Why Is My D Drive Not Showing Up and How to Recover Data?

Besides the local disk C drive, the D drive is another primary drive that users often use. But some users said their D drives disappeared from File Explorer or not showing up in File Explorer. So they have no way to access their data saved on the D drive.

If it happens to be your case, you might want to know:

• Why is D drive not showing up?
• How to fix the D drive not showing up or how do I get my D drive back on my computer?
• How to recover D drive data in Windows 10/11 PCs?

Are you bothered by these issues? Please read further to find the corresponding answer.

Part 1. Why is my D drive not showing up?

Your Windows OS is likely to recognize your disappeared D drive as unallocated when your D drive not showing up in File Explorer. There’re several potential reasons behind the missing D drive.

1️⃣ The D drive is hidden: In some cases, security enhancements, alterations in the configuration, or changes to the PC’s settings can make your D drive become hidden.

2️⃣ Windows update issues: To some degree, an OS upgrade can change PC’s settings and configurations. After upgrading, it can cause files missing after Windows 10 updates or your computer cannot recognize the D drive. So your D drive not showing up in File Explorer.

3️⃣ Unassigned drive letter: The letter assignment is a procedure of assigning alphabetical IDs to volumes. If there’s no drive letter, your D drive is not accessible access is denied because the Windows OS cannot recognize your D drive.

4️⃣ Outdated or corrupted device driver: An outdated device driver can slow down hard drives’ performance, resulting in your D drive not showing up in File Explorer.

5️⃣ Accidental deletion: Sometimes, accidental deletion is inevitable during computer management. After accidentally deleting the D drive, there’s no sign of your D drive in File Explorer.

6️⃣ Physical damage: Your D drive might not show up in Windows File Explorer because it could be physically damaged due to things such as power outages or liquid.

Part 2. How to Fix the D drive not showing up?

Let’s perform how to fix the D drive not showing up via the following methods.

Fix 1. Rescan disks to reappear your D drive

If your D drive is not deleted from your Windows, you can try to reappear your D drive by rescanning disks via Computer Management.

Step 1. Press Win + X and click Computer Management to open it.

Step 2. Click Action > Rescan disks to check if the D drive is accessible or not.

Fix 2. Assign/Change drive letter to show up your D drive

As mentioned above, a missing drive letter also can cause your D drive not showing up in File Explorer because Windows OS cannot detect the unlettered D drive.

Please open Disk Management to see if your local D drive is unlettered or not because Disk Management displays each drive on your PC and all partitions for each drive. If it happens to be your case, you can assign or change a drive letter with the following steps.

Notes:✎...

This Disk Management utility also can help you recover hidden partitions in Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11.

Step 1. Press Win + X and click Disk Management to open it.

Step 2. Right-click on your invisible D drive > select Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Step 3. Select “Add” to assign a new drive letter to your unlettered D drive.

Step 4. Select the “Assign the following drive letter” option. Please ensure your chosen drive letter is different from all the existing drive letters.

Fix 3. Update your D drive device driver

An outdated D drive device driver is also blamed for the D drive not showing up. When your Toshiba external hard drive is not showing up, you can also update its device driver to solve this issue.

Step 1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager to open it.

Step 2. Expand Disk Drives > right-click on your D drive > select Update driver.

Step 3. Select the “Search automatically for drivers” option.

Fix 4. Recover deleted/missing D drive via partition recovery software

If you’ve mistakenly deleted the D drive, this partition will become an unallocated space. Since Windows operating systems cannot read or write data in this space, it may be one of the possible reasons why your D drive not showing up.

In this case, you need to recover the deleted D drive via powerful partition management software like AOMEI Partition Recovery Wizard. This free software even can recover the deleted or lost D drive with data on it as there’s no overwritten data.

★Other highlights of AOMEI Partition Recovery Wizard:

Support disk formatting, partition merge, partition creation, partition resize, etc.

Perform disk conversion between MBR and GPT, Windows OS migration, etc.

Support Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP (32/64-bit) computers..

Step 1. Install and launch its demo version on your Windows > click Partition Recovery Wizard > select the disk that contains your needed D drive > click Next.

Step 2. Select Fast Search > click Next to find your deleted or lost D drive quickly.

Step 3. After scanning, select your recoverable D drive > click Proceed.

After the partition recovery process, you’ll receive a Congratulations message. Please click “Finish” to exit this window.

Part 3. How to recover D drive data in Windows 10/11?

However, if you cannot see your files on the D drive, these files may have been deleted or removed due to unknown reasons.

At the moment, the most efficient and time-saving way is to seek help from professional data recovery software. Supported by its advanced scanning method, MyRecover excels in recovering deleted and lost files from computer hard drives and other local drives.

Notes:✎...

After data loss, please stop loading new files to your Windows computer to prevent data coverage. After data erasure, it can decrease its hard drive data recovery rate.

After recovery, please save your recovered D drive files in a new path instead of the original D drive.

Upgrading MyRecover is a more cost-effective choice for those users who prefer to recover plenty of deleted or missing local files.

Step 1. Install and run MyRecover on your Windows > hover the mouse over the D drive > click Scan.

Step 2. After clicking Start Scan, MyRecover can automatically run Quick Scan and Deep Scan to search all the retrievable D drive files.

During scanning, you can filter/preview your desired files according to Filename, Document Type, Path, Size, Date, etc.

• Name: Enter the filename of your wanted USB files to narrow the search area.
• Date modified: Set the date (today, yesterday, last 7/30 days, etc.)
• Size: Filter file size (<128KB, 128KB~1MB, 1MB~512MB, etc.)

Step 3. Under the Deleted Files/Recycle Bin/Other Missing Files folder, select the D drive files you intend to retrieve > click Recover x files.

Related Q&A about the D drive & other drives

“Why is my D drive not showing up?” How to solve the D drive not showing up in File Explorer? How to recover D drive data in Windows 10 computer?

You can find the respective answer in the corresponding part. Moreover, there’re related tips for your reference.

Why is my drive missing after Windows 10 update?

When you upgrade to Windows 11/10 OS, there can be issues with your hardware fitting in. If your device driver is not right for the new Windows version, your hard drive may go missing.

To fix this, you need to update/reinstall your disk driver in the Device Manager. This can make your hardware and Windows work together smoothly again, solving the problem of missing drives.

How do I fix an unallocated drive?

Option 1. Create a new simple volume via Disk Management

Please press Win + X to open Disk Management > right-click on your unallocated space > click New Simple Volume. Then follow the on-screen instructions.

Option 2. Extend volumes via Disk Management

Step 1. After opening Disk Management, right-click on your unallocated space > select Extend Volume.

Step 2. Select the disk and specify the space you want to extend > click Extend > Finish.

How do I prevent data loss on my hard drive?

If you’re unwilling to suffer the second data loss, it’s a wise idea to develop the practice of creating regular backups.

You can achieve this by utilizing either the built-in Windows backup features or the free Windows backup software called AOMEI Backupper Standard.

When comparing AOMEI Backupper Standard to Windows backup features, you’ll find that free AOMEI Backupper Standard offers more versatile backup choices and simpler steps for operation.

Key features of AOMEI Backupper Standard:✎...

Enable to back up files, folders, partitions, disks, or systems to an internal/external hard drive, USB stick, Network, or Cloud drive.

Intelligent backup strategies enable you to create daily incremental backups, effectively conserving storage space.

By scheduling backups, you can ensure the continuous protection of your valuable data.

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper on your Windows PC. Under the Backup tab, select the “File Backup” option.

Step 2. Click “Add Folder/Add File” to add the D drive folders or files you prefer to back up.

Step 3. Click “Schedule Backup” to enable Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers or USB plug based on your needs. Then click the “Start Backup” button.