No access to external hard drive - how to solve the problem

If you no longer have access to the external hard drive on a computer, there are several possible reasons for this. Even if a faulty file is behind it, your files are not lost as you can perform a repair procedure.

No access to external hard drive: Possible Causes

First, check some hardware issues if you can't access the external hard drive. Test if the hard drive is recognized on another USB slot and scan the cable for cable breakage.

1. If you have just connected the external hard drive and you can't access it, you need to map the external hard drive to your operating system first.
2. If the external hard drive has been in use for some time, check in Disk Management to see if the computer still recognizes the drive.
3. If the drive is listed correctly here, make sure you have the administrator rights to access the drive at all. Also check with a right click on the file to be opened, whether this is not encrypted. Under "Properties" navigate to "Advanced" and see if "Encrypt content" is selected.

Is the external hard drive defective?

Especially if the hard drive has been used for a long time, a fault on the hard drive may be responsible for you no longer being able to access it.

1. Start the Windows command prompt with the key combination "Windows key" + "R" and enter the command "chkdsk C: /f /r" in the text field. Instead of "C", enter the drive letter of the external hard drive.
2. Windows now starts a process that checks the hard drive for errors. If an error is detected, Windows tries to fix it automatically.

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