I have lost my D drive and E drive

Question

I am not sure what happened - I received a notice my external drive was not being backed up - I checked and neither the external E drive or my D drive is even listed. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Hi Dan Phipps,

Thank you for reaching out. If you received a notice that your external drive was backed up but you don’t see the D: or E: drive listed, this usually means Windows is having trouble detecting or mounting the drive, rather than the data being removed.

To resolve this issue, please try the checking steps below in order:

1, Check Disk Management

• Press Win + X > Disk Management
• Look for the drive by size, even if no letter is assigned
• If the drive appears, it means the data is still present

2, Assign a drive letter (if missing)

• Right‑click the drive > Change Drive Letter and Paths > Add
• Choose an unused letter and confirm

3, Verify Device Manager

• Press Win + X > Device Manager
• Expand Disk drives and USB controllers
• If you see warning icons, restart the PC to reload drivers automatically

4, External drive only (E:)

• Try a different USB port (avoid hubs)
• Use a different cable if available
• If the drive has its own power adapter, confirm it’s connected

Important: If Disk Management shows the drive as RAW or Not Initialized, do not format it. Formatting can permanently remove existing data. At this point, testing it on another PC can help determine whether the issue is system‑related or drive‑specific.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 2

The missing D: and E: drives are most likely storage devices that Windows is no longer detecting or mounting correctly (for example, an internal data drive and an external USB drive used for File History/backup). Use these steps to troubleshoot:

1. Confirm physical connections
   • For the external E: drive, make sure the USB cable is firmly connected to both the drive and the PC.
   • Try a different USB port on the PC.
   • If possible, try a different USB cable.
   • If the D: drive is also an external drive, repeat the same checks.
2. Check if Windows sees the drives in Device Manager
   1. Right‑click the Start button and select Device Manager.
   2. Expand Disk drives and Universal Serial Bus controllers.
   3. Look for any devices with a yellow exclamation mark or listed as “Unknown device”.
   4. If one appears:
      • Right‑click it and select Uninstall device.
      • In the menu bar, select Action > Scan for hardware changes to let Windows detect it again.
   5. If the drives do not appear at all, test them on another PC if available. If they also fail there, the drives themselves may be faulty.
3. Check Disk Management for missing or uninitialized disks
   • Right‑click Start and select Disk Management.
   • Look for disks that:
     • Show as Offline, Not Initialized, or Unallocated, or
     • Have no drive letter assigned.
   • If a disk is present but has no drive letter:
     • Right‑click the volume and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
     • Click Add (or Change) and assign a drive letter (you can reassign D: or E: if they are free).
   • If the disk is missing entirely from Disk Management, go back to Device Manager and the physical checks above.
   • If the disk appears but Windows reports errors or it sometimes disappears, back up any accessible data immediately; this can indicate a failing disk.
4. Reconnect the File History/backup drive If the E: drive was used for File History or backup:
   1. Connect the external drive.
   2. Open Control Panel > System and Security > File History.
   3. If Windows reports the drive is disconnected, reselect the backup drive or network location.
   4. After reconnecting, either wait for the next scheduled backup or select Run now to start a backup manually.
5. If the drives work on another PC but not on this one
   • Focus on the PC’s USB ports, chipset/storage drivers, or possible hardware issues on the PC.
   • In Device Manager, check again for any storage/USB devices with warnings and reinstall them as above.

If none of the above steps make the D: or E: drives appear in Disk Management or Device Manager, and they also do not work on another PC, the drives are likely failing and professional data recovery or replacement may be required.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Disk Management
• Reconnect Your File History Drive in Windows