Computer to Turn Off This Device to Save Power” option.

  

Hopefully, the issue of the Toshiba external hard drive not showing up will be resolved with this method.

8. Run Windows Troubleshooter

In a window, there are several troubleshooters that are particularly designed to fix the issues of the PC. Thus, in order to fix Toshiba external hard drive not recognized windows 10, you can consider running the troubleshooter. Here are the instructions to run the troubleshooter in Windows:

• Click on the “Troubleshoot Settings” option by searching it in the search bar.

• Click on the “Hardware and Devices” option.

  
• Tap “Next” to fix the issue.

Wait for a few minutes for the detection process to finish. You will see a list of errors found during the detection. Tap next after choosing the issue you want to resolve.

9. Initialize Toshiba External Hard Drive

Initializing a hard drive deletes everything stored on it. Once done, you can format the drive and then continue storing files on it. However, the hard drive sometimes doesn’t initialize due to connection problems, MBR damage, bad blocks, etc. To initialize your Toshiba hard drive, follow these instructions:

• Launch the “Disk Management” window.

• Right-click on the non-initialized hard drive and choose the “Initialize disk” option.

  

• Chose the desired partition style and tap on the “Ok” option to continue.

  

10. Enable Legacy USB Support

If you're still facing the issue of the Toshiba external hard drive not showing in my computer, then it can be because of Legacy USB Support Disabled. Once you enable it, you can check if the problem has been solved or not. Here’s what you need to do to enable it:

• Reboot your PC and enter the “BIOS utility” by clicking the corresponding button.
• Tap on the “Advanced” tab and select the USB configuration.

• Tap on the “Legacy USB Support” option and make it “Enabled.”

  
• Now, exit from the page and make sure to save the changes you made.

If it doesn’t solve the issue of your hard drive, then consider trying the next method.

11. Turn On The USB Hub & Show All Hidden Devices

When the USB selective suspend mode is turned on the PC, it somehow interrupts the individual port without causing any effect to other drives. To switch on the USB hub, follow the below-listed steps:

• Open “Power plan” from the search bar.

• Select the “Change plan settings” option.

  

• Tap on the “Change the advanced power settings.”

  
• Click on the “USB settings” option and then tap on the “USB selective suspend setting.”

• Check if it is enabled, then click on the “Disabled” option.

  
• Tap on the “Apply” option and then click on the “OK” option.
• If the device is still not recognized, open the Device Manager window and go to the “View” tab.

• Click on the “Show hidden devices” option.

  

Pro Tips: Recover Data from Toshiba External Hard Drive

During the implementation of the methods listed above for fixing the issue of Toshiba external hard drive not detected, if you have ended up losing your data, then you would need to use data recovery software. Undoubtedly, losing precious photos, videos, audio, and other files is an annoying situation, but if you use reliable software, then you can recover all the deleted or lost files.

Regardless of the factors causing Toshiba external hard drive not working, you can restore its data with Tenorshare 4DDiG data recovery software. It comes with a scan and preview option, which you can use to restore particular files with great ease. Moreover, you don’t require any technical background to be able to use this software. To begin using Tenorshare 4DDiG, download its latest version on your PC or Mac from its official website. Once done, follow the below-listed steps:

• Install and launch the Tenorshare 4DDiG Windows Data Recovery software on your PC. Attach the external hard disk to the computer and select it. Click on the “Start” option to start scanning data in the target drive.

  

• Once the scanning is done, all the lost data will be displayed. The progress bar will show you the accomplished task.

  

• Select the desired files and preview them. Then, click on the “Recover” option, a dialog box will appear, select the location where you want to restore the files. Finally, click on the “Ok” option.

  

That’s it. All the lost data from the external hard drive will retrieve in your PC within a few minutes. Isn’t it fast?

The Bottom Line

Using an external hard drive certainly benefits as it allows you to expand the storage space. But due to the above-mentioned reasons, sometimes it becomes inaccessible. However, with all the methods stated above, the issue of Toshiba external hard drive not showing up will be resolved and as well as Toshiba SSD not showing up on computer. You can follow any method to get the desired result, but if you want an advanced solution, then we highly recommend Tenorshare 4DDiG Hard Drive Data Recovery. It is the top-notch hard drive data recovery software that you will ever come across.