It is worth starting the search for answers on the topic under discussion with the assertion that nothing is missing for nothing.
In any error, in any problem in the operation of the operating system and the computer as a whole, there is necessarily a certain causal relationship, the search of which becomes the key to solving them. It must be understood that the operation of a computer has a very complicated structure in which all components perform a certain functionality, and without the presence of any serious reason, the loss of their functionality is impossible. From this statement, one should proceed in search of a solution to the problem when the disk partition "disappears" from the operating system.
Search for Reasons
First, you need to determine what kind of problem you are facing -
- The disk partition “disappeared”;
- the disk “disappeared”.
This is important to determine, since if a disk and all its partitions are missing, then the considered problem with a high degree of probability is connected precisely with a hardware failure, that is, a physical malfunction of a hard disk or solid-state drive.
When using a desktop computer, you should check:
- correct connection of the hard disk and the motherboard;
- correct operation of the power supply;
- no damage to the disk case.
You will need to check all the visual aspects that may indicate the reason why the disk disappeared from Windows Explorer and the corresponding sections of the operating system.
If only one of the disk partitions is missing, and the rest have not lost their visibility, the problem may be in a software failure, so the range of possible solutions in this case will be more diverse.
Solutions
If you encountered a similar problem, then you probably visited other resources, many of which recommended, to put it mildly, incredulous methods - to assign a letter or format the section.
Here you need to determine the terminology. By the word “disappeared” - it should be understood that the disk partition simply does not appear in the “This PC” window (My Computer), but is visible, for example, in the “Disk Management” section or through any file managers.
Therefore, the first thing that needs to be done is to open regular disk management tools by executing (WIN+R) the “diskmgmt.msc” command.
From what you will see there and will depend on further actions, namely:
The Disk/partition of the Disk is not displayed
It as it was already announced earlier, directly speaks about existence of physical malfunction. Especially acute, such a development occurs when using external storage devices.
It is necessary to understand that hard drives and solid-state drives are extremely "delicate" components of the computer, which are extremely sensitive to external influences.
For example, some laptop owners "sin" too strong use of physical force when closing the lid of the laptop or its transportation.
In this scenario, you will need to check the visibility of the disk in the BIOS, for this:
- Restart the computer;
- At the time of starting the computer, press the key that is responsible for entering the BIOS, for example, "F2", "F10", "F12", " TAB " or "ESC";
- Depending on the BIOS version, find a section that displays a list of connected devices, such as "Main" or " Information»;
- If the hard drive is not there, it is a direct road to the service center or to the store for a new device.
The Disk is displayed in disk Management and in BIOS.
It is in this case that the advice about assigning a letter to it is useful, for this open "Disk Management" and pay attention to the status assigned to the problem partition:
If it is specified that the disk is not initialized, right-click on it and click "Initialize Disk" and pay attention to this article where this issue was discussed in detail;
If "Unallocated" is specified, right-click on it and select "Create simple volume". It remains only to follow the advice of the "Wizard" to create a disk partition with the selected volume.
If it is specified that the partition is "Healthy" then:
- Right-click on it and select "Change drive letter and path…";
- In the window that opens, click on the "Change" button;
If there is nothing, click "Add";
- Select a letter from the list, bearing in mind that the letters of the HDD/SSD partitions, as well as the connected storage devices should not be repeated, and click "OK";
- Click "YES" to agree that some software may stop working due to changes you make;
- Restart your computer and check the visibility of the problem disk partition.
If physically with HDD/SSD everything is all right, then the given actions will be enough. But check the quality of their work (the presence of broken sectors) is still worth it.
Conclusion
As part of the conclusion, it is worth mentioning the option of using a flash drive/or disk (which is less likely) with specialized software, for example, it may be LiveCD with Acronis.