Fixed: Seagate External Hard Drive Not Working [10 Solutions]

How do I fix my Seagate external hard drive not responding?

“I need to recover data from my Seagate external hard drive but it doesn't show up on my Windows 11 computer. How do I fix my Seagate external hard drive not responding? Will there be any chance of data recovery?”

Why is Seagate external hard drive not working?

You may occasionally encounter Seagate external hard drive not working, also known as not showing up or not responding. Why isn't my Seagate hard drive working? There are several other reasons why Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Windows 11:

What to do before fixing Seagate external hard drive not working?

We strongly advise that you retrieve files from the external hard drive first because some efficient ways to fix external disk problems will undoubtedly result in data loss, such as disk formatting. Use the potent hard drive data recovery software MyRecover to successfully recover data from a non-working Seagate external hard drive.

Step 1. hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan to let it be scanned.

Step 2. You will see all the files you want to retrieve here. You don’t need to wait for the process to complete if you find the files you want to recover. You can also type in the file name on the upper right search box to find the file you need quickly.

Step 3. Check the scanning result and choose a new location to save your recovered files. Click Recover xx files to save the restored files.

How to fix Seagate external hard drive not working

After recovering files from Seagate external hard drive, let's see how to fix the external Seagate hard drive not working. The solutions are divided into basic solutions and advanced solutions. Try basic solutions first.

Part 1. Basic solutions to fix Seagate external hard drive not working

Before going to advanced solutions, we offer you some quick solutions to fix Seagate hard drive not working.

Basic solution 1. Restart the laptop/PC 

Unplug your Seagate external hard drive from your computer. Now, turn off the computer for at least one minute. Connect the external hard drive and restart the computer.

Basic solution 2. Reconnect the USB Drive 

Simply unplug the USB drive from the computer and plug it back in. This method can occasionally work, allowing your PC to read the USB.  

Basic solution 3. Clean the USB contact points

Over time, physical components like dust and grime can build up, creating a physical barrier that prevents your USB from connecting to the USB port. Check again after cleaning your USB drive.

Basic solution 4. Use a different USB port

The USB connector might be defective, which can happen after repeated plugging in and out. So that you can experiment with another USB port on your PC.

Part 2. Advanced solutions to fix Seagate external hard drive not working

If the above basic solutions don’t help, you can try the following advanced solutions to fix Seagate hard drive not working.

Advanced solution 1. Change drive letter for the external hard drive

First, you can check if Seagate external hard drive not showing up in Disk Management. If it shows up, it is likely to have something to do with the Drive letter. You can assign a letter or change it to address this issue.

Step 1. Right-click on the Start menu > Choose Disk Management. Check whether your Seagate external hard drive shows up. If it is, follow the steps below to assign a letter to it. If not, go to the next solution.

Step 2. Type in cmd. in the search bar beside the Start menu > Click Run as administrator.

Step 3. Input the command DISKPART > list volume and press Enter. Then, you can see the list of all available volumes, not only physical drives.

Step 4. Find the letter you want to change and note its number > Enter the Select volume X. Replace the X with the number.

Step 5. Enter the assign=X. replace the X with the letter you want to assign. Finally, close Command Prompt.

Advanced solution 2. Update or reinstall the external hard drive drivers

Seagate external hard drive not working can be brought on when the disk drive is old or outdated. As a result, you might attempt to resolve the problem by updating the external hard drive drives.

Step 1. Right-click on the Start menu > Choose Device Manager > Go to Disk Drives and right-click on the Seagate external hard drive you plugged in > Choose Update Driver.

Step 2. Click Search automatically for drivers. Your computer will search the internet for the latest version of drivers and download/install them.

Advanced solution 3. Reinstall the USB controllers

All of your external hard drive devices are managed by USB controllers. Reinstalling USB controllers enables your system and external hard drive devices to communicate once more.

 Step 1. Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Step 2. Right-click your external hard drive controller and click Uninstall device, click Uninstall again when asked.

Advanced solution 4. Change properties in USB Root Hub

This method is similar to the one above, but instead of uninstalling the drivers here, you will change the USB Root Driver’s properties.

 Step 1. Open Device Manager, locate the Universal Serial Bus controllers section and expand it. Then find the USB Root Hub option. Right-click on it and then select the Properties.

Step 2. Switch to the Power Management tab and then uncheck the option Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. At last, click OK to confirm the change.

Advanced solution 5. Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

Try this simple and effective solution. To try to solve the problem on a software level, we will use Windows troubleshooting capabilities. As follows:

Step 1. Right-click Start and select Windows PowerShell > Choose Run as Administrator > Click Yes if prompted.

Step 2. Type in msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and press Enter.

Step 3. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions based on the problems that Windows discovers.

Advanced solution 6. Change the USB selective suspend settings

The hub driver’s automatic USB suspension is another potential cause of your external hard drive’s malfunction. In this situation, altering the USB selective suspend settings might be beneficial.

 Step 1. Right-click on the Start menu > Choose Power Options > Click Additional Power Settings.

Step 2. In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan setting.

Step 3. On the Edit Plan Settings window, click Change advanced power settings.

Step 4. Find and expand the USB settings section. Expand USB selective suspend setting. And set it as Disabled. After that, click Apply and OK to save the change.

The bottom line

This post focuses on providing solutions to fix Seagate external hard drive not working problem. After you’ve successfully resolved the issue, you can recover the data on your Seagate external hard drive using the freeware MyRecover.

To better protect your important data, backup your Seagate external hard drive with AOMEI Backupper. It enables you to create a file backup anywhere outside of the Seagate external hard drive with a few simple clicks and then restore files from the backup if something goes wrong with your drive.