I seem to be posting a similar thread, but the problem is not the same…http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=787194
My comp was getting messages from “microsoft”, claiming in bad English that if I don’t send them money they would…hold my data hostage or something, I don’t remember exactly. So I have erased my drive and started over.
I got windows up and most everything reinstalled. I have a 250GB Solid State Drive and a 1TB hard drive. I only plugged the HD in after windows was up and running, because I didn’t want the system mistaking it for the boot drive or anything.
So here’s the problem: Windows recognizes my 250GB SSD, no problems there. I plugged the 1TB HD into the comp, it’s recognized in the bios, but does not seem to exist in windows. In my original thread I went into disc management, the new drive was there but didn’t have a letter assigned to it. I assigned a letter and everything went happily after that.
However, on this reinstall, the HD shows up in the bios, but when windows loads, it is nowhere to be found. Disk Management, unlike in my original thread, does not list it at all. Sooooo, how do I get windows to recognize my hard drive?
Just to give an update and a brief summary:
There is an option in my bios to view all my SATA drive connections and whats connected to each one. Both SSD and HD are listed, so the HD IS showing up in my system BIOS. The HD is also listed under the BIOS boot drive options - meaning I could pick it to boot from (If I had windows on it).
But there is nowhere in Windows 10 that is recognizing my HD, only the SSD. It’s not under device manager, it’s not anywhere else I can see. I tried using different connectors on the cable and plugging it into different SATA3 slots on the mobo. Same result, HD’s listed in BIOS but not Windows.
BTW this is the same HD that I’ve been using since Dec 2016, when I built this comp. I have no idea why it’s having trouble with this now. I guess I could try an old HD and see if that shows up.
Did you check Disk Management (just type it into the Start Menu)? That’s where actual disks are listed in Windows. My Computer lists partitions, not whole disks.
If you erased everything, then you may not even have a valid partition or filesystem on your hard drive. You’ll need to format it, and Disk Management is the way to do that in Windows.
He mentioned disk management a couple of times in the OP. It doesn’t appear there.
There’s this weird quirk in Windows where sometimes if a drive is appearing in BIOS but nowhere in Windows, that running the Windows Memory Diagnostic causes it to be recognized. I have no idea why but I figure it’s worth a shot. I see a few testimonials online where that worked.
Addition to the above: you can also find Disk Management by right clicking on the start button in the lower left-hand corner. I forgot about that.
Anyways, here’s how to use Disk Management once you open it:
Your disks will be listed as Disk 0, Disk 1, etc. Find the one that corresponds to your hard drive. It will not have any drive letters mentioned, and its size will be listed as approximately 1000GB, give or take a bit.
If the part on the right just says “Unallocated,” then your drive has no partitions. So all you need to do is create one. Right click on the “unallocated” part and choose “New Simple Volume.” You’ll be taken through a wizard, where the defaults should be mostly what you want. It should offer to make an NTFS filesystem–that is what you want. Do not leave it unformatted.
If it shows any partitions, then the best bet is to erase them first, then do the above. (I presume that you have a backup of all your files that you want to keep, given you tried to erase everything.) Erasing a partition is as simple as right clicking and choosing to Delete Volume. Do this to every partition until the only thing is shows unallocated (and the size), then follow the instructions above.
If you need a visual guide, you can pick them up here. Do note that they just delete one partition, while I’m telling you to delete all of them on that one disk. You want to start over fresh.
(Don’t remove any from any other disk, BTW. Make sure it’s just your hard drive. If you want to be sure, right-click in the left column and choose “Properties,” where you can see the exact brand name and such for your hard drive. You can also do this on other Disks, to identify which one is your SSD.)
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
IT WORKED! I have been on these forums for a long time now and I’ve seen some knowledgeable people here that were able to answer questions no one else could but…WOW! Thank you, THANK YOU!! I have spend a day and a half trying to figure out why the system won’t pick up a drive that it didn’t have issues with 2 days ago.
I am greatly in your debt and if you are in Pittsburgh I would be more than happy to treat you to a delicious meal and/or a few rounds of drinks@