Why my external hard drive not showing up windows 11 file explorer?

In fact, this is a common issue for brand new drives. One quick fix is to run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter if the external hard drive not showing up windows 11 file explorer. You can also apply the same trick for Windows 10 PC.

The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter is a built-in Windows tool that helps detect and fix issues with hardware connected to your computer like USB drives, printers, or external hard drives. Though Microsoft has hidden it in newer versions of Windows 10 and 11, you can still launch it manually.

What It Can Fix

1. External hard drive not recognized
2. USB devices not working properly
3. Hardware driver errors
4. Device connection problems

How to Use It on Windows 11

1. Press Windows + R to open Run.

2. Type the following and press Enter:

msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic

3. The Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter window will open.

4. Click Next to start the scan.

5. Wait while Windows checks for hardware problems. If any issues are found, follow the on-screen instructions to fix them.

Tips

Make sure your external drive is connected before running the troubleshooter.

If the tool finds no problems, it may still be worth checking Disk Management or Device Manager manually.