Hi all! Today we will consider a fairly common problem that almost every second user faces. personal computers and laptops. It lies in the fact that the computer does not see HDD. Very often, when you turn on the PC, instead of loading operating system the user sees a black screen with the inscription " Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key". This abusive phrase of the computer says that he does not see our hard drive. Accordingly, the operating system cannot be loaded. Therefore, in today's article, we will try to find out the reason why this trouble occurs and try to find ways to solve it.
The computer does not see the hard drive. Main reasons.
Since the hard drive is one of the important components of any computer, then, accordingly, if it fails, the user’s further work behind it stops, and in order to continue it, it will be necessary to identify the reason why the computer does not see the hard drive and try this remove the cause. Let's look at the most common problems that cause this trouble:
- Breaking hard drive;
- The problem is in the loop;
- Incorrect BIOS setting;
- Lack of nutrition;
- conflicting devices;
- Malfunctions in the operating system;
As you can see, there are not so many reasons, therefore, it will not be so difficult to identify what your problem is. The main thing is to follow the tips and recommendations described in this article.
Hard drive failure
From my experience I can say the following, failure hard drives A fairly common cause of computer breakdowns. Therefore, if your computer has stopped seeing the hard drive, then the easiest thing to do is to connect it to another PC. If another computer sees the disk, then I can congratulate you, not everything is so bad.
Firstly, the information stored on your disk has not disappeared anywhere, and secondly, most likely the problem can be solved quite easily if you follow the instructions below.
If another computer refuses to see your hard drive. In this case, things are bad, there is probably a physical breakdown and repair is indispensable, or you may have to buy a new disk.
Motherboard failure.
Very often, the computer does not see the hard drive, as Sata ports fail on motherboard. To rule out or confirm this problem, first of all, we connect the cable to any other port and try to turn on the computer. If the hard drive is detected and the operating system starts to load, then probably one of the Sata slots is out of order and the motherboard will need to be repaired, or you can leave everything as it is and continue working at the computer.
Loop damaged.
To be honest, I have not seen many cases with damaged IDE and SATA cables in my practice, but they were. Most often, the connectors themselves were damaged. All this arose due to wrong connection devices by users.
Therefore, first of all, we disconnect the cable from the hard drive and the motherboard and inspect for damage. If you see any defects, then change the cable to a new one. 
If there is no visible damage, then in order to check for serviceability the cable connecting the hard drive to motherboard computer, just take a similar known-good cable and connect our hard drive.
If there was a problem in the cord, then the disk will certainly work, and the problem will be solved by itself.
Note! If your system unit has DVD drive, then the SATA cable can be taken from it.
Incorrect BIOS setting
After we have examined the mechanical part and found that the hard drive itself is working, replaced the cable with a new one, and also made sure that the ports are working, but the computer does not see the hard drive, then most likely the problem is software. Therefore, the first step is to check BIOS settings.
If several HDDs are installed in the system, while only one of them is with the operating system, then most likely, after a failure, the device boot parameters have changed. To check this, when starting the computer, press the "F2" or "Delete" key and get into the BIOS settings.
Note! Very often, it is quite easy to identify a failure if you pay attention to the date and time that are displayed on home page BIOS, as a rule, they will not correspond to the actual data.
In BIOS, we are interested in the BOOT section, in it, you just need to put our hard drive in the first place. After that, save the settings by pressing the "F10" key. By the way, who does not know how to different versions correctly set the order of loading disks, read the article: "". It just tells in detail how to make the settings, only instead of a flash drive you need to choose our HDD.
After the computer restarts, the hard drive should be determined and the system will start working.
Lack of nutrition
Since a good power supply is the key, if it does not work properly, there may not be enough power for the components system block or a laptop, in particular a hard drive. Because of this, the hard drive may not work correctly: randomly disappear and appear in the system, there may be blue screens death of Windows, the disk may make a whirring sound, which occurs due to the change of work cycles. 
All this indicates a bad power HDD. To resolve this issue, install new block supply or give the old one for repair. If it is not possible to replace the power supply, then I recommend disconnecting all unnecessary devices: DVD drive, extra HDD and other volatile devices.
conflicting devices.
A fairly rare occurrence, but still occurring from time to time, is a conflict between two identical hard drives. To solve this problem, connect each disk in turn and wait for them to install in the system.
Operating system problems.
The last option in which the computer does not see the hard drive is a problem with the Windows operating system. If the connected drive is not automatically detected in the system, it is possible that the drive is new and not yet formatted, the drive letter is not set, the drive is not active.
To check this, we do the following:
Note! If you bought a new hard drive and connected it to your computer, then most likely the disk is not marked. To do this, first of all, in the "Disk Management" window, select desired disk, click on it right click mouse and select "Create Partition", only after that we format and set the drive letter.
If the disc is not new, before
There are cases in which a normally turned on computer, after a normal boot process, displays the inscription “ Operating system not found". This can only tell us that our OS could not detect the required system files. If in your practice you are faced with this kind of problem, then thanks to this instruction you can get rid of this problem.
Reasons why Windows 7 won't be able to see the hard drive
There are several reasons why the system does not see the hard drive:
- The hard drive is damaged
- Main boot record(MBR) "Sector O" is damaged or has errors.
- Incorrectly set priority of disks responsible for which disk the operating system will be loaded from.
- It also often happens that BIOS your computer has an error, and because of it it is not possible to detect the hard drive.
- Of the hardware reasons, one can name the following: the interface cable that connects the computer and the hard drive is damaged, then it needs to be replaced and checked. And for SATA it is best to choose a cable that will have metal latches.
- If you just installed a new hard drive, and did not have time to prepare it properly and create partitions, then Windows 7 definitely won't see it. To resolve this issue, simply download the program Acronis Disc Manager and quickly divide our disk into sections. Just don't mix up the discs!
Now let's try to solve the problem. First, we need to find the item "" by clicking on the icon " My computer» using the right button of your mouse.
Then in paragraph " Computer management", select the sub-item" ". Then boldly right-click on the required disk and here we already select an item such as " Change drive letter«.
You can't really go wrong further. In order to swap two disks, you will have to rename them several times. To begin with, you will need to replace the letter on any of the disks with an unoccupied one: for example, you change the “D” disk to “X”, and the “E” disk to “D”, then you can already change the former “D” disk, and now "X" - to "E".
Windows 7 does not detect hard drive after system reinstall
Very often there are cases when, after reinstalling the OS, the hard drive ceases to be visible.Then help with this problemthis instruction.
- If you have the case where Windows 7 cannot detect the hard drive due to a conflict coming from the motherboard, first try downloading the necessarydrivers for your computer motherboard. Save them to disk and downloadthesedriver in root folder your OS. To do this, insert your driver disk into the drive and after restarting the computer, click the " F6«.
Another way to solve the problem. While the computer is booting, you need to go toBIOS (read how to do it), and in the settings of the system itself, find the parameter responsible for turning offAHCI, and only when you disable this setting, then immediately the hard drive will be found. How to do this you will see in the pictures below.
If this did not help you, then you need to do such a difficult task as integrating driversSATA, or even have to download entire driver packages. Also, it is likely that the integration of all driver packages along with their updates will help. And you need to integrate them into the OS distribution in any way from those presented below.
In order to choose required drivers and updates, you need to go to the website of your motherboard manufacturer (in order to quickly find out the model of the motherboard, read).
The solution to this problem is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. In most cases, users who are engaged in installing or reinstalling the operating system are faced with this problem. Do not immediately panic and call service centres to call a specialist at home, first try in BIOS turn off an option like AHCI, then try to integrate all motherboard drivers into your computer distribution.
If the above does not help, then try to determine how the connector is connected HDD and how correct. It is the device, thanks to which it is possible to connect a hard drive to the motherboard, that has only two connectors - black and blue, which must be connected to the hard drive, since it works more stably.
The hard drive is one of the most frequently replaced parts in a computer. This pattern is explained quite simply: not every user correctly exploits the HDD. Within the framework of the article, the question “What to do if the computer or laptop does not see the hard drive?” will be discussed.
Why does the computer not see the hard drive?
There are 9 main reasons why the computer does not see the hard drive:
- Oxidation of contacts or their complete damage.
- Incorrect settings in the BIOS.
- The jumper between Master and Slave is incorrectly set (for hard drives with IDE interface).
- Damaged USB port to which they are connected external devices(eg DVR).
- If the laptop does not see the hard drive, the south bridge may overheat;
- Mechanical damage to the connected device.
- Lack of food.
- Conflict with other computer devices.
- The OS did not configure the automatically connected HDD.
The above malfunctions for which the computer does not see external hard disk or HDD - the main ones. They are faced by most users. First, what needs to be done is to find out the cause. After analyzing the items from the list, it is safe to name the main ways to correct the error that has occurred.
Troubleshooting a failed HDD on a MAC requires some knowledge. Let's consider each case when the computer does not see the hard drive, and determine how to solve problems.
MHDD Program
If the computer or laptop does not see the hard drive, then the first thing the user should do is check the hard drive through the MHDD program.
MHDD utility - free program for low-level diagnostics of hard drives on MAC and Windows operating systems.
The application works with all popular hard drive interfaces:
- SerialATA;
- SCSI.
By installing a special emulator, the user will be able to access the scanning of external hard drives that are connected to USB.
The MHDD program allows you to accurately determine the health of the mechanical part of the hard drive, view SMART attributes, low-level formatting, and "repair" bad sectors.
Contact damage
Complete damage to the contacts or their oxidation is the most common reason why the computer has stopped seeing the hard drive. Diagnosing a problem is easy. It is necessary to carefully consider all the contacts that are used during the connection. The oxidation sites can be seen with the naked eye.
If a malfunction is detected, it is necessary to clean the contacts using liquid, or replace them with new ones. If contacts in in perfect order, move on to the next problem.
Incorrect settings
After checking all the connections, you need to go to the BIOS settings. It often happens that the standard parameters have gone astray due to the installation of new equipment. The first thing to try is to set the default Bios settings.
If this does not help, then we look to see if the PC boot from the HDD is set, since often when a new device is connected, the parameters can go astray:
HDD with IDE interface
Devices that use the IDE interface are often not displayed on the computer due to an incorrectly set jumper responsible for switching the HDD to Slave and Master modes. To check its condition, you need to look behind the rear panel of the hard drive, where the contacts for connection are located. There are pairs of legs on the panel, which are signed with the corresponding names Master and Slave. There is a jumper on the device. Carefully, without damaging the legs, pull off the jumper. Then carefully place it in a different position. Try reconnecting the device and check if it works.
Problem with USB ports
If the computer does not see the DVR external hard drive, then it is worth checking the operation USB port by connecting a new media to it. In the case of other devices, the problem lies in the hard drive.
In order to determine the operability of USB ports on a MAC or PC, just go to the device control panel and select the "USB Controllers" section. A non-working USB will be marked with an exclamation point.
Comment. If the TV does not see the external hard drive, then the problem may also be due to a defective USB ports.
South bridge failure
Overheating of the south bridge in a laptop can be one of the reasons that the hard drive is not detected. Overheating occurs due to insufficient ventilation or improper operation of the cooling system.
To fix the problem, just let the laptop cool down. With a regular occurrence of a problem, it is necessary to repair the cooling system or improve it.
Physical damage to the HDD
If, after correcting all the above problems, the hard drive does not function, then another PC can be used to check the performance of the HDD.
If the PC never saw the hard drive, then the reason is mechanical damage. The only right decision is to take the HDD to a service center.
Comment. If the hard drive is detected but does not open, then the problem is most likely due to physical damage.
Device clicks
What to do if the hard drive clicks and is not detected? This error may be related to:
- Malfunction of the block of magnetic heads;
- Degradation and slow recognition of the HDD or one of its parts;
- Less often - a defect in the electronics in the hard drive.
It is important to understand that when the hard drive clicks, it is not suitable for repair, as critical parts of the device are damaged. The only thing that can be done in this case is to restore part of the lost data in service centers.
Lack of nutrition
Lack of power for the hard drive - main reason what the computer can't see new hard disk. This happens quite rarely, so it is difficult for users to diagnose the problem.
When connecting several devices, both the same and different companies, to one PC, a conflict may arise during which one of the HDDs is no longer recognized.
The solution to the problem is quite simple: connect each of the hard drives in turn to check their performance. If the HDDs work individually, then to fix the problem, you need to replace the power supply.
Errors in the operating system
The operating system did not assign the appropriate letter to the device - a commonplace problem familiar to many users.
To fix the problem you need:
- Go to the control panel;
- Go to the administration section;
- Go to the PC management category:
If you are using an operating Windows system, then you probably had to install second hard disk to computer. And often in this situation, after you open my computer, you do not see the second hard drive. How to be just that he worked in another computer, and after connecting here he simply is not visible in the explorer. But you don't have to panic right away. All because it still needs to be configured.
Just in this article I will tell you what to do if the computer does not see the second hard drive, to be more precise, when the system does not see the second hard drive. This can be done with the built-in tools of your operating system. In principle, there is nothing complicated, be careful and have a little patience. Let's consider several options, for example, if you bought a second new hard drive or if you connected an already used hard drive.
After these steps, a new one will be displayed in your explorer. local disk. If it doesn't work, see the next method.
The computer does not see the new hard drive
When connecting a second or new hard drive, it may sometimes be necessary to configure the hard drive.
- Go to Disk Management by clicking on My computer right-click and select Management => Disk Management.
- We find the disk when hovering on which it is written Not initialized right click on it and select Initialize.
- In the window Disk initialization select the type of partition, GUID Partition Table is suitable for the latest operating systems, but Master Boot Record, which is suitable for earlier Windows versions, will also work. That's why I choose Master boot record.
- After the initialization is completed, opposite your disk will be written not allocated, so press RMB and select the item Create a simple volume.
- In the Create Simple Volume Wizard that opens, click Further specify the desired volume size and Further.
- In the next step you need Assign drive letter, any free.
- Next choose Format this volume as follows and specify the type File system NTFS.
8. Click next and wait for the process to complete. After completion, we check the operation of the disk.
And you can also watch the video instruction on what to do if the computer does not see the second hard drive:
Basically, that's all. In this article, we figured out what to do if the system does not see the hard drive. Well, or the hard drive is not displayed in the explorer. As always, this can also be done with command line or Windows PowerShell. But I did not show this method, since it will be enough to use the disk management utility.
I hope the article was useful to you and helped you figure out why the hard drive is not displayed in Explorer. And also write how you solved this problem and whether one of the ways helped you. Don't forget to share the article in social networks and subscribe to updates.
The following is a list of the main problems due to which the BIOS does not see the hard SATA drive. To find out the true cause of the malfunction, it is necessary to carry out a sequential diagnosis of all interconnected nodes of the computer in order to determine their operability.
- The hard drive is not set as enabled in the BIOS.
- Serial ATA drivers installed incorrectly or not installed at all.
- The data cable is damaged or not connected.
- The disk drive is not spinning.
- The jumpers on the drive case are set incorrectly.
- The hard drive is faulty.
First you need to make sure that the device under test is enabled in the BIOS. To do this, you need to enter the settings - at the very beginning of the operating system startup, press the F2 or Del key. Depending on the modification of the system, there may be different options. What exactly do you need to press to enter the BIOS settings? The instruction appears at the bottom of the screen when you turn on the computer for a short time. If you skip the period, you will have to turn off the computer again and wait for the moment you enter the settings.
Find a hard drive that is not detected on one of the settings screens and see what is written opposite it. Automatic detection must be set to Automatic. If it says Off. (Off) you need to switch to automatic detection. This problem is typical in cases where a newly installed hard drive with a SATA connection is not detected.
Motherboard drivers not loaded
Problems with installing drivers most often occur when OS Windows is installed on a disk drive that is used as the main boot drive. Then the BIOS does not see the SATA hard drive due to driver problems.
To correctly download and install the drivers, perform the following manipulations:
- Download Windows distribution into the DVD drive tray. After that, unplug your computer from the mains.
- Insert a SATA hard drive and connect it. Turn on your computer.
- During the installation process, you will need to press the F6 key at the appropriate time to start the driver installation process. During the normal installation progress of the system, a screen will briefly appear stating that the missing drivers must be loaded in order for the system to install normally: “Press F6 if you need to install a 3rd party driver”. Try not to miss a moment, otherwise you will have to start all over again.
- After a while, an interface for downloading drivers for the SATA controller will appear. Press the S key to continue installation.
- To download the drivers, you will need disks with installers, you need to find and download this in advance on the Internet, on the website of the manufacturer of the motherboard that you have installed on your computer.
Data cable failure
Open the system unit and carefully inspect the cables connected to the motherboard and hard drive. In the presence of visible mechanical damage the problem is precisely this. Data cables are easily bent, broken, and this leads to a lack of contacts in the connections. It is advisable to check the cable by replacing it with a known working analogue.
Seagate technical services note that the length of the SATA cable does not exceed one meter for normal operation of the devices. It is not uncommon for SATA cables to simply fall out of their connectors due to computer vibration during operation. Check the reliability of the cable connection to the SATA ports.
When connecting loops, be guided by the following conditions:
- The blue connector should connect to the motherboard controller.
- The gray connector is used to connect the Slave - an auxiliary hard drive.
- The black connector is for the Master - the main drive.
If the cable slave order is reversed, it confuses the BIOS and leads to device identification errors.
Disc not spinning
The Winchester will not be found if it is not receiving power and is not spinning. Outwardly, it is impossible to see the rotation of the disk, it remains to rely on indirect signs.
With the power off, open the system unit, then turn on the computer and listen. With caution, try touching the side wall of the hard drive. If vibration is felt, the disc is spinning.
If nothing is clear, try plugging and unplugging the drive's power cable and compare the sound. To check if the power cable is working, plug it into a DVD drive, where you can see for sure whether the disc is spinning or not.
It is also useful to check whether the installed power supply supplies enough power? It is quite possible that as the system unit has been upgraded, power consumption has increased significantly and now there is simply not enough current to maintain the required performance of the equipment.
To make sure that the device under test is working properly, remove it from the tested system unit and install it on a known working computer. If it does not work, the hard drive itself is faulty.
As part of the BIOS tools, there is a function for testing connected drives for operability. Run the test and see the results. If any disk is faulty, it will be clear after the test.
Incorrect jumper settings on the drive case
First you need to check if the jumpers are correctly distributed on the Master-Slave feature. If the same parameters are set on both devices, the BIOS will not be able to detect them correctly.
A diagram of the correct location of the jumpers is drawn on the drive cases. Set them according to the desired drive priority in the BIOS.