SSD Not Showing Up: This Is How To Fix It 

In recent times, the Solid State Drives (SSDs) have been making a strong entry into the storage market and they are getting good acceptance even better than the Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) thanks to their speed and reliability among other things. As they continue to capture the market, they are not immune to certain problems such as the SSD not showing error which makes it impossible for you to find the drive in your File Explorer.

Why is SSD Not Showing Up?

There are a number of reasons why you are unable to see the drive in your file explorer. The first, which is the one that happens the most is when there is a compatibility issue with your controller drivers. When you are using a very old motherboard, you may have some issues with it because the newer SSDs come set for newer motherboards so you may update the one you are using to be able to see it. Also, the wrong installation of your drive is another reason that may cause the SSD not to show.

The SSD may be new and it is yet to be initialized, or the SSD partitions may be lost and unallocated. There are various other issues that may cause this problem. Whatever it may be, here are ways that you can easily fix it.

This Is How To Fix The SSD Not Showing Up Issue

1. Format Your Drive

The first thing that you may need to do if you are installing the SSD for the first time on your computer is to format the drive. This will be helpful when the drive is hidden due to wrong file system adoption. The important thing to remember is that when you decide to format your computer, all files will be lost. To do that, follow these steps if you have your Windows disk:

  1. Insert the Windows set up disk in your computer
  2. Next, shut down the system
  3. Take off all other drives except the SSD
  4.  Boot your computer
  5. As it comes up, press the F12 key on your keyboard and the boot device options will be brought up. Select the drive that has the setup.
  6. Next, press any key when you are prompted to do so with the message “Press any key to boot from CD…”
  7. You want to click on Install and then select the language you want then click Next.
  8. Click on Accept on the License terms page
  9. Select the custom installation option
  10. In the next windows, select SSD drive when asked where you want to install it.
  11. Next, click on “New.” If you this option doesn’t appear, click “Drive options (advanced)”
  12. If there are partitions, select the one you want to format and then select format, followed by quick format and then click OK.
  13. After this, select the maximum MB allowed and then click “Apply”
  14. Once you are done with the formatting, close the page and then shut down your system
  15. Put in all your drives and restart your system.

2. Uninstall the IDE ATA storage controller drivers

Another thing that may cause this issue is relating to your storage controller. Because of this, you will want to fix it by uninstalling it and then allowing the Windows to automatically install the fix the driver issues. To do this, simply follow these steps:

  1. Open the Run command by pressing the Windows key + R
  2. Next type devmgmt.msc and press the enter key. This will open the device manager
  3. Go to the “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers” section and expand it
  4. Right-click on your controller and then click on “Uninstall device”
  5. Confirm your selection to uninstall the drivers by simply clicking “Uninstall”
  6. Once the process is complete, restart your PC. The computer will automatically install the drivers.

3. Assign a drive letter for your drive

It is possible that the SSD not showing up issue is caused by a missing drive letter or it could also be that it is conflicting with another disk. Because of this, you will need to assign a new letter for it following these steps:

  1. On your desktop, right-click on my computer and select manage
  2. Click on Disk Management (you can also open it by launching your Run command using Windows and R keys. Next, type diskmgmt.msc in the box and then press enter)
  3. Right-click on your SSD and then select Change Drive Letter and Paths….
  4. Click the Change button
  5. Select the drive letter you want and click OK. This will give your drive a new name and prevent any conflict.

4. Change SATA controller mode

When you make use of the wrong controller mode, it can also conflict with your drive and make it impossible for it to show. When you change the protocol for the drive that connects to your SSD, that may fix the problem.

  1. Restart your system
  2. As it is coming up, press F2 or F10 keys so as to boot into BIOS
  3. Using the arrow keys, navigate to the “Advanced” tab and then scroll to  “SATA Controller Mode.”
  4. What you want to do next is to select the SATA port that connects your SSD and press enter to select another mode.
  5. Save the changes and exit.
  6. Restart your system and by this time, it should start working. If it doesn’t, you can keep changing the modes until you get the right one.

See Also: How To Chose the Right SSD For Gaming – Useful Tips

5. Fix SSD Not Showing Up Issue Through Troubleshooting

Sometimes, you can fix the problem by simply troubleshooting your computer’s hardware and devices. This will find the problem and fix it automatically. Here are the steps involved:

Open your control panel by going to your Start menu and right-click it then select control panel

In the search bar of the control panel at the top right, type Troubleshooting. When you get the result, click on Troubleshooting

  1. Click on View All. You will find it on the panel on the left side of your screen
  2. Next, you will want to click on Hardware and Devices.
  3. Click on Next in the window that appears and follow the instructions.
  4. Allow the system to troubleshoot
  5. When it has finished scanning, click “Apply this fix”
  6. Restart your system and then try to see if your SSD is now showing.
Tim Flaherty
Tim Flaherty
Tim is our talented senior tech writer and editor, the one who plays music on replay, drinks more coffee than beer, plays video games, and reads poetry. In between, Tim reviews products, write about computers, games, hardware, software, guides, reviews and talk tech and arts. If there is a WWIII, he thinks it could be caused by bad writing.

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