LaCie Hard Drive not recognized by Windows 7

Anonymous
2010-02-13T02:14:12+00:00

I have a LaCie external USB hard drive (formatted FAT32) that shows up as a device in the control panel but does not appear as a drive or other device in the Windows Explorer.

The drive contains my music library. Any advice on how to find/access this drive?

Thanks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-02-13T23:17:38+00:00

Hi,

 Do you see any yellow\red exclamation mark in device manager?

 I would suggest you to open Disc management and check if the drive is detected there, here are the steps:

1.      1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer    Management. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2.      2. In the left pane, click Disk Management.

If it the hard drive recognizes in the disc management and if there is no drive letter assigned, I would suggest you right click on the drive and assign a drive letter and check if it helps:

1.      1. Right-click the drive to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.

2.      2. Do one of the following:

·         To assign a drive letter if one has not already been assigned, click Add, click the letter that you want to use, and then click OK.

·         To change a drive letter, click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the letter that you want to use, and then click OK.

·         To remove a drive letter, click Remove, and then click Yes to confirm that you want to remove it.

Refer this link for more information:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-add-or-remove-a-drive-letter

Please respond back with the status of the issue and let us know if you have any issues.

Azam – Microsoft Support.

Was this answer helpful?

60+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

52 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2010-05-02T20:23:59+00:00

    I've actually got the same issue with my External 640gig Western digital HDD, the drive is never detected until I manually assign it a drive letter from computer management. The drive has been scanned and checked for corrupt sectors, but the problem still persists.

    Any ideas peeps? This renders the drive useless to my family, as they aren't all Windows savvy.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2010-04-27T14:23:50+00:00

    Hi,

    You’re welcome, and good to know that your issue has been resolved.

    Let us know if you have any issues.

    Azam  -  Microsoft Support.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2010-04-27T02:10:18+00:00

    Worked like a charm. Thanks.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2010-04-21T06:42:32+00:00

    I have the exact same issue. However, I cannot see the external hard drive on the disc management screen, there are only the internal drive partitions.

    As the original poster says, the drive appears in the devices screen, but will not appear in windows explorer, so there is no way to open the drive and access the files. I tried updating the driver but to no avail.

    Was this answer helpful?

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments