The HDD Isn't Showing In My PC

[brumel]

I know it was there when I first set up Windows but I just noticed it isn't showing now and I'm concerned where it's gone ....
UPDATE: Got disk to show in disk management but it only let me create a simple volume on the smaller 'unallocated space' & won't give me any options for the larger one?

 

[steaky360]

I figure you've tried to format the drive see if it lets you allocate additional space? I've seen that before with an older drive which used to have windows on.

 

[ubuysa]

I assume you installed your own copy of Windows? What version did you install, where did you get it from and how did you install it?

 

[brumel]

I figure you've tried to format the drive see if it lets you allocate additional space? I've seen that before with an older drive which used to have windows on.

Well, I hadn't done anything to the HDD before I happened to go to My PC & noticed it was not showing there .... I don't want to format the whole disk, if at all possible, since it warns that might break the PC

I assume you installed your own copy of Windows? What version did you install, where did you get it from and how did you install it?

I had to reinstall W10 but I used the USB backup I got from PC Specialist with the computer, for just such an eventuality, so it should be the same as it was.

 

[ubuysa]

What is your full spec? How many drives do you have? Is Windows installed on the HDD you can no longer see?

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[brumel]

What is your full spec? How many drives do you have? Is Windows installed on the HDD you can no longer see?

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I'd have to find the details if you really need all of them but it's the drives you probably mean ..... I have one Seagate Barracuda 8TB & a 1TB Sata SSD. Windows is installed on latter but it also has about 500GB allocated on former, hence why I'm trying to avoid reformatting the whole disk Evidently, it must have been in reinstalling W10 that something happened to HDD but I'm afraid I have no idea what. I remember choosing to install it to SSD, same as I'd had it originally. I didn't change any of the other default options during the installation. I'm trying to find an actually free partition manager that will let me do anything with the 5+TB unallocated space but there just don't seem to be any options for that part. Reformat the 2TB partition I rescued, resize it but only into System part, etc.

 

[ubuysa]

I'd have to find the details if you really need all of them but it's the drives you probably mean ..... I have one Seagate Barracuda 8TB & a 1TB Sata SSD. Windows is installed on latter but it also has about 500GB allocated on former, hence why I'm trying to avoid reformatting the whole disk Evidently, it must have been in reinstalling W10 that something happened to HDD but I'm afraid I have no idea what. I remember choosing to install it to SSD, same as I'd had it originally. I didn't change any of the other default options during the installation. I'm trying to find an actually free partition manager that will let me do anything with the 5+TB unallocated space but there just don't seem to be any options for that part. Reformat the 2TB partition I rescued, resize it but only into System part, etc.

It is extremely unusual when you install Windows to an SSD to have additional data written to the HDD. What folders are on your HDD? In addition there is no way on this Earth that a clean install of Windows would write 500GB of data anywhere!

I would suggest you do another clean install of Windows from bootable media - do NOT use the Windows Reset feature. Choose a custom install and delete all partitions on both the SSD and the HDD. On the HDD create one partition the size of the drive and format it. Then select the unallocated space on the SSD and click the Next button, the installer will create the correct partition structure and install Windows.

NOTE: The above assumes you have no user data on either drive. If you do then back it up before you do the reinstall. Both drives will be erased in the procedure above.

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[brumel]

It is extremely unusual when you install Windows to an SSD to have additional data written to the HDD. What folders are on your HDD? In addition there is no way on this Earth that a clean install of Windows would write 500GB of data anywhere!

I would suggest you do another clean install of Windows from bootable media - do NOT use the Windows Reset feature. Choose a custom install and delete all partitions on both the SSD and the HDD. On the HDD create one partition the size of the drive and format it. Then select the unallocated space on the SSD and click the Next button, the installer will create the correct partition structure and install Windows.

NOTE: The above assumes you have no user data on either drive. If you do then back it up before you do the reinstall. Both drives will be erased in the procedure above.

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Done that & it's all working fine now, thanks ..... I dunno what it wanted the 'system reserved' space for but I wan't worried about half a GB if I could have got back the 5+TB it wouldn't let me do anything with! All sorted out now, anyway

 

[ubuysa]

Done that & it's all working fine now, thanks ..... I dunno what it wanted the 'system reserved' space for but I wan't worried about half a GB if I could have got back the 5+TB it wouldn't let me do anything with! All sorted out now, anyway

Good news.