Sometimes, a computer drive is missing suddenly. Get to know the reasons and solutions to solve hard drive not showing up in this article.
“My D drive is completely missing from my computer and I can’t find it. It’s not on my computer and when I do disk cleanup it doesn't show there either. Does anyone know what can be the problem with my computer?”
Are you going through the situation described above? The computer drive is suddenly missing in File Explorer. D drive disappearing is a common problem when using Windows computers. Usually, computer drive missing is frequently associated with Windows updates.
When the computer drive is missing on your Windows PC, you couldn’t access and store data. It means the data in the missing partitions will be lost. The primary problem is to solve the partitions and data recovery. This post explains the reasons why the hard drive is not showing up and solutions to recover partitions and data in the computer drive.
Users store important data in the computer hard drive, therefore, if the hard drive does not show up, it means the all of the data may be lost forever. If you recently upgraded the Windows version, it may cause the hard drive not to show up. The computer drive missing is an unexpected issue, because there are various reasons for computer drive missing.
Those factors may cause the hard drive to keep disappearing, C drive missing, D drive missing, or only C drive is showing in Windows computers. There are some other reasons for the hard drive not showing up. Whatever, you could take the methods listed below to recover your partitions and data.
If you encounter computer drive missing and want to fix it, before using the methods here to restore a computer drive in Windows 11/10, you could check the hard drive connection. The connection between the hard drive and the computer could be the reason of computer drive missing.
You could try to unplug the hard drive or USB drive and connect it to another Windows computer to check whether the connection is the reason for the computer drive missing. If not, learn about the other ways in the following part to solve computer drive missing or hard drive not showing up.
If you want to restore deleted or lost partitions without losing data, to make lost partition recovery easier, professional partition recovery software could be the best method to recover covered computer drive.
There are many partition recovery software available, but AOMEI Partition Assistant is the most recommended. It provides professional features to recover computer drives at a high rate.
Fast Search: scan the first sector of each partition on the selected disk in order to find out the deleted or lost partition quickly. (Recommended)
It offers a simple and easy-to-use user interface. Anyone could quickly learn how to use it to recover deleted or missing partitions on Windows 11, 10, 8, 8.1, 7, XP, or Vista. If you're using Windows Server, you can use the Server edition. Follow the steps below to restore lost partitions via AOMEI Partition Assistant. Download the demo version to use.
Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Choose Recover > Partition Recovery on the top menu. Choose the missing drive and press Next.
Step 2. Select a search method. Fast Search or Full Search. It’s recommended to choose Fast Search because it saves a lot of time.
Step 3. The tool will display all lost or deleted partitions on the hard disk. You could select the deleted partition you want to recover click “Proceed” to start recovering. When it is completed, click “Finish”. You will see the “Congratulations” page. You could go to Windows File Explorer to access the missing partitions.
When you find a computer drive is missing in File Explorer, you could open Disk Management to see whether the partitions still exist.
If the partitions in Disk Management are shown unallocated, the drive letter may be lost during the Windows update. In this case, reassigning a drive letter to those missing partitions could solve the hard drive missing. Here are the steps to changing drive letters.
Step 1. Right-click the Start menu and select Disk Management.
Step 2. Locate the partitions which are not shown in File Explorer. Right-click the partition and choose “Change Drive Letter and Paths”.
Step 3. Click "Add" to open the "Add Drive Letter or Path". Select "Assign the following drive letter" and an available drive letter to name the partition. Restart your computer to check whether the computer drive is missing or not.
If your hard drive not showing up, you can go to This PC page on your computer. Then use the Rescan Disks feature in Computer Management to find lost drives.
Step 1. Right-click on This PC on your desktop, and select the Manage option.
Step 2. In the Computer Management window, please select Action > Rescan Disks in turn.
Sometimes, your computer drive gets missing due to an outdated drive driver. Thus, you can go to update it and see if it works.
Step 1. Navigate to This PC > Manage > System Tools > Device Manager > Disk Drives.
Step 2. Expand Disk drives, right-click missing hard disk, and select Update driver.
If you have created system restore points regularly on the computer, you can get your missing drive back in an easy way,
Step 1. Input system restore in the Windows Search box. Choose "Create a restore point" from the list.
Step 2. Select "System Restore" to start. Choose the correct system point for restoring. It will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes.
Once you encounter a computer drive missing issue, data loss can be a big trouble. It is advisable for you to take action to protect data better. For this, you can consider making regular backups of data on the computer drive.
Provided by AOMEI Tech as well, AOMEI Backupper is a professional backup tool for computer data. You can enjoy many features in it, such as File Backup, File Sync, Schedule Backup, Incremental Backup, and more.
It is common that a computer drive missing after a Windows 11/10 update. How can you locate a missing D or C drive without losing data? This article discusses the two most practical solutions to this issue. Choose the one that is best for you based on your situation. AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is the best way to recover lost, deleted, or missing partitions without losing data if the data is not overwritten by new operations. To keep your partitions and data safe, it's recommended to use free backup software-AOMEI Backupper to back up, restore and clone vital data and partitions.