Using Windows Disk Management Utility to Manage Internal and External Disks

If you have used this drive before then the drive is malfunctioning and my need to be formatted. If not, then the disk could need initializing and then formatting. You can check the status of the disk using the windows disk management utility. The directions to use this utility are shown below, If the disk does not appear in the manage disks section, check the connection to the computer, and try to power cycle the drive by unplugging it, waiting for about 20 seconds and then plugging it back in. This may renew the connection and restart the drive.

Disk management utility will help you see all the drives that are connected to your computer, including internal hard drives, CD or DVD Drives, and removable storage like USB sticks and external hard drives. Using this utility, you can check for attached drives that are not visible in windows when attached to your computer. You can also format drives, change drive letters, mark a partition as active and delete partitions. A word on caution about using the Disk Management Utility: This utility can cause destruction of data. If you are not sure of what you are looking at and uncomfortable with using this utility you should consult with an advanced user before making any changes to drives using this utility.

Right click on you "My Computer" Icon

A menu will open

Chose "Manage"

The Computer Management window will open

The Computer Management window is broken down into 3 sections. The first section on the left side of the window shows a menu. Disk Management is on the lower portion of the menu.

The right side is separated into two sections, top and bottom. The top portion shows a list of active drives on the computer. The lower portion shows all drives connected to the computer. CD or DVD drives that have not disk will not show as active drives on the top section, but can be seen in the lower section.

The lower section will show the drive description, drive size and drive condition (online or off line) in small box on the left side of that section. Disk drives will designate a "Drive" and a number. Drive 0 is usually your internal hard drive. Then it would list drive 1, drive 2, etc, depending on how many internal and external drive sources you have connected to your computer. Then it will list your CD drives and generally show their drive letter assignments. Next to the smaller section described above, is a larger section which shows the driver letter, size of the driver and condition (if working correctly will show "healthy")

This is the area you can right click and get a menu that will allow you to open, explore, mark the partition as active, change the driver letter, format the drive or delete a partition. (A note of caution here. Changing the driver letter on your main hard drive partition will cause windows to stop functioning. The main hard drive, or hard drive partition, is normally given the letter "C".) A hard drive may show two or more partitions with separate drive letters designated for each partition.

A drive this is having a problem may show that it needs to be formatted (status as Unformatted). This can be done from this window. An external drive, whether it is a hard drive or CD/DVD drive, can have the letter designator change done if you want to organize your external drives

If you cannot open your usb drive, you will need to open your drive management. Sometimes, drive letters that the usb drive looks for, usually F, G or H, are taken by other drives. You can change drive letters on other network drives to different letters, therefore, allowing the usb drive to access the letters it is looking for, and effectively, unlocking it. Below are directions on using the Disk management utility in windows:

Disk management utility will help you see all the drives that are connected to your computer, including internal hard drives, CD or DVD Drives, and removable storage like USB sticks and external hard drives. Using this utility, you can check for attached drives that are not visible in windows when attached to your computer. You can also format drives, change drive letters, mark a partition as active and delete partitions. A word on caution about using the Disk Management Utility: This utility can cause destruction of data. If you are not sure of what you are looking at and uncomfortable with using this utility you should consult with an advanced user before making any changes to drives using this utility. Also, drive '0' is usually your main hard drive.

Right click on you "My Computer" Icon

A menu will open

Chose "Manage"

The Computer Management window will open

The Computer Management window is broken down into 3 sections.

The first section on the left side of the window shows a menu. Disk Management is on the lower portion of the menu.

The right side is separated into two sections, top and bottom. The top portion shows a list of active drives on the computer. The lower portion shows all drives connected to the computer. CD or DVD drives that have not disk will not show as active drives on the top section, but can be seen in the lower section.

The lower section will show the drive description, drive size and drive condition (online or off line) in small box on the left side of that section. Disk drives will designate a "Drive" and a number. Drive 0 is usually your internal hard drive. Then it would list drive 1, drive 2, etc, depending on how many internal and external drive sources you have connected to your computer. Then it will list your CD drives and generally show their drive letter assignments.

Next to the smaller section described above, is a larger section which shows the driver letter, size of the driver and condition (if working correctly will show "healthy")

This is the area you can right click and get a menu that will allow you to open, explore, mark the partition as active, change the driver letter, format the drive or delete a partition. (A note of caution here. Changing the driver letter on your main hard drive partition will cause windows to stop functioning. The main hard drive, or hard drive partition, is normally given the letter "C".) A hard drive may show two or more partitions with separate drive letters designated for each partition.

A drive this is having a problem may show that it needs to be formatted (status as Unformatted). This can be done from this window. An external drive, whether it is a hard drive or CD/DVD drive, can have the letter designator change done if you want to organize your external drives. There are times when a drive will not show up because the drive letter that they are programmed to use are taken. Most USB drives are programmed to us the letters "F" or "G". In this area, you can assign the USB drive any drive letter that is not being used and this will make it visible in windows.

If you have not used the external hard drive before, you will have to go into your drive management and initialize your drive and possibly format it. The fact that your computer recognizes it is a good sign. It means that the external drive is working properly and the computer recognizes that the external drive is there. I have an short paper I have written describing how to use the drive management utility in windows. It is too long to post here. I can either post part of it or you can give me your email and I will send it as a MS word attachment so you can have the entire paper.
I hope you find this helpful Brian
Here is the part I can post here:

Using Disk Management Utility

Disk management utility will help you see all the drives that are connected to your computer, including internal hard drives, CD or DVD Drives, and removable storage like USB sticks and external hard drives. Using this utility, you can check for attached drives that are not visible in windows when attached to your computer. You can also format drives, change drive letters, mark a partition as active and delete partitions. A word on caution about using the Disk Management Utility: This utility can cause destruction of data. If you are not sure of what you are looking at and uncomfortable with using this utility you should consult with an advanced user before making any changes to drives using this utility.

Right click on you "My Computer" Icon

A menu will open

Chose "Manage"

The Computer Management window will open

The Computer Management window is broken down into 3 sections. The first section on the left side of the window shows a menu. Disk Management is on the lower portion of the menu.

The right side is separated into two sections, top and bottom. The top portion shows a list of active drives on the computer. The lower portion shows all drives connected to the computer. CD or DVD drives that have not disk will not show as active drives on the top section, but can be seen in the lower section.

The lower section will show the drive description, drive size and drive condition (online or off line) in small box on the left side of that section. Disk drives will designate a "Drive" and a number. Drive 0 is usually your internal hard drive. Then it would list drive 1, drive 2, etc, depending on how many internal and external drive sources you have connected to your computer. Then it will list your CD drives and generally show their drive letter assignments.

Next to the smaller section described above, is a larger section which shows the driver letter, size of the driver and condition (if working correctly will show "healthy")

This is the area you can right click and get a menu that will allow you to open, explore, mark the partition as active, change the driver letter, format the drive or delete a partition. (A note of caution here. Changing the driver letter on your main hard drive partition will cause windows to stop functioning. The main hard drive, or hard drive partition, is normally given the letter "C".) A hard drive may show two or more partitions with separate drive letters designated for each partition.

A drive this is having a problem may show that it needs to be formatted (status as Unformatted). This can be done from this window. An external drive, whether it is a hard drive or CD/DVD drive, can have the letter designator change done if you want to organize your external drives. There are times when a drive will not show up because the drive letter that they are programmed to use are taken.

sometimes drives need to be initiallized when they are connected I will give you instructions to use the Manage Feature of windows to manage your drives. The instructions are as below:
If you cannot see the drive using the disk management utility, then you need to check to be sure the drive is not malfunctioning and also check your connection cable to be sure it is not the problem.

I hope this is helpful!!

Brian

Using Disk Management Utility

Disk management utility will help you see all the drives that are connected to your computer, including internal hard drives, CD or DVD Drives, and removable storage like USB sticks and external hard drives. Using this utility, you can check for attached drives that are not visible in windows when attached to your computer. You can also format drives, change drive letters, mark a partition as active and delete partitions. A word on caution about using the Disk Management Utility: This utility can cause destruction of data. If you are not sure of what you are looking at and uncomfortable with using this utility you should consult with an advanced user before making any changes to drives using this utility.

The Disk Management utility can be accessed in two different ways.

#1- You can open the Control Panel,

Click on Administrative Tools,

Click on Computer Management and the Computer Management window will open.

#2- Right click on you "My Computer" Icon

A menu will open

Chose "Manage"

The Computer Management window will open

The Computer Management window is broken down into 3 sections.

The first section on the left side of the window shows a menu. Disk Management is on the lower portion of the menu.

The right side is separated into two sections, top and bottom. The top portion shows a list of active drives on the computer. The lower portion shows all drives connected to the computer. CD or DVD drives that have not disk will not show as active drives on the top section, but can be seen in the lower section.

The lower section will show the drive description, drive size and drive condition (online or off line) in small box on the left side of that section. Disk drives will designate a "Drive" and a number. Drive 0 is usually your internal hard drive. Then it would list drive 1, drive 2, etc, depending on how many internal and external drive sources you have connected to your computer. Then it will list your CD drives and generally show their drive letter assignments.

Next to the smaller section described above, is a larger section which shows the driver letter, size of the driver and condition (if working correctly will show "healthy")

This is the area you can right click and get a menu that will allow you to open, explore, mark the partition as active, change the driver letter, format the drive or delete a partition. (A note of caution here. Changing the driver letter on your main hard drive partition will cause windows to stop functioning. The main hard drive, or hard drive partition, is normally given the letter "C".) A hard drive may show two or more partitions with separate drive letters designated for each partition.

A drive this is having a problem may show that it needs to be formatted (status as Unformatted). This can be done from this window. An external drive, whether it is a hard drive or CD/DVD drive, can have the letter designator change done if you want to organize your external drives. There are times when a drive will not show up because the drive letter that they are programmed to use are taken. Most USB drives are programmed to us the letters "F" or "G". In this area, you can assign the USB drive any drive letter that is not being used and this will make it visible in windows.

have u insert it? check it at first in device manager then inform is it showing or nt?