My Drive does not appear in Windows Explorer view

When looking for attached hard drives, USB flash drives or CD and DVD drives using Windows Explorer, you may notice that some drives are not seen in Windows Explorer or the drive may disappear after a short time or when Windows resumes from Sleep or Hibernation. This can be caused by any of the following:

• Your drive does not have a drive letter assigned to it in Disk Management
• The drive may be disabled or offline
• Your USB driver may be corrupted
• Corrupted registry keys may be causing issues with connecting toyour CD or DVD drive

To resolve the issue follow the steps in the methods listed below starting with method 1, if the steps in that method do not resolve the issue, continue to the next method:

Method 1: Run the automated troubleshooter for your version of Windows:

(This method applies to Disk Drives, USB flash drives or CD and DVD drives)

For Windows 7 users:

If your using Windows 7, run the built in Hardware and Device troubleshooter to resolve the issue. To do this, click the link below and follow the steps on that article:


For Windows Vista users:

If your using Windows Vista, click the link below to download and run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter for Windows Vista:

Method 2: Make sure that the drive has a drive letter assigned in Disk Management:

(This method applies to Disk Drives, USB flash drives or CD and DVD drives)

If your hard drive, thumbnail drive, memory stick, or flash memory is recognized in Disk Management but not displayed in Windows Explorer, the drive may not have been assigned a drive letter by Windows.

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, and click System and Security viewed by Category View.
2. Click Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.
   
   If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
   
3. Look for a drive that does not have an assigned drive letter and is not labeled as System Reserved.
   
   Note: The System Reserved drive is reserved by Windows.
   
4. Right-click the unlabeled drive and click Change drive letter and paths…
5. Click Add and then click OK to select the first available drive letter.
6. If the Change drive letter and paths… option is not available, make sure that the drive is Online.
7. If the drive is Offline, right-click the disk number and click Online.

For more information on Adding, changing or removing drive letters for Windows 7, click the link below to see the article on the Microsoft website:
For more information on Adding, changing or removing drive letters for Windows Vista, click the link below to see the article on the Microsoft website:

Method 3: Make sure that the disk drive is Enabled

(This method applies to Disk Drives, and USB flash drives)

If the drive has been Disabled the disk will not be visible in Windows Explorer. To see if the disk is Disabled, follow the steps below to Enable it:

For Windows Vista and Windows 7 users:

1. Click Start and type Device Manager in the Search box
2. Click Device Manager in the Control Panel list
3. Locate the Disk drives item in the list and click the small arrow to the right to expand the list of drives
   
   • If a disk drive is disabled you will see an icon with an arrow pointing down over the icon of the disk drive
   • If you see an icon with an arrow pointing down over the icon of the disk drive, double-click the icon and click the Enable Device button
4. Click Next on the Enabling a device dialog box, click Next, and then click Finish
5. Click Close and then close the Device Manager window
   
   Note: If you don't see your disk drive in the listed drives, the drive may not have been detected by Windows.
   
   Note: If you receive an error message when Enabling the disk drive, you may have a defective disk drive.

For Windows XP Users:

1. Click Start then right click My Computer and click Properties
2. Click the Hardware tab and then click Device Manager
3. Locate the Disk drives item in the list and click the small arrow to the right to expand the list of drives
   
   If a disk drive is disabled you will see a red X over the icon of the disk drive
   
   If you see an icon with a red X over the icon of the disk drive, double-click the icon and click the Enable Device button
   
4. Click Next on the Enabling a device dialog box, and then click Finish
5. Click Close and then close the Device Manager window
   
   Note: If you don't see your disk drive in the listed drives, the drive may not have been detected by Windows.
   
   Note: If you receive an error message when Enabling the disk drive, you may have a defective disk drive.

Method 4: Make sure that the drive is Online

(This method applies to Disk Drives)

If the drive is currently Offline, the disk will not be visible in Windows Explorer. To check the current status of your disks, follow the steps below:

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, and click System and Security.
2. Click Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. Look for a drive that does not have an assigned drive letter and that is not labeled as System Reserved.
   
   Note The System Reserved drive is reserved by Windows.
   
4. Right-click the drive and click Change drive letter and paths…Click Add and then click OK to select the first available drive letter.
5. If the Change drive letter and paths… option is not available, make sure that the drive is Online.
6. If the drive is Offline, right-click the disk number and click Online.

Method 5: Your USB drive may be corrupted

(This method applies to Disk Drives, hard drives, USB flash drives or CD and DVD drives)

Your USB disk may be corrupted, to check for a corrupted disk, plug the disk into another computer to see if the disk is seen in Windows Explorer on that computer. Make sure that you have the driver installed.

If the device is still not seen in Windows Explorer on the alternate computer, the disk may be corrupted. Some hardware manufacturers do offer hardware testing software that may help to access and detect test for issues on their hardware. Visit the hardware manufacturers website and search for any helpful testing software.

Method 6: Corrupted registry keys may be causing issues with connecting to your CD or DVD drive

(This method applies to CD and DVD drives)

Corrupted registry keys may be causing your CD or DVD drive not to be seen by Windows. An automated Fix it is available to resolve this issue. To run this Fix it, follow the steps listed in the following KB article:

Answers Forum Support:

To see the discussion on this issue in the Answers forum, click the following link:

Additional Causes

Bitlocker Encryption:

When an external drive was encrypted with BitLocker (on a Windows 7-based PC) the drive may not be visible when plugging it to another computer (Windows XP-based PC). There may be an expectation of getting a popup asking for the BitLocker encryption key but this does not happen.

This can be resolved by decrypting and disabling BitLocker while connected to the first Windows 7-based PC, the drive will then be visible as expected on the second PC.

Roxio GoBack:
This problem may occur if you have used the Roxio GoBack program on the hard disk. The problem occurs because Roxio GoBack modifies the master boot record (MBR) and changes the partition type on the hard disk. This can cause the drive to be inaccessible in Windows XP, even when the hard disk appears in Device Manager and in Disk Management console.

To resolve this problem, contact Symantec for the latest updates to GoBack.

Or you can work around this problem by using the following steps:

WARNING: If you are not sure that you can safely follow these steps, contact your hardware documentation or contact the manufacturer of the hard disk or the computer before you continue.

1. Configure the hard disk as the primary master, and then restart the computer.
2. Disable Roxio GoBack. To do so, follow these steps:
   1. Press SPACEBAR to view the GoBack boot menu.
   2. Press D to disable GoBack, press Y to confirm, and then press ENTER two times.
3. Shut down the computer and then return the hard disk to its original configuration.