How To Fix a Hard Drive or SSD Not Showing Up in BIOS

Have you recently installed a new drive in your computer but it’s not showing up in BIOS? You’ve followed all the instructions and believe you’ve installed it correctly, but apparently, there’s still an issue. This can be a frustrating experience.

If you’ve installed an HDD or SSD and it’s not showing up in BIOS, you’re not alone. This could be caused by several different things. Fortunately, each one has a solution.

In this article, we’ll discuss the common reasons for a drive not to show up in BIOS, along with suggestions on how to remedy the situation.

Reasons Why a Hard Drive or SSD Not Showing in BIOS

If you’re having issues getting your drive to show in BIOS, there are some things that you can easily check to determine the problem. By first diagnosing what went wrong, you’ll then be able to get the drive recognized in BIOS. Here you’ll find the most common causes and suggestions on how to get them remedied.

Inspect Cables

It’s always a good idea to check that all cables are secure. Sometimes the issue is a loose cable connection. The drive won’t be recognized if a cable isn’t properly seated. You should take several steps to ensure that the drive is properly connected to the motherboard. Listed below are the steps to determine if unsecure cables are the culprit.

1. Unplug the drive from the motherboard.
   
2. Inspect and clean all cables.
   
3. Take a look at the motherboard connector pins to ensure they aren’t bent, broken, or damaged.
   
4. Reinstall the cables and make sure they click or snap into place.
   
5. Check to see that the cables don’t have any extreme creases or bends in them. If so, try rerouting them.

If the cables appear damaged or were severely bent, replace them and reinstall the drive. Damaged cables are often the issue and are easily replaced.

Update Drivers

An often forgotten but necessary part of installing a new drive is to ensure that your motherboard has the most updated driver installed. Outdated or incompatible drivers could cause your new drive to not show up in BIOS. Updating drivers should always be done when installing new components. To learn how to update your drivers, follow these steps:

1. Click “Start,” type “device manager,” and hit the enter key.
   
2. Choose “Device Manager” and expand “Disk Drives” by tapping on the arrow just to its left.
   
3. Select your drive and right-click on it.
   
4. From the dropdown menu, tap “Update Driver Software.”
   
5. Click “Search automatically for updated driver software.”
   

If there’s an issue with the drive, you’ll see a small yellow exclamation point beside its icon. If this is the case, follow the steps below to try and rectify the problem.

1. Right-click on the device with the yellow exclamation point.
   
2. Select “Properties.”
   
3. Locate the “Driver” tab and tap “Update driver.”
   
4. Follow the onscreen instructions.

After following the above steps, reboot your computer and check to see if the drive now shows in BIOS.

Format Your Hard Drive

If your drive isn’t formatted, BIOS won’t be able to recognize it. Thankfully, formatting is a simple procedure. To learn how to format your drive, follow these steps:

1. Tap “Start,” type in the word “Run,” and hit enter.
   
2. The “Command Window” will open. Type “diskmgmt.msc” and press the enter key.
   
3. The “Disk Management” window will open. Locate your drive and right-click on its name.
   
4. From the dropdown menu, select “Format.”
   
5. Here you can designate if it’s the primary drive and what types of data should be assigned to it.
   
6. Make your selections and hit “OK.”
   
7. Wait for the formatting process to complete. Restart your computer and check to see if the drive is now showing in BIOS.

Update Your Storage Control Driver

Another option to get BIOS to recognize your drive is to update your storage control driver. You can do this by making some changes in BIOS. To do this, follow the instructions below:

1. Reboot your computer and launch BIOS.
   
2. Find the “SATA Configuration Menu.”
   
3. Select “Configure SATA as” and choose “IDE.”
   

Save your changes and reboot your computer. Check to see if your drive now shows in BIOS.

Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Running the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter could diagnose and repair issues with your drive not showing in BIOS. Running this built-in Windows tool could be all that’s needed to solve the problem. It’s a straightforward process. To try using the troubleshooter, do the following:

1. Tap “Start,” type “CMD” in the search window, and press enter.
   
2. The “Command Window” will open. To run the troubleshooter, type in “msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic” and hit the enter key.
   
3. From the popup window, press “Next.”
   
4. Allow the troubleshooter to run and diagnose any issues.
   

Once completed, reboot your computer and check to see if the problem has been resolved.

Initialize Hard Drive

Sometimes a newly installed drive will need to be initialized. Without doing so, the drive may not show up in BIOS. Even if you are certain it’s been initialized, you can do it again to be sure. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Hit “Start,” type “diskmgmt.msc,” and press the enter key.
   
2. Locate the drive and right-click on it.
   
3. From the dropdown menu, choose “Initialize Disk.”
   
4. From the “Initialize Disk” dialog box, select the disk and hit “OK.”

Reboot your computer. Run BIOS and check if the disk is now showing up. Initializing your drive could be the solution.

Assign a Different Drive Letter

Another suggestion is to assign a different drive letter to the drive. A drive letter is assigned to each drive so that your computer can distinguish between them. Sometimes this will get BIOS to recognize the driver.

Usually, your primary storage drive is assigned the letter C. Secondary drives are typically assigned E and F. However, you can reassign the letters. If you’d like to try this option, follow these steps:

1. Tap “Start,” type in “Disk Management,” and press the enter key.
   
2. Once the Disk Management window opens, locate the drive and right-click on it.
   
3. Using the dropdown menu, select “Change Drive Letter and Paths.”
   
4. To change the drive letter, you can select any letter you’d like, so long as it’s not already in use./
   

After making your selection, reboot your computer and check if the drive shows up in BIOS. This process can sometimes force BIOS to recognize the drive.

Damaged HDD or SSD

If none of the above methods worked, you might have a faulty or damaged drive. Check with the manufacturer for a replacement or refund.

Hard Drive Not Showing in BIOS Solved

If you’ve installed a new drive, but it’s not showing in BIOS, it can prove to be an exercise in frustration. There are several fixes available. Through trial-and-error, you’ll be able to diagnose the issue and get BIOS to see the drive. Sometimes it’s a matter of replacing a damaged connector cable or ensuring that the drive is properly seated in the motherboard. Updating your drivers sometimes fixes the issue as well.

Has your hard drive or SSD not shown up in BIOS? Did you use any of the suggestions in this article to remedy the situation? Let us know in the comments section below.