HDD wont show up in File Explorer, but shows in system BIOS

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ajs0

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Feb 11, 2015
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I am using a Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD (ST2000DM001) with Windows 8.1.

The HDD shows up in my computer BIOS, but I cannot see it in my file explorer. As of now, all my unimportant files are going on to my SSD.

This is my first build, so any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
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P
There are two ways this is done.

Many of the files you are talking about are maintained and used by Windows - things like My Pictures, My Documents, etc. There are places in Windows where you can specify the place you want Windows to put those things.

A lot of files are created by application software, such as graphics editors or work processors or spreadsheet software. In each of these there is usually a place where you can specify the default location for files used by that software. In many cases there are several sub-groups - for example, you might need to specify where a graphics program keeps its fonts, where it puts user-created files, where it put stuff into a temporary place during editing, etc.

Start with setting the...
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ajs0

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Nope. I can see my SSD though.
 
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gwapito

gwapito

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Sep 18, 2014
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ok before we go further make sure to back up your data first

go to device manager under control panel > look for ide/ata atop controllers then click it > then uninstall the driver

repeat the same process for any sata driver
it will ask you to restart your system so do it
once you restart windows will auto detect and install it
 
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D_Know_WD

D_Know_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hi there ajs0,

Do you see the whole capacity of the HDD in BIOS? If it shows zero, there may be some problem with the drive and I would advise you to contact manufacturer's Support.
Apart from that, I would also advise you to reinstall/update your SATA drivers as gwapito already suggested. Changing the cables as well as the SATA ports will not hurt as well.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD
 
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ajs0

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Thanks Guys! Now I see my drive in disk management, but when I go to File Explorer and look at Devices and Drives, I only see my SSD and DVD drive. Is there any way for me to make my HDD visible so I can move files to it?
 
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Paperdoc

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Good! You're almost there! Before going further, though, let me be sure I understand what you want. I assume you have your OS mounted on some other storage medium you boot from. This 2 TB Barracuda is to be used just as a data storage unit, and not the boot device. Right?

If that's right, go back into Disk Management where you can see this unit. It is probably showing as one large block labeled Unallocated Space. RIGHT-click on that and choose to Create a New Simple Volume. I should use up all the space available (I assume that's what you want) but it does NOT need to be made Bootable. If you have a choice, picking Quick Format (not Full Format) will save a LOT of time. Full Format takes hours to do a complete check of the HDD for Bad Sectors, but that is not usually necessary with a brand new HDD. When it's done, back out of Disk Management. Reboot to be sure Windows has updated its Registry and you should find the unit in My Computer ready to use.
 
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ajs0

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You are completely right. I have my OS booting from my 120gb SSD, but since 120 gigs is not a lot of space, I would like all my files to go to the 2tb drive. Do you happen to know how I can delete/move all the files on my SSD (except the OS) to the 2tb drive?
 
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Paperdoc

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There are two ways this is done.

Many of the files you are talking about are maintained and used by Windows - things like My Pictures, My Documents, etc. There are places in Windows where you can specify the place you want Windows to put those things.

A lot of files are created by application software, such as graphics editors or work processors or spreadsheet software. In each of these there is usually a place where you can specify the default location for files used by that software. In many cases there are several sub-groups - for example, you might need to specify where a graphics program keeps its fonts, where it puts user-created files, where it put stuff into a temporary place during editing, etc.

Start with setting the Windows default locations of files, because some app software will put their stuff in a Windows location like "My Pictures", but in a folder inside that main folder.

Once you have those folders established you can copy files from your SSD to the new folders on the HDD, and later delete the SSD files.
 
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