see to it the USB port is actually working.

Try plugging other devices into the same USB port to ensure the port isn’t malfunctioning.

If you have a second external hard drive, try plugging it into the same port.

If it shows up, then you know the port isn’t the issue.

Confirm that you’re using the right USB cable foryour USB port key in.

This is especially true if the rig has aUSB-C connectorthat requires the computer port to supply power.

confirm your USB cable isn’t faulty.

Try swapping out the USB cable you’re using with your external hard drive with another.

If the drive still doesn’t connect, test the original USB cable with a different compatible equipment.

If it works, then you know your USB cable is working fine.

tune up your USB drivers.

The software that Windows 10 uses to communicate with USB devices are USB rig drivers.

double-check you’ve gone through the process to upgrade your USB drivers.

If your external drive is using USB 3.0, then check that toupdate your USB 3.0 driversspecifically.

Is yourhard drive wireless?

check that it’s appropriately connecting to your Wi-Fi connection.

Use Disk Management to drop in the hard drive.

In most cases, external hard drives come formatted andplug-and-playready.

This means you just plug it in and your system will recognize the hard drive.

If this isn’t working, you’ll need to use Disk Management to load the drive.

If it’s also not already formatted, you’ll need touse Disk Management to format the drive.

TheDisk Management utilitycan help you fix most of these issues.

Has the hard drive failed?

There aresoftware tools available that can scan hard drive(if it can recognize the attached equipment).

you’re able to also useWindows utilities to check for and repair errors.

If thehard drive is making unusual noises, that can also indicate a hardware failure in the drive itself.

Buy a new hard drive.

Unfortunately, there are times when even new hard drives are faulty and nothing you do will fix them.

Bring it back to the store and ask for a refund.

The most common one is that the drive isn’t formatted yet.

This is usually a simple fix if you follow the right steps.

Here are some examples: