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Hello, I backup my files on the external harddisk before I reformatted my PC. Then I installed the OS. At first, PC can read external HD with drive letter, space usage and free space percentage, can read folders but it says all folders are empty!
I tried to reformat my PC again. This time, external HD doesn't recognize a drive letter, so are the files stored. This is really a bummer.
What could be the reason and solution? Can I still retrieve all my important files stored?Thanks!

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Dani AI

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Useful follow-up and practical checks based on ’s troubleshooting: a drive that appears present (shows capacity) but has no visible files or no drive letter is usually not a lost-disk mystery — it’s most often a power/connection, driver, permission, or filesystem issue. Moving the cable to a different USB port is a good quick test; when that fixes it it points to port power or hub/driver behaviour rather than catastrophic drive loss.

Quick diagnostic checklist to apply now:

  • Check Disk Management (Computer Management -> Disk Management): does the volume appear? If so, assign or change the drive letter rather than formatting.
  • Check Device Manager under Disk drives and Universal Serial Bus controllers for errors; uninstall the device and scan for hardware changes, and update chipset/USB drivers.
  • Try a rear motherboard USB port or a powered USB hub — front-panel ports sometimes provide less current or sit behind an internal hub and fail to enumerate bus-powered drives.
  • Show hidden and system files in Explorer and try listing files from a command prompt (dir /a) to rule out hidden attributes or permission issues. If files exist but are inaccessible, take ownership (folder Properties -> Security -> Advanced) rather than reformatting.
  • If the volume shows as RAW or the filesystem seems corrupt, stop writing to the disk and create an image before attempting repairs. Use a recovery-focused environment (Linux live USB can often mount disks ignoring Windows ACLs) or recovery tools (TestDisk, PhotoRec, commercial recovery) as needed.

Cautions and next steps: do not reformat a volume you need data from. If simple fixes fail, make a sector image and consult a professional data-recovery service rather than repeatedly running repair tools that may make recovery harder.

Member Avatar for spidey

I just tried it in my office PC and it works!
My home PC has HardDisk partitions of C: and E: while DVD-RAM is D:.
My office PC drive is C:. Ext HDD is read as E:.
Does it have something to do with the drive letters?
Any help please? I can't afford to lose my personal and work files.

Member Avatar for spidey

Alright, I just found out what causes the problem.
I tried connecting it in the USB ports at the back of the CPU and it worked! The two front USB ports don't accept the external harddisk.
Solved!

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