- Samsung Portable Ssd Not Detected By Software On Mac Computer
- Samsung Portable Ssd Not Detected By Software On Mac Keyboard
Summary
Jun 12, 2017 HELP! - MacBook Air SSD not Detected at All - Disk Utility, Can't Boot. Thread starter gavinstubbs09; Start date Aug 18, 2013. So I had to reinstall OS X on my MBA and halfway through the installer it said it failed. I restarted my mac, reset the PRam (which did nothing) and booted back into the internet recovery. My Air has never been. I am having a problem with my new Samsung Portable SSD X5. It is not being recognized on one of my systems (a new HP Z2 Mini G4 Workstation). It never gets the initial 'Approve' popup. The X5 does work on two other systems, a Dell XPS laptop and a Lenovo laptop. The HP did have a similar problem wit.
Is your SSD not showing up in Windows File Explorer or Disk Management? This tutorial describes four cases of Windows 10 not detecting a new (old) SSD, and you can try to fix the issue accordingly. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard when it's necessary to recover data from an inaccessible/formatted Solid State Drive.
Relax if your SSD disk is not showing up on your computer. Check the different cases and follow the corresponding solution to get rid of this issue on your own now.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Case 1. Drive Letter Missing | Open Disk Management > Locate and right-click SSD partition > 'Change Drive Letter and Path'..Full steps |
Case 2. SSD Not Initialized | Open Disk Management > Right-click SSD and select 'Initialize Disk'..Full steps |
Case 3. Unsupported File System | SSD becomes RAW, unallocated, Run EaseUS recovery software and restore data..Full steps |
Case 4. SSD Driver Issue | Open Device Manager > Go to Disk drives > Right-click SSD and select 'Uninstall'..Full steps |
SSD not showing up in My Computer
'I recently installed a Samsung SSD on my Windows 10 computer, but I find it not showing up under My Computer where the other hard drive is present. Is there any way to display the SSD?'
New SSD not showing up in Disk Management
'I got a new M.2 SSD from Intel. When I connected it to my PC, it does not show up in the File Explorer nor Disk Management. I don't know where goes wrong. Please help.'
The above users' stories are telling the same thing that happens to a Solid State Drive (SSD), which does not show up as other connected hard drives. In Windows 10, as well as earlier Windows operating systems, an external storage device not detected issue would throw people into unpleasant situations. Therefore, the biggest concern is how to fix the 'SSD not showing up' problem without losing data.
Next, we list four cases of SSD not showing up in Windows 10, and you can try to fix the issue accordingly. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free when it's necessary to recover data from an inaccessible/formatted Solid State Drive.
- Important
- Solutions to Case 1 to Case 3 are based on the prerequisite for the SSD not showing up in File Explorer but you can find it in the Windows Disk Management. And the Windows Disk Management solutions can be replaced by third-party free partition manager software as well, like EaseUS Partition Master, including change drive letter and paths, initialize hard drive and format a hard drive partition. The advantage of using third-party software over Disk Management is the ease of use.
Case 1SSD not showing up because the drive letter is missing or conflicting
In case the drive letter of the SSD is missing or conflicting with another disk, Windows OS will be unable to recognize it. It's fine because you can assign a new drive letter for the SSD in Windows Disk Management manually.
To assign a new drive letter, follow the steps:
- Step 1: Right-click on This PC, select Manage. Under the Storage section, click Disk Management.
- Here's an alternative way to open Disk Management in Windows 10/8.1/8/7: press Windows + R keys and type diskmgmt.msc in the Run box, hit Enter.)
- Step 2: Right-click on the SSD partition and select Change Drive Letter and Paths….
- Step 3: Among Add, Change, and Remove, click the 'Change' button, and then select a drive letter from the list. Click 'OK' to assign a new drive letter to the SSD.
Case 2SSD not showing up because it is not initialized
If you get a new SSD and it won't show up in the Windows Explorer, it's likely in the 'uninitialized' state. You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it.
Also, for an old SSD that shows the error 'disk unknown not initialized', the result is the same. In these two situations, to fix the problem, you can try to connect the SSD to the other working computer to check if it reports the same error. Otherwise, you need to initialize the SSD in Windows 10.
To initialize an SSD, follow the steps:
- Step 1: Open Disk Management as taught.
- Step 2: Find and right-click the SSD you want to initialize, and then click Initialize Disk.
- Step 3: In the Initialize Disk dialog box, select the disk(s) to initialize. You can select whether to use the master boot record (MBR) or GUID partition table (GPT) partition style.
Case 3SSD not showing up because the file system is not supported
If the above two methods do not work in your case, we need to think further. One presumption is that the file system has corrupted or Windows does not support the current file system.
As investigated, the relevant file system issues are mainly displayed as 'RAW', 'Free space' or 'Unallocated space'. To fix the file system issue, reformatting the disk would be enough.
- Warning
- As Disk formatting will completely erase data on it. If you didn't create a data backup before, download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for FREE to recover data from formatted SSD.
Step 1. On EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the drive marked with SSD where you lost data, and click the Scan button.
Step 2. When the scanning finishes, find lost SSD data from 'Deleted Files' or 'Lost Files'. 'Filter' and 'Search' may also help you find lost data via file types, file names, and extensions.
Step 3. Double-click to preview lost SSD files, select desired data and click the Recover button. Choose another safe instead of the SSD to keep the recovered data.
Case 4SSD not showing up because of disk driver issues
Just like a hard drive, most times the SSD is detected but not showing up in My Computer because the disk driver is not installed properly. So, you can try to reinstall the SSD driver to check if it can help to fix the issue.
- Step 1: Right-click on This PC, select Manage. Under the System Tools section, click Device Manager.
- Here's an alternative way to open Disk Management in Windows 10/8.1/8/7: press Windows + R keys and type devmgmt.msc in the Run box, hit Enter.
- Step 2: Go to Disk drives. It should list the storage devices that you have connected to your PC
- Step 3:Right-click the SSD and choose the third option 'Uninstall'.
Remove the SSD and restart your system. Try to connect the SSD again to check if Windows 10 detects the SSD as normal.
Conclusion
SSD, plus every other form of storage media, is prone to mechanical failure and physical damage. And one truth, lifespan is limit. We need to make further plans to safeguard data on the storage drive. Backup is always a wise choice. It's never too late to take actions to save a copy of hard drive data to another safe location, like a backup drive, cloud or network drive..EaseUS Todo Backup Free can do you a favor.
In conclusion, upon the topic of SSD not showing up in Windows 10, we analyzed four cases in total and showcased the corresponding fixes. In the middle and final repair process, we recommend three assistive tools.
- EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: to recover lost data from inaccessible and formatted hard drive/partition.
- EaseUS Partition Master: to assign a drive letter, initialize a disk and format a hard drive
- EaseUS Todo Backup: to back up a hard drive/partition.
'Hi there, do you know how to initialize a new SSD in PC? I recently bought a new SSD, and I added to my computer, but it won't allow me to create a new partition. It keeps asking me to initialize the disk with an error message ' Disk Unknown is not initialized'. How can I fix this issue?'
Why You Need to Initialize Hard Drive/SSD
Are you having a similar problem with your SSD or HDD that the disk drive is not responding or stay with an unallocated condition? Do you know why the system keeps asking you or forcing you to initialize HDD/SSD? Here below are the reasons and causes that you are in and why you have to initialize SSD or HDD:
- New HDD or SSD does not show up in PC
When a brand new SSD or HDD is plugged into PC, it may not show up in This PC/Computer immediately. You have to initialize it so as to make it detectable and work for storing data.
- Disk Unknown Not Initialized error
An error message such as ' Disk 0 is unknown, not initialized, unallocated' may pop up if you try to open a solid-state disk or hard disk drive. This problem can occur to all Windows systems, including Windows 10/8/7, and the only way is to fix 'disk not initialized' error.
- Logical Disk Manager cannot access a disk since it's not initialized
Sometimes, if a hard disk or SSD is not initialized into MBR or GPT, the system may warn you with an error message 'You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it'.
How to Initialize SSD/HDD in Windows 10/8/7 (3 Ways)
If you add a brand new disk to your PC and it doesn't show up in File Explorer, you might need to add a drive letter or initialize it before using it. There are three ways to initialize SSD or HDD in Windows 10/8/7.
- Tip
- If your disk already has files on it that you care about, don't initialize it - you'll lose all the files. You can export data with data recovery software. Then, initialize the disk by the following steps.
Solution 1. Initialize SSD/HDD with Free Software
You can initialize a disk easily and quickly with the help of EaseUS Partition Master Free. This free partition tool enables you to initialize a hard drive or an SSD with simple clicks. What's more, it is a superior free tool designed for everyone to manage partitions in Windows without data loss: beginners and experts alike.
Highlights
- Resize/move partition
- Merge partitions
- Wipe disk data
Follow the steps below to initialize HDD/SSD:
Step 1: Download the software
Download EaseUS Partition Master. Connect the hard drive or SSD to PC.
Step 2: Initialize your HDD/SSD
Right-click the target HDD or SSD and select 'Initialize to MBR' or 'Initialize to GPT' accordingly.
Fig 1. Initialize to MBR:
Fig 2. Initialize to GPT:
Step 3: Apply the operation
A pending operation of initializing disk to MBR or GPT disk will be added. Execute the operation and click 'Apply'.
Solution 2. Initialize SSD/HDD in Windows 10/8/7 with Disk Management
Here's how to initialize a new disk using Disk Management.
For Windows 10/8 users:
Step 1. Press 'Win + R', type diskmgmt.msc. and click 'OK' to open the Disk Management tool.
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Step 2. Find the HDD or SSD that you need to initialize and right-click on it, and select 'Initialize Disk'.
Step 3. In the Initialize Disk dialog box, select the correct disk to initialize. And then click 'OK' to accept the default partition style, or you can change the partition style (GPT or MBR) as you want.
After this, reboot PC to keep all changes, and then your disk can be used properly.
For Windows 7 users:
Step 1. Right-click Computer and select 'Manage' to open Disk Management.
Step 2. Right-click on the not initialized disk (HDD or SSD) and select 'Initialize Disk'.
Step 3. Select the disk(s) to initialize in the Initialize Disk dialog box and set the disk partition as MBR or GPT.
Reboot PC, and then your disk will be initialized to create new partitions on it for storing new data.
Solution 3. Run CMD to Initialize HDD or SSD
If you are familiar with Command Prompt, you can try this method. Again, back up data into another safe disk or external storage device if you have important data on it.
Step 1. Press Win+R and type: diskpart and hit 'Enter'.
Step 2. Type the following commands in Command Prompt and press Enter after each command.
If you want to initialize to MBR disk, in the command, input convert mbr instead of convert gpt, then, you've finished the disk initialize process with the above commands.
Also read:How to Fix Disk Unknown Not Initialized Error.
How to Initialize SSD/HDD on Mac
If you are a Mac user, you can also initialize your disk. This guide uses Mac OS X El Capitan or later. The procedure may be different from other OS versions.
Step 1. Connect your SSD to Mac with a USB adaptor. Select 'Initialize' when you receive this message - The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
Step 2. Disk Utility will pop up if not, open Disk Utility and you shall see the SSD listed under External
Step 3. Select the SSD and then select 'Erase' on top of disk utility
Step 4. Input your desired name of the partition, if you plan to install Mac OS onto the partition, choose OS X Extended(Journaled) as the format. Choose GUID Partition Map as Scheme. After you click 'Erase'.
Samsung Portable Ssd Not Detected By Software On Mac Computer
The SSD should now be visible on your desktop with the new name you gave it, as well as during the drive selection menu if you run an OS X installer.
Additional Information About Partition Styles - GPT and MBR
When you initialize a disk, you have to choose your partition style - MBR or GPT. MBR and GPT are two accessible partitions styles on Windows-based computers. Disks can be divided up into multiple parts called partitions. Each partition has to have a partition style - GPT or MBR. Windows uses the partition style to understand how to access the data on the disk. You can know their differences in detail in this table. What's more, you can convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR according to your needs.
Comparison | MBR (Master Boot Record) | GPT (GUID Partition Table) |
---|---|---|
Supported Partition Numbers | Maximum 4 partitions. | Maximum 128 partitions. |
Supported Disk Capacity | 2TB (for 512B sector), 16TB (for 4Kn sector) | No disk capacity limit |
Supported Boot Mode | BIOS | UEFI |
Supported OS |
|
|
Conclusion
Initialize SSD is one of the essential tasks. Knowing how you can initialize SSD on Windows and Mac can solve the uninitialized issue with ease. Initializing SSD and HDD in Windows 10, 8, and 7 is possible using free software, Disk Management, and DiskPart. It only takes a few steps to complete this process.
SSD Initialization Related Questions
Here are some related questions about SSD initialization. If you still have a problem, you can read on to get additional help.
Samsung Portable Ssd Not Detected By Software On Mac Keyboard
How do I initialize my new SSD?
To initialize a new SSD:
Step 1. Download EaseUS Partition Master. Connect the hard drive or SSD to PC Making apple and andriod app on mac.
Step 2. Right-click the target HDD or SSD and select 'Initialize to MBR' or 'Initialize to GPT'.
Step 3. Execute the operation and click 'Apply'.
Do I need to initialize SSD?
When a brand new SSD or HDD is plugged into PC, it may not show up in This PC immediately. You have to initialize it so as to make it detectable and work for storing data.
How do I initialize my Samsung SSD?
To initialize Samsung SSD in Disk Management:
Step 1. Press Win + R, type diskmgmt.msc. and click OK to open the Disk Management tool.
Step 2. Find the HDD or SSD that you need to initialize and right-click on it and select Initialize Disk.
Step 3. Select the correct disk to initialize. And then click OK.