[Solved] 10 Fixes for How to Repair Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working/Showing

May 28, 2025Nicole Jones

Have no idea of how to fix Toshiba external hard drive not showing up or other errors? Delete some important files by mistake without a backup? Actually, there are many cases of Toshiba external hard disks not working, and it is quite annoying to find that all your files stored on the Toshiba are inaccessible.

Do not worry about that. This article shows easy solutions to repair Toshiba external hard drive problems and data loss cases. Thus, you can repair the not-recognized hard drive to the normal state effortlessly, with all your lost data recovered.

Repair Toshiba Hard Drive

Part 1. Reasons Why Your Toshiba Hard Drive Not Showing/Working

There are numerous reasons why your Toshiba hard drive might lead to this. Here’s a breakdown of potential causes.

• Connection issues: loose USB connection, faulty USB cable/port, insufficient power, and USB hub issue.

• Driver problems: outdated/corrupted drivers, driver conflicts, and unassigned driver letters.

• Hardware issues with the Toshiba hard drive: physical damage, internal component failure, and power supply issues (for powered external drives).

• Operating system issues: OS not recognizing the device, disabled USB ports, and Windows updates.

• File system errors and corruption: file system corruption or unrecognized file system.

• Malware or viruses.

Part 2. How to Repair Toshiba Hard Drive Not Showing/Working

Bonus: How to Recover Lost Files from Toshiba External Hard Drive

You can create a new partition to replace the one that was not shown. Before partitioning the drive, you need to recover the lost data with Toshiba external hard drive software. Otherwise, all your original data will be overwritten permanently.

Fortunately, Aiseesoft Data Recovery is exactly the best Toshiba hard drive recovery program you are looking for. You can recover almost all data types from most data loss situations quickly as a pro.

• Preview the detailed information of each data before the Toshiba external hard drive recovery.

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• Wide support of recoverable data types like images, photos, videos, audio files, emails, database files, and other system files.

• Offer simple data recovery with fast scanning speed for all situations.

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Step 1.
Get the Toshiba hard disk recovery software free download on your Windows computer. Launch this program after the installation. Then, select the hard disk drive where you may find the lost files.
Choose Image Type
Step 2.
Scan data on the chosen drive. You can click Start Scan in the lower right corner of the screen.
Scanning Process
Step 3.
At last, click "Recover" to start recovering data from Toshiba external hard drive.
Recover Success

Method 1: Check USB Port and Driver Updates

Note: You can use a new USB cable or USB port to have a test. Moreover, it is also possible to plug the Toshiba HDD to other computers.

Step 1.
Press "Windows" and "R" keys together to get the "Run" dialog.
Step 2.
Type "devmgmt.msc" in the fixed blank, and then choose "OK".
Step 3.
Expand the "Disk drives" list in the "Device Manager" window.
Step 4.
Right click on your Toshiba external hard drive and choose "Update Driver Software…".
Step 5.
If there is any available update, do as the on-screen instruction tells to update your Toshiba hard disk driver.
Check driver update

Method 2: Check Power Management for USB Hub

Step 1.
Locate the Device Manager window by entering "devmgmt.msc" in the "Start" menu.
Step 2.
Expand the "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" item.
Step 3.
Right click on the "USB Root Hub" option, and then choose "Properties".
Step 4.
Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" in the "Power Management" section.
Step 5.
Click "OK" to save the change and fix the Toshiba external hard disk not detected error.
Turn off usb hub

Method 3: Reboot Your Computer into Safe Mode

Step 1.
Choose "Update & Security" in the "Settings" menu.
Step 2.
Select "Recovery", "Advanced Startup" and "Restart" options in order.
Step 3.
Wait until your Windows computer boot into another Startup Settings screen.
Step 4.
Press the "F4" key on your keyboard to trigger the Safe Mode startup page.

It seems to be the universal solution to fix the common file recovery, like repair corrupt file, hidden file, etc.

Change drive letter and paths

Method 4: Change Drive Letter and Paths

Step 1.
Right click on "This PC" or "My Computer" and choose "Manage".
Step 2.
Locate the "Computer Management" window, and then choose "Disk Management" in the left panel.
Step 3.
Right click on the external hard drive to get "Change Drive Letter and Paths".
Step 4.
Select a letter for your hard drive from the down arrow.
Step 5.
Choose "OK" to perform Toshiba HDD recovery.

It seems to be the universal solution to fix the common file recovery, like repair corrupt file, hidden file, etc.

Change drive letter and paths

Method 5: Uninstall and Reinstall Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver

Step 1.
Type "devmgmt.msc" in the "Start" menu, press "Enter" key to get Device Manager.
Step 2.
Expand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" category.
Step 3.
Right click on all displayed USB devices and choose "Uninstall".
Step 4.
Check if the Toshiba external hard drive can be detected or not.
Step 5.
If it works, you can change drive letter and paths to fix the not detecting problem. (Reboot PC if you fail to find the hard drive.)
Uninstall and resintall driver

Method 6: Initialize Disk with a New Toshiba External Hard Drive

Step 1.
Head to the Disk Management window by typing "diskmgmt.msc" in the "Run" dialog.
Step 2.
Right click on the partition of this hard disk.
Step 3.
Choose "Initialise Disk" from its right-click menu.
Step 4.
Choose "GPT" if your Toshiba HDD is over 2TB. If not, you can select "MBR" instead.
Step 5.
Click "OK" to complete the disk initialization process.
Initialize disk

Method 7: Update Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver

If your Toshiba hard drive is not recognized by your PC, you can’t directly update it through Device Manager. With this said, you can go to Toshiba’s official site to download the latest version of your Toshiba drive and install it.

Method 8: Reinstall USB Controllers

A newly installed or corrupted USB driver can also cause your Toshiba external hard drive not to be recognized. Here’s how to fix this issue.

Step 1.
Insert Device Manager in the Windows search bar and launch it.
Step 2.
Choose the Universal Serial Bus controllers section and expand its menu.
Step 3.
Right-click on a yellow USB port and select Uninstall device.
Step 4.
Disconnect your Toshiba drive and restart your PC. This will automatically install USB controllers, and you may see your Toshiba hard disk on your computer now.
Reinstall USB Controllers

Method 9: Enable Legacy USB Support

Also remember to enable your Legacy USB Support, this may prevent your PC from detecting the Toshiba hard drive.

Step 1.
Restart your computer and enter the BIOS mode. You can press the corresponding button to enter it. The button depends on your computer’s manufacturer.
Step 2.
Go to the Advanced section and continue with USB configuration.
Step 3.
Choose Legacy USB Support and confirm by the option of Enabled.
Step 4.
Quit from the present page and save all changes.
Enable Legacy USB Support

Method 10: Check for Windows Updates

Sometimes, an older Windows version might be incompatible with your external hard drive, preventing it from appearing. Updating Windows to the latest version can often fix this.

Step 1.
Insert windows update in the Windows search box and launch it. Find Check for Updates to wait and see whether it’s the latest one.
Step 2.
If updates are available, a link will be provided. If the system shows as “up to date,” it means no new updates are currently available for your system.
Step 3.
If updates are available, click on the Download and install button to install the newest version.
Step 4.
When the installation process ends, you can see a Restart option on your screen. Hit it and renew things on your Windows computer.
Check Windows Update

Part 3. FAQs of Toshiba External Hard Drive

Can an external hard drive be repaired?

Yes, an external hard drive can sometimes be repaired, but the feasibility and cost depend heavily on the type of damage it has sustained. It’s crucial to distinguish between logical damage and physical damage.

What is the life expectancy of an external hard drive?

An external hard drive typically lasts 3-5 years if it avoids physical damage, though this can vary by brand, model, and storage conditions. If you rely on one for backups, it's wise to replace it every few years to keep your data truly safe.

How do I know if my external hard drive is bad?

If you notice slowdowns during data transfer from your external hard drive or if your system becomes dull when the drive is connected, these are often signs of potential hard drive failure.

Conclusion

Last but not least, you should also clean up your computer with an anti-virus tool regularly. Well, next time you encounter the Toshiba external hard drive detected but not accessible or other unphysical problems, you can freely download Aiseesoft Data Recovery for a try.

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