How to fix storage drive not showing on File Explorer on Windows 11
When one of the drives doesn’t appear in File Explorer, you can try these troubleshooting steps on Windows 11 to resolve the issue.
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OnWindows 11, the system can automatically recognize and set up most storage drives, including hard disk drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD), and external USB hard drives (as well as flash drives). However, if the hard drive doesn’t show on File Explorer, you will have to perform different troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.
For instance, if File Explorer fails to list one of the hard drives, it could be a physical connection problem or missing configuration. You could be trying to set up a drive from another device, and depending on the configuration, it may not appear on your computer. The partition could have gotten corrupted, or it was never configured in the first place.
Whatever the issue might be, Windows 11 provides the tools to troubleshoot virtually any problem to make the drive accessible through the Settings app, Disk Management, Device Manager, and Command Prompt.
In thishow-to guide, I will walk you through the steps to troubleshoot and fix (most) problems causing File Explorer not to show a specific hard drive on Windows 11.
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via physical troubleshooting
The system may not be able to show a particular drive on File Explorer for many reasons, and before you start changing settings, it’s recommended to check the physical connection with the storage:
After checking for physical problems, you can proceed to fix the most common problem preventing File Explorer from showing a hard drive on Windows 11.
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via Device Manager
It doesn’t happen often, but the hard drive could be disabled, which can be quickly resolved using Device Manager.
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To enable a storage drive from Device Manager, use these steps:
After completing the steps, the drive should appear on File Explorer.
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via Disk Management
On virtually any version of Windows, some requirements need to be met for a drive to appear on File Explorer. First, the storage must be online and initialized. Also, it has to have a partition and a drive letter assigned, or it should be mounted as a folder.
If you have to configure the hard drive, you can do this from the Disk Management app.
Change drive to online
To bring the drive online on Windows 11, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the drive and data should now be accessible from File Explorer.
In the case that the storage was offline and never configured, continue with the steps below to initialize it.
Initialize new drive
To initialize a hard drive on Windows 11, use these steps:
After completing the steps, this process will wipe out the drive’s contents and prepare it to be formatted if the drive was never initialized.
Configure drive letter
When the hard drive is online and initialized and does not appear in the system, it could be for two reasons: the storage device does not include a drive letter, or if it was configured to another computer, the system may be trying to assign the same drive letter already assigned to another device.
To assign a drive letter on Windows 11, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, the data should now be accessible on Windows 11.
Configure new partition
If the drive is online and initialized, it may not have a partition. You can resolve this issue by creating and formatting a partition and assigning a letter.
To configure a hard drive to appear on File Explorer, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the hard drive should be accessible from File Explorer on Windows 11.
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via Settings app
The “Disks & Volumes” settings page works similarly to the “Disk Management” app. The difference is that the modern version of the experience doesn’t have every option, as the legacy version and workflow are slightly different.
Initialize new drive
To initialize a hard drive through the Settings app, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, this action will delete everything from the drive and make the storage ready to store a new partition.
Create new partition
To create a new partition on the drive, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the drive should appear on File Explorer.
Change drive to online
You can only bring the drive online if the device was previously configured on the same computer.
To bring a drive online from the Settings app, use the following steps:
After you complete the steps, the hard drive should be accessible from the “This PC” page on File Explorer.
Configure drive letter
To assign a drive letter to a drive to make the storage available on Windows 11, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the computer’s drive data should be accessible using File Explorer.
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via driver update
If the problem is related to a device driver, you should reinstall or update the driver to the latest version to resolve the issue.
Reinstall storage driver
To reinstall the storage driver on Windows 11, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the system should reinstall the driver automatically, and you should now be able to access the data on the drive from File Explorer.
Update storage driver
To update the storage driver, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, the driver will download and install it on the computer to make the storage accessible.
It’s important to note that it could also be a problem with storage firmware. If so, you must check your manufacturer support website to download their tool to update the hard drive. (This is only recommended if a known issue and a new firmware update becomes available to resolve the problem.)
How to fix missing storage on File Explorer via Command Prompt
If, after trying the above recommendations, it’s still not possible to access the storage, you can use the DiskPart command tool to completely clean the drive.
To use DiskPart with Command Prompt to clean a drive, use these steps:
In the command, change"D"for another drive letter not already in use.
Once you complete the steps, the drive will be formatted with the specified settings, and it should now appear in File Explorer and across applications.
More resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
