How to recognize hard drive in windows step by step

You are about to use your computer with the new hard drive that you installed to make it a true entertainment center with all your high definition movies, games, jobs, music and much more. The only problem is that your system doesn't recognize it and refuses to show the new hardware partner. Do fears come in? If it is your first time, sure yes, but we will help you with this quick guide on how to recognize hard drive in Windows.

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How to recognize hard drive in Windows step by step

The reality is that installing new hard drives is a real lottery: some teams will recognize the new device quickly, while others will make users lose hours of their days and have many disappointments.

If you are thinking of changing your computer components soon, such as installing a new hard drive, be sure to check out the suggestions to follow to save valuable time in your life.

How to get Windows to recognize the new HD

You have purchased a large hard drive, opened the computer case, connected the unit to the motherboard and the power supply with the appropriate cables. But when you start the computer, the hard drive doesn't appear anywhere. Before reading on, make sure all the connections are correct.

Additional hard drives are not always shipped formatted and ready to use. They are totally blank, since the idea is that the end user uses them as desired.

For this reason, when you place the drive in the system, Windows simply waits for you to decide what to do with the drive instead of automatically formatting it and adding it to the list of drives. If you've never added a hard drive to your computer before, it can be quite puzzling when it appears as a missing drive. But it is easy to make your hard drive visible.

Format your hard drive with Windows Disk Manager

In most cases, the new hard drive cannot be displayed because Windows simply has not assigned a letter, that is, it has not created a path. To create this route, follow the steps below:

In Windows 10 you can use the key combination Win + R (or start and type "Execute" to open the Run window. Type " diskmgmt.msc " (without the quotes), confirming below.

In the new screen that is displayed, select the Disk Management tab in the left list, as shown below:

The newly added drive will be with the blank path (no letter and maybe even no name), so right click on it and select “Change drive letter and paths”.

In the new window, select Change. After that, in another window, just assign a letter not yet used and click " OK ". In this way, your new album should already be accessible.

If your hard drive is new and does not contain any information or files, it is a good idea to also format it with the NTFS format (the FAT 32 time has passed), restoring any paging system failure that may come from the factory (and many Sometimes it may be that Windows does not recognize HD, simply because the proper format is not the current one (common case when using a Linux partition).

Check if it is connected correctly

If your hard drive does not appear on the Disk Management screen either, it is very likely that some settings (both cables, jumpers or BIOS) may be configured incorrectly.

Reopen the computer and check the connections and settings for each device that is properly connected to its SATA power and data cable. If not, check the BIOS to see if it recognizes it.

Another method for the system to recognize HD

Assuming the hard drive is installed correctly and is not faulty, getting it recognized and working is a very simple process. To do this, you first need to open the Disk Management tool.

Press Windows + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box. Type "diskmgmt.msc" and hit Enter.

Although the task that we are going to perform is very simple and easy to carry out, there is the possibility that you will do erroneous tasks with this tool, something that can make you have a bad time. Carefully check each step. Make sure you are selecting the correct disk, or else you may lose a large amount of data.

Next, in Disk Management, scroll down through the list of disks in the lower pane. These discs will be labeled " Disc 1". Windows assigns a number to all hard drives, solid state drives, USB drives, and card readers, so don't be surprised if you have to scroll down a bit.

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There is some data here. Firstly, the disk is marked as "Unknown" and "Not initialized" on the left. Second, the size of the installed drive is noted, and the drive is marked “Unallocated”, which means that none of the spaces on the hard drive has been formatted or assigned to a partition.

Right-click on the disc name and select " Initialize Disc " from the right-click context menu.

In the first step of the initialization process, you will be asked to choose whether you want to use a Master Boot Record (MBR) or a GUID Partition Table (GPT) for the disk partition style. In short, unless there is a compelling reason to use MBR, using GPT is newer, more efficient, and offers more robust protection against boot registry corruption.

Click "Accept" and you will return to the main Disk Management window. There you will find that your album now has the label "Basic" and "On screen" on the left, but the content is still "Not assigned". Right-click on the scratched box on the unallocated disk. Select "New Simple Volume".

This will launch the Simple New Volume Wizard to guide you through the disk setup process. In the first step, select the amount of space you want to include in the volume. By default, the number is the total amount of available disk space, unless you are thinking of reserving space for additional partitions, there is no reason to change this. Click on "Next".

In the second step, assign a drive letter. The default is probably fine.

Finally, format the volume. If you are using the volume for routine tasks (storage of photos, video games, etc.) there is no real need to deviate from the default NTFS file system. Give the volume a name, click " Next" and wait for the process format to finish.

When the process is complete, you will see your new disk assigned, formatted and ready to start being used in the Disk Management list. Now you can use the disk like any other on your system for media storage, games and for other purposes.

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