Windows 11 does not see my portable SSD drive.

Question

I tried using a portable SSD drive, but Windows 11 does not recognize it. What might wrong?

Answer 1

Hello John, thanks for bringing this up. I want to make sure we cover everything. Don't worry, I will help you figure this out.

First, let me ask a few questions to better understand your setup:

• Does the SSD show up in Disk Management (Win + X > Disk Management), even without a drive letter?
• Have you tried another USB port or cable, preferably on another computer, to confirm the drive works?
• Is the SSD using exFAT, NTFS, or another format? Some formats may not be readable by default.
• Are you connecting it directly to the laptop, or through a USB hub/docking station?
• Have you installed any SSD management software or drivers from the manufacturer?

In the meantime, here are the steps that you can try.

1. Try to use a different USB port (preferably USB 3.0/3.1), cable, or another PC. This helps us to determine if it's a faulty port or cable.
2. Right-click Start > Disk Management. Look for the SSD in the list.

If you see it but no drive letter, right-click and select Change Drive Letter and Paths to assign one.

If it shows as Unallocated, you’ll need to initialize and format it. Please be advised that this erases data.

3. Update drivers

Open Device Manager > expand Disk drives. If your SSD appears, right-click it > Update driver.

Also check Universal Serial Bus controllers for errors (yellow triangle).

4. Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.

Expand USB settings > USB selective suspend setting and set it to Disabled.

If the SSD does not appear in Disk Management at all, this could be either a hardware issue (cable/port/drive) or a power delivery problem.

Let me know the answers to the questions and how these steps go.

You can also check this link for reference.

https://windowsforum.com/threads/troubleshooting-ssd-not-showing-up-in-windows-10-11-complete-guide.373106/

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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