When your Maxtor external hard drive, SSD, or portable USB drive not recognized, not working or not showing up in a computer anymore, you will lose access to data as well. Here in this article, you'll learn to make the Maxtor external drive appear on the computer, and gain access to data. Follow to recover data from inaccessible Maxtor external hard drive immediately with the help of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.

From the Device Manager, open Disk Drives. Right-click on the external drive, select Properties, then select Driver. Select Update Driver, then Next, then Search for a better driver (Recommended). Specify a location by selecting Browse now. Browse to the just-created USB Drivers folder on the Desktop and complete the driver update. Download Hard Disk Sentinel (starts at $20) 4. Western Digital Data Lifeguard Diagnostic. As you can tell from the name itself, this software is made by Western Digital for Western Digital hard drives. However, just like the SeaTools, Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool works perfectly fine on any hard drive or storage medium.

This page mainly focuses on how to fix Maxtor external hard drive not recognized, Maxtor external hard drive not working, or Maxtor hard drive not opening issue without losing any data.

Maxtor External Hard Drive Not Recognized, Won't Open on PC

Maxtor is a brand of internal and external storage devices owned by Seagate. It has a serial of devices, including Maxtor OneTouch 4/3/2, Maxtor Z1 SSD, Maxtor M3 Portable External Hard Drive, and even Maxtor D3 Station External Hard Drive, etc. for personal users and business owners to store data.

Being like Seagate external hard drives, Maxtor users may also encounter diverse issues while using its storage devices to save data or transfer files on Windows or Mac computers. Don't worry if you are experiencing the same issues:

1. Case 1 - 'Maxtor external hard drive won't open on PC, what can I do to open it and get all data back?'
2. Case 2 - 'My computer cannot detect the Maxtor USB drive. Nothing shows up on my PC. So how do I fix this problem?'
3. Case 3 - 'My Maxtor external hard drive is neither recognized nor detected by my computer. How to make it detectable again?'

Maxtor external hard drive suddenly won't open or fails to show up on your PC? If you happen to be a user of Maxtor D3/One Touch or Maxtor portable USB drive, how will you fix such a problem? Is it possible to make the Maxtor external hard drive or USB drive detectable again?

Follow through the provided methods in the following parts to make your Maxtor external or internal hard drive work normally again without losing any data.

Part 1. Check Maxtor Internal/External Hard Drive State

Before you start fixing Maxtor external hard drive not recognized issue, you should first open Windows File Explorer and Disk Management to check its state. Then decide the exact problem that you are having and find out the right solution to fix the Maxtor drive issues.

Step 1. Connect your Maxtor external hard drive to PC.

Step 2. Double-click This PC or My Computer to open Windows File Explorer.

Step 3. Check if the device shows up or not.

If the Maxtor hard drive shows up but not openable or requires formatting, follow Part 2 to restore data first with reliable data recovery software.

If the Maxtor device not showing up or recognized, continue with Step 4 to check its state in Disk Management.

Step 4. Right-click Windows icon and select Disk Management to open it.

Step 5. Check its' state in Disk Management:

If your Maxtor external hard drive or USB shows as RAW or unallocated, move to Part 2 to restore data first.

If the Maxtor hard drive shows as unknown, offline, no media, or new volume, refer to Part 3 for practical fixes.

If the Maxtor internal or external hard drive doesn't show up in Disk Management at all, take it to a local device repair center. You'll need a manual disk repair service for help.

Part 2. Restore Data from Maxtor External Hard Drive

Applies to: Restore data from inaccessible, unopenable, RAW, unallocated Maxtor internal/external hard drive, avoiding data loss.

In order to prevent further data loss, we recommend you take action to restore data from Maxtor external or internal hard drive immediately. All you need is a powerful hard drive recovery software to restore all lost data on Maxtor external hard drive, USB, etc devices.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is capable of scanning and restoring everything from your Maxtor external hard drive or USB drive with ease.

3-Step Tutorial: Recover Data from Maxter External/Internal Hard Drive

Step 1. Choose the external hard drive

Since you're going to recover data from the external hard drive, run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the exact drive where you lost data. Click Scan.

Step 2. Scan for lost data

The software will start immediately to scan all over the selected drive for all lost data. During the scan, you could see more and more data showing up in the results.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. You can preview the file by double-clicking on it. Click Recover and choose another location to save the recovered data.

Remember to save the recoverable data to another secure location in case of further data loss. After restoring valuable data from the Maxtor external hard drive, you can now move to Part 3 and pick up a reliable resolution to make your device back to work again.

Part 3. 13 Fixes for Maxtor External Hard Drive Not Recognized/Not Showing or Not Working Issues

Applies to: Fix Maxtor external hard drive/hard drive not recognized, not working, or not showing up error on Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, etc.

In this part, you'll learn several practical methods to get Windows to recognize your Maxtor external hard drive or to make Maxtor internal hard drive work again:

Note that, if your Maxtor hard drive or external USB drive not recognized or not showing, try Method 1 - Method 7 to make your drive show up or detectable again.

If your Maxtor or other brands of internal/external hard drive is not working, try Method 8 - Method 13 to make your drive back to work again.

Fix 1. Change USB Ports and Reboot PC in Safe Mode

Maxtor USB hard drives are connected to a computer via USB cable, so when your storage device is not recognized by your computer, changing the USB ports can help:

• Step 1: Connect the Maxtor external hard drive or USB to another USB port on your PC. Try all the available USB ports and see if it shows up.
• Step 2:Try to connect your Maxtor drive to your family's or colleagues' computers. Is it showing up there?
• Step 3:Use a screwdriver to open the tower case, and connect the Maxtor drive to the motherboard USB ports in the back of the tower.

If nothing shows up, never mind, you can reboot PC in safe mode:

• Step 1: Go to Settings, click on Update & security;
• Step 2: Click on Recovery, select Advanced Startup and click Restart now;
• Step 3: The PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen, press F4 to initiate the PC reboot into Safe Mode.

Then check whether the Maxtor external hard disk or USB drive can be detected or recognized on your computer.

Fix 2. Change Drive Letter

When Maxtor external or internal hard drive doesn't have a drive letter, only display as a new volume in Disk Management, it won't be detected by Windows File Explorer.

You'll need to add a drive letter to your device using Disk Management:

• Step 1:Connect Maxtor external hard drive to your PC, and open Disk Management.
• Step 2: Right-click the Maxtor volume and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'.
• Step 3: In the new window, click 'Change'. Assign a new drive letter to your USB and click 'OK'.

Fix 3. Create a New Partition

If your Maxtor hard drive displays as unallocated or unknown in Disk Management, it won't be detected by Windows File Explorer. You'll need to initialize the disk and create a new partition on the drive so to make it usable again.

Initialize Hard Drive:

• Step 1: Connect Maxtor hard drive to PC, and open Disk Management.
• Step 2: Find the uninitialized, unknown external hard drive, right-click on it, and select Initialize Disk.
• Step 3: Then set the disk to initialize and set the disk as MBR or GPT.

Create a New Partition on Maxtor Hard Drive:

• Step 1: Keep Maxtor external hard drive connected to your PC and open Disk Management.
• Step 2: Right-click on the unallocated space and select 'New Simple Volume'.
• Step 3: Set a new drive letter, file system, and size for the new volume.
• Step 4:Follow the onscreen instruction guidelines to finish the process.

Fix 4. Active Maxtor Hard Drive Online

When Maxtor external or internal hard drive is offline in Disk Management, it also cannot show up in Windows File Explorer. You can set the hard drive online using Disk Management with the following steps:

• Step 1:Keep Maxtor hard drive or external device connected to PC and open Disk Management.
• Step 2: Locate and right-click on the Maxtor disk, select 'Online'.

Fix 5. Enable Legacy USB Support in BIOS

If the Maxtor hard drive is not enabled in BIOS, your computer motherboard won't be able to detect it. Then Windows cannot recognize it either.

Here is how to enable USB support for the Maxtor hard drive in BIOS:

• Step 1:Restart PC, press F2/F8/F11 to enter BIOS.
• Step 2:Go to the Advanced tab, select 'USB Configuration'.
• Step 3: Select Legacy USB Support and set its state as 'Enabled'. Save the changes and exit.

Fix 6. Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting

• Step 1:Type power plan in Windows Search box and hit Enter
• Step 2:Enter Power Options, select 'Change plan settings' > 'Change advanced power settings'.
• Step 3:Expand 'USB settings' > 'USB selective suspend setting' > 'Setting' > 'Disabled'.
• Step 4:Click 'OK' > 'Apply' to save the changes

Fix 7. Uninstall or Reinstall Disk Driver and USB Controllers

When the hard drive driver is outdated, you may also not be able to view or find the Maxtor device on your PC. You can update your disk drivers and USB controllers to make the Maxtor external or internal hard drive detectable again:

Update Disk Driver:

• Step 1: Right-click on This PC or My Computer, select 'Manage'.
• Step 2: On Computer Management, select 'Device Manager'.
• Step 3: Expand Disk drives, right-click on your hard drive which is not showing up, and select 'Update driver'.
• Step 4: Select 'Search automatically for updated driver software'.

Update USB Controllers:

• Step 1: Open the Run box (Windows + R), type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
• Step 2: Expand 'Universal Serial Universal Serial Bus controllers'> right-click each USB device found there and select 'Uninstall'.

Check out whether any device shows up as unrecognized or not:

• If the Maxtor external hard drive shows as unrecognized, go to the 'drivers' tab and delete/uninstall the driver; Then check out if the external hard drive shows up in My Computer/My PC.
• If it shows up but disappears later, repeat the above steps and go toDisk Management, change the drive letter of your Maxtor external hard drive or USB and reconnect it to the PC to detect the Maxtor drive again.

The above solutions are designed for fixing Maxtor hard drive not recognized, not showing issues. If your hard drive or external USB can be detected but is not openable or inaccessible, check and follow fixes below to make your drive work normally again.

Fix 8. Check Disk Error

When your hard drive contains disk error or file system errors, it may not be able to be accessed. You can either use Disk Checker or CHKDSK command to fix errors on your hard drive. Here are the steps:

Check Disk Error using Disk Error Checking

Maxtor Hard Drive Drivers Windows 10

• Step 1: Right-click This PC/My Computer > Select 'Manage'.
• Step 2:In Disk Management, right-click on Maxtor external hard drive or USB drive and select Properties > Tools.
• Step 3:Click 'Check' under 'Error checking' to check and repair the drive for file system errors.
• Step 4:After this, right-click on the Maxtor drive and click Properties.
• Step 5:Click Security > Edit > check all boxes for Authenticated Users, System, Administrators, and users under Allow permission.
• Step 6:Click Apply and OK.

Check Disk Error using CHKDSK CMD

Repair not working Maxtor external hard drive/USB with CMD, follow the guide:

• Step 1:Type cmd in Windows Search and hit Enter.
• Step 2: Right-click Command Prompt and select 'Open as administrator'.
• Step 3: Type diskpart and hit Enter.
• Step 4: Type: chkdsk g: /f /r /x (g should be the drive letter of your Maxtor external hard drive.) and hit Enter.
• Step 5: Type: exit to finish the process when the disk checkup process is finished.

Now your Maxtor external hard drive or USB drive should be accessible to be opened and work normally.

Fix 9. Repair Bad Sectors

Fix 'Maxtor external hard drive undetectable' error with partition manager freeware - EaseUS Partition Master, follow the guide:

• Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master Free and right-click the partition that you want to check by clicking 'Check partition'.
• Step 2: Choose the way that you want to use to check partition: Check Partition Properties, Call Windows Chkdsk to fix errors, or Surface Test. Click OK.
• Step 3: Let EaseUS Partition Master automatically check the hard disk partition errors and repair errors for you. Click OK to finish the process.

Fix 10. Format Maxtor External Hard Drive

If Maxtor external hard drive or USB is with RAW file system or becomes inaccessible, you can format it to NTFS or other formats flexibly, making the device usable again:

• Step 1: Open Windows File Explorer, right-click on the inaccessible external hard drive or internal hard drive partition and select 'Format'.
• Step 2: On the format window, select the desired file system - NTFS for your device.
• Step 3: Check 'Quick Format' and click 'Start'.

Fix 11. Run Windows Troubleshooter

• Step 1: Open Windows Setting, go to Update and Security.
• Step 2: Click 'Troubleshoot', go to 'Hardware and Devices'.
• Step 3: Click 'Run the troubleshooter' and wait for the process to complete.
• Step 4: Once the scan process completes, choose the found issue that you want to fix and click 'Next'.

Fix 12. Update Windows to the Latest Version

• Step 1: Go to Windows Settings, click 'Update and Security'.
• Step 2: Click 'Windows Update' and select 'Check for updates'.
• Step 3: Click 'Install Now' if new update is available.

Fix 13. Clean Up Virus

Sometimes, unknown viruses or malware infections may also cause data loss or storage device unopenable issues. If you are having such a problem, downloading any virus cleaner tool to clean up the virus first.

Clean Up Virus:

• Step 1: Download or install any one of the following virus cleaner software on your PC.
• ①. Norton AntiVirus; ②. Kaspersky Anti-Virus; ③. Avast; ④. ESET NOD32 Antivirus; ⑤. Avira.
• Step 2: Connect your problematic Maxtor device to your computer and run the antivirus software.
• Step 3: Select to scan and clear virus and malware on your Maxtor hard drive or external hard drive.

After this, you can then try to open and check your files saved in the Maxtor storage devices. If files get lost, don't worry. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard with reliable file recovery features can help you out.

Conclusion

This page covers 13 solutions to help Maxtor users effectively fix Maxtor external hard drive, Maxtor HDD/SSD, USB drive not recognized, not showing, and even not working issue on Windows PC.

If you have valuable files saved on the storage devices, turn to professional hard drive data recovery software for help. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is one of them and it's ready to help to rescue your data anytime.

FAQs About Maxtor External Hard Drive Not Recognized

Some of you may have more problems with fixing not working Maxtor or other brands of storage devices. If you are one of them, check out the following questions and answers. You may find answers and solutions here.

1. What to do if Maxtor hard drive/external hard drive not recognized in Disk Management?

When your external hard drive doesn't show up in Windows File Explorer and Disk Management at all, what can you do? Here are some tips for you to try:

1. #1. Unplug Maxtor external hard drive and replug it to PC correctly.
2. #2. Change the USB port.
3. #3. Change the USB connection cable, power cable.
4. #4. If nothing appears, take your storage device to a local disk repair center. A manual disk repair service is what you need.

2. How to fix Maxtor hard drive not working on Mac?

If you are a Mac user and your Maxtor external or internal hard drive is not working on Mac, try the following fixes:

1. #1. Re-insert the Maxtor external hard drive to Mac
2. #2. Change USB data cable
3. #3. Change the USB port or connect Maxtor external hard drive to another computer
4. #4. Format Maxtor hard drive or external hard drive for Mac
5. #5. Reset NVRAM: Restart Mac > Press: Options + Commands + P + R keys for 20 seconds > release the keys if Mac restarts.
6. #6. Set Maxtor external hard drive to show up on the desktop: Finder > Preferences > General > Check External disks/Hard disks.
7. #7. Send Maxtor external hard drive to a local repair center if it doesn't show up at all after trying the above fixes.

3. How to access my Maxtor external hard drive?

1. Connect one end of the USB cable to the USB port on your Maxtor hard drive.
2. Turn on your portable hard drive.
3. Click 'Open folder to view files' then click 'OK.' This will open your Maxtor hard drive to reveal any files or content saved to it.
4. Locate the files you want from your computer, then right-click each one.

4. How do I get Windows 10 to recognize my external hard drive?

Open Disk Manager by pressing Windows + R, in the run prompt type diskmgmt. msc, hit Enter key, it will open the disk management that will list all the disks that are connected to the computer. Check if you can see the USB drive.

Note that if you have precious data saved on your Maxtor external hard drive, always remember to run a reliable data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to bring your file out of problematic storage devices.

Maxtor Hard Disk Drive Driver Download For Windows 10 64-bit

Occasionally, when you plug in any Seagate external hard drive to PC, it may not show up or be detected by your PC. Consequently, the disk itself and the folders and files saved on it become unapproachable and unluckily this is a common problem with Seagate drives. If you don't have any important data on the hard drive, you can just format it easily. However, if it contains lots of important data, how can you recover data from it? In this article, we'll tell you why is your Seagate external hard drive not showing up or detected. Then, we'll cover the methods to fix it as well. And what's important, we'll tell you how to recover data from the hard drive after making it work again.

1Why Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Up or Detected?

In most cases, you can access the Seagate External Hard Drive through Windows File Explorer. However, there is a great possibility that the hard drive doesn't show up in the devices and drives list. Apart from that, the Seagate external hard drive might also not show up in Disk Management. The problem can be caused by one of the following reasons:

• Broken USB port or broken USB cable

• Unsupported File System

• Partition issues on the hard drive

• The hard drive driver is corrupted or outdated.

In the following part, we'll talk about how to fix the Seagate external hard drive not showing up in the computers based on the above possibilities.

2Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Up or Detected in Windows 10/8/7

Maxtor Hard Disk Drive Driver Download For Windows 10 32-bit

Seagate external hard drive is always used to back up important data or transfer data between computers. So, it's essential to make it works fine all the time. The following are some solutions to solve 'Seagate external hard drive not showing up or detected'.

• Method 1: Try a Different USB Port or USB Cable

• Method 2: Initializing the External Hard Drive

• Method 3: Create a New Partition

• Method 4: Change or Assign Drive Letter

• Method 5: Reformat Hard Drive

• Method 6: Update or Reinstall the Device Driver

Method 1: Try a Different USB Port or USB Cable

If your Seagate external hard drive is blinking but is not detected by your PC, then you can try to unplug it from the USB port and should plug it into a different USB port. Besides, you can reboot your PC and try to connect your Seagate external hard drive to the computer again. You can also connect it to a different computer or use a different USB cable. If this simple solution works then your problem is resolved. If not then move on to the other solutions offered here.

Method 2: Initializing the External Hard Drive

When you find the Seagate external hard drive is not showing up in your computer, the first place you should check is Disk Management. You can right click on the Windows button and choose 'Disk Management' from the list. Or press Windows button + R to bring out the dialog. Enter diskmgmt.msc to proceed. This will also open Disk Management.

You'll see the available hard drives which are connected and recognized by the computer. If you are attaching a brand new external hard drive to the computer for the first time, you'll see it here but it's not initialized. Follow the simple steps below to initialize the disk.

Step 1: Right click on the disk and select 'Initialize Disk'.

Step 2: Choose a proper partition style and click 'OK' to confirm it.

Method 3: Create a New Partition

If you see that your disk is simply unallocated, you only need to create a new partition for it. Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Right click on the unallocated disk and choose 'New Simple Volume' from the options.

Step 2: A 'New Simple Volume Wizard' will show up. Follow the wizard to specify the volume size and assign drive letter or path.

Once done, remove the Seagate external hard drive and connect it to the computer again. Then, you'll find that the disk is detected and showing up in the Windows File Explorer.

Method 4: Change or Assign Drive Letter

If the Seagate external hard drive does not have a drive letter or the drive letter conflicts with other disks, the hard drive won't show up in your computer. Under this circumstance, you need to assign or change the drive letter.

Step 1: Right click on your hard drive and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'.

Step 2: Select 'Add' option if your hard drive doesn't have a drive letter, and select 'Change' option if it already has one and you want to change it.

Step 3: Choose a letter for the drive and that's all.

Method 5: Reformat Hard Drive

As we have mentioned in the Part 1, the unsupported File System will cause the 'Seagate external hard drive not showing up' issue. If you find your hard drive is partitioned but still not show up in your computer, it is possible that it's partitioned with a different file system. For example, if you have formatted the hard drive with APFS File System on Mac, this problem will certainly happen when you connect the hard drive to Windows computers. To fix it, you need to reformat your Seagate external hard drive with NTFS File System or FAT32 File System.

Step 1: To do this, right click on the hard drive and select 'Format' option.

Step 2: Choose 'NTFS' or 'FAT32' from the File Sysetem.

Note: Reformat your Seagate external hard drive with new File System with erase all the data on it. If you can, please remember to back up your data before formatting. However, if you do not have the chance to back up the data, you can use a professional tool to recover the data after formatting.

Method 6: Update or Reinstall the Device Driver

Maybe your Windows has a driver problem with your device and by using the Device Manager you can check it. You can open Device Manager by pressing Win+R together to open the 'Run' dialog then enter devmgmt.msc. Next, Expand the Disk drives category and check for any devices with a yellow exclamation point next to them, right-click on its name and select 'Update Driver'. If it works then it's ok otherwise uninstall and then reinstall the driver. To uninstall the driver, click on Uninstall that will help you completely uninstall Drivers.

3Bonus: How to Recover Files from Formatted Seagate External Hard Drive?

Due to the 'Seagate external hard drive not showing up' issue, you might not be able to back up your data before initializing or reformatting the hard drive. Luckily, there are loads of powerful data recovery programs nowadays. One such program is iMyFone AnyRecover which can help you recover data from the formatted hard drive easily and quickly. Furthermore, it is compatible with all the versions of Windows. Together with the accessible interface, the software does not require any technical knowledge. You can do it by yourself without anyone's assistance.

Why Choose iMyFone AnyRecover?

It proves helpful to support 1000+ file types including documents, musics, images, audios, emails, archives and others.

Based on the all-round scan and deep scan, it guarantees the highest recovery rate in the market.

After scaning, you can preview the data freely. And you can use the free version to recover 3 files for free.

By using the program, your data security is 100% ensured.

Simple Steps to Recover Data from Formatted Hard Drive:

Step 1: First of all launch AnyRecover software. Then select a disk under the 'External Removable Devices' tab.

Step 2: After selecting the location, hit 'Start' button to start scanning.

Step 3: The program will start scanning, and show you all the lost files in the list. You can select to preview them and click 'Recover' to get back your data.

Overall, it is not too difficult to fix Seagate external hard drive not showing up only if you take proper action. If you tried the above-mentioned solutions and the Seagate external hard drive still not detected or recognized the cause might be the hard drive itself. If you accidentally format your Seagate external hard drive, iMyFone AnyRecover can help you recover data from it.