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Windows won't read two external hard drives at the same time

Anonymous
2023-05-29T15:54:36+00:00

Hello,

I've been experiencing a reoccurring problem on my work PC where Windows sometimes won't read two external hard drives at the same time. There has been several instances where we've bought two new hard drives (same make and manufacture), formatted them to exfat and then windows will only recognize one of the drives when both are plugged in. Both will show up individually but not at the same time. Disk management only shows one drive when both are plugged in. It doesn't matter which USB ports I use. The drives will show up fine when plugged into a Mac but not my PC. I believe the problem is that Windows is interpreting both as the same drive. Even changing the drive letter does not resolve the problem. In fact if I change the drive letter on one, eject it and plug in the other, it will automatically change the letter on the second drive to match the letter I just applied to the first drive. It's strange because we have numerous pairs of hard drives (many the same manufacture) that are not subject to this problem. Older drives that we have still operate as they should (two or more can be plugged in at the same time). I'm wondering if it has to do with the formatting step. It seems that after formatting and renaming the drives, Windows is assigning the same identity to each.

Any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-29T18:11:09+00:00

    Hi, Calum. I'm sorry to hear you're having this problem, and I hope I can assist you to find a satisfactory solution.

    Let's try to reinstall the drivers this way:

    In Disk Manager:

    Connect only one external hard drive at a time and follow these steps:

    Open "Disk Manager" following the instructions in the previous step.

    Right-click on the disk you want to change and select "Properties".

    In the "Details" tab, select "Device Identification Number" from the drop-down menu.

    Write down the device identification number.

    Connect the second external hard drive and do the same procedure to get the Device ID number.

    Right-click on the second external hard drive and select "Uninstall".

    Disconnect the second external hard drive.

    Reconnect the first external hard drive and check if it is recognized.

    Repeat the process for the second external hard drive, but this time select the "Update Driver" option instead of "Uninstall".

    Make sure both external hard drives are recognized correctly.

    Check for driver conflicts: In Device Manager, check if there are any conflicts with drivers for external hard drives. If there are any conflicts, update or reinstall the drivers.

    Are the discs the same model? Can you pass me the model?

    Please note: This is a user-to-user community forum. We are users just like you who help others. We are not employees of Microsoft.

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