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28 July 2023  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
Last update by James Smith at 3 June 2024

Summary
Learn how to resolve the "seagate external hard drive not showing up" issue and explore effective solutions for data loss recovery in this article.



Table of contents

table iconI. What is a Seagate external hard drive, and what are the reasons for it not being recognized?
table iconII. How to solve the problem when Windows 10 cannot recognize the Seagate external hard disk?
seagate external hard drive not showing up

I. What is a Seagate external hard drive, and what are the reasons for it not being recognized?

Seagate external hard disks are popular portable storage devices known for their superior performance among hard disk brands. However, as with any equipment, they can encounter failures or other issues. Typically, you can access the hard disk via a Windows computer, but if your device cannot recognize the Seagate external hard disk, it may be due to the following common reasons:
● The device driver is out of date or damaged. (please check: update driver)
● The USB port is damaged. It is recommended to replace the USB port or reconnect the USB data cable.
● The hard disk has not been initialized.
● The hard disk does not have a drive letter.
● Incompatible file systems: Windows supports FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, and others. If the Seagate external hard disk uses a Mac-exclusive file system, it may not be compatible with Windows. For compatibility with both Windows and Mac, consider formatting it as exFAT.
If your Seagate external hard disk is not recognized, it means the files inside cannot be read, posing a risk of data loss. If the disk is not displayed in the file explorer but is visible in disk management, use professional data recovery software to save the data to another computer before attempting repairs. We recommend using Renee Undeleter. Let’s learn more about this software and how to use it.

II. How to solve the problem when Windows 10 cannot recognize the Seagate external hard disk?

1. Recover lost data with Renee Undeleter

What is Renee Undeleter?
Renee Undeleter is a software designed to restore various data files. When you accidentally delete important files, empty the recycle bin, or format the disk/storage, you can use this tool to retrieve lost data. It includes four functional modules: Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan, and Image Creation, addressing all possible data loss issues comprehensively and conveniently.
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How to use Renee Undeleter?
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Undeleter, select the (Whole Disk Scan) option on the main interface.
Note: Do not install on the disk that needs to restore data, so as not to cause data overwriting.
select whole disk scan in renee undeleter
Data Recovery Function:

  • Fast Partition Scan – Retrieve files lost due to accidental deletion or emptying the recycle bin.
  • Whole Partition Scan – Recover files lost due to inaccessible or formatted partitions.
  • Whole Disk Scan – Analyze partition information and perform a full scan of the entire partition.
  • Image Creation – Create image for a partition to back up its current state.
Step 2: Select the Seagate external hard disk device to be scanned and click (Next).
select a disk to recover in renee undeleter
Step 3: The software will analyze the Seagate external hard disk device. A prompt window may appear asking you to “Select the partition you want to scan.” You can choose the desired partition or scan all partitions, which will take longer.
recover partition with Renee Undeleter
After scanning, you can preview the files. Next, select the files you need to restore, and click the (Recover) button to restore the selected files.
preview files in Renee Undeleter
Step 4: Select the target folder, click (Browse) to select the path to store the file, and then click the (Recover) button to start the file recovery.
Note : Please do not save the recovered files on the original disk to avoid data overwriting. It is recommended to choose another disk to save these recovered files.
recover files from whole disk scan with renee undeleter

2. Change or assign drive letter

If the Seagate external hard disk does not have a drive letter, the system may not recognize the hard disk. The solution is to reassign a drive letter to the unrecognized Seagate hard disk. The specific steps are as follows:
Step 1: Type “computer management” in the “search box” and then click on it.
find computer management
Step 2: Select (Disk Management) from the left pane, and if a partition or volume appears without a drive letter, verify whether it is a Seagate hard drive.
disk management
Step 3: Right-click on the hard disk and select the (Change Drive Letter and Paths) option.
change drive letter in disk management
Step 4: Click (Add) to add a drive letter to the external hard disk.
add a drive letter
Step 5: Select (Assign the following drive letter), choose a letter, and click (OK).
disk Management Change Driver Letter

3. Initialize the external hard drive

If your drive is not initialized, it won’t appear in Windows File Explorer. Right-click the hard disk drive in Disk Management, select Initialize Disk, and follow the prompts. Note that this will erase all data on the Seagate external hard drive.
Specific steps are as follows:
Step 1: Connect the Seagate hard drive to the computer, then press the (Windows+X) keys on the keyboard simultaneously. Then in the pop-up list, select the (Disk Management) option.
open windows disk management
Step 2: Find the (Disk Management) option on the “Computer Management” interface. Right-click the Seagate external hard disk that needs to be initialized, and select the (Initialize Disk) option.
how to initialize disk on windows
Step 3: Select the partition style MBR or GPT and click (OK). If your Seagate external hard drive is 2TB or larger, please choose GPT. If MBR is less than 2TB, you can choose MBR. please check: Features and differences between MBR and GPT.
Step 4: After initializing the Seagate external hard disk, the status of the device will change from “not initialized” to “online”. Right-click on the unallocated space, select (New Simple Volume), and proceed to the next step.
create simple volume for SD card
Step 5: In the New Simple Volume Wizard, choose the volume size and click (Next).
set the volume size in new simple volume wizard
Step 6: Select the drive letter for the external hard disk partition, and then click (Next).
assign a drive letter for the new volume
Step 7: Choose NTFS as the file system and leave the “Allocation Unit Size” at its default value. Assign a name to the partition in the “Volume Label.” After that, select the option “Perform a quick format” and click “Next.“
Note: If the file system of the external hard disk is NTFS, then when the external hard disk is connected to a Mac computer, it can only read but not write, and you need to install paid third-party software to write/modify data. If you need to be compatible with Windows/Mac systems at the same time, then the file system can choose exFAT. Please check the characteristics and differences of each file system.
select file system