How To Fix External Hard Drive that stopped to show in the computer it looks like file are lost?

Do not initialize, format, delete, or create a volume on the Sony drive; first use its exact Disk Management status to determine whether it only needs a drive letter or has a filesystem/hardware problem.

1. Check the Sony drive’s exact status

1. Disconnect the other external drives to avoid selecting the wrong disk.
2. Right-click Start → Disk Management. You can also press Windows + R, enter diskmgmt.msc, and select OK.^1^
3. Identify the Sony drive by its approximate 1 TB capacity.
4. Read both:
   • The status beside Disk 1, Disk 2, etc.
   • The text inside its partition, such as Healthy, RAW, Unallocated, or Not Initialized.

Then use the matching case below.

If it is Online and Healthy but has no drive letter

This is the safest and most directly repairable case:

1. Right-click the large partition—the rectangular area to the right, not the “Disk #” label.
2. Select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
3. Select Add.
4. Choose an unused letter and select OK.
5. Reopen File Explorer and copy the important files to another drive immediately.

Assigning a letter makes an existing accessible volume visible in File Explorer; it does not format it.^2^

If it is Offline

Right-click the Disk # label and select Online. If it becomes Online/Healthy, assign a drive letter as described above.^3^

If it is RAW, Unallocated, Not Initialized, Unreadable, or Missing

Do not select any of these options while the files matter:

• Initialize Disk
• Format
• New Simple Volume
• Delete Volume

Formatting destroys data, while creating or initializing disk structures may reduce the chances of successful recovery.^1^

Because the drive also fails on another laptop, Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance treats that as evidence of a problem with the drive, cable, enclosure, or its internal hardware rather than only the HP laptop.^3^

Try only these non-destructive checks:

1. Connect it directly to a different USB port—not through a hub.
2. Test a compatible replacement USB cable.
3. In Disk Management, select Action → Rescan Disks.
4. Listen for clicking, repeated spin-up, or spin-down. If present, disconnect it and use a professional recovery service rather than repeatedly powering it on.
5. If the files are irreplaceable, use a professional data-recovery laboratory before running recovery software. Continued use of a failing disk can make recovery harder.

“Working properly” in Device Manager only reports the device/driver status; it does not establish that the filesystem and stored files are readable.

If the drive becomes accessible but files are missing

Copy every visible file first. Windows File Recovery can then attempt recovery from an external drive, but it requires the source to have a drive letter and the recovered files must be written to a different physical drive.^4^

For example, if the Sony drive becomes E: and another separate drive is F::

winfr E: F: /extensive

For documents only:

winfr E: F: /extensive /n *.docx /n *.pdf /n *.xlsx

Do not recover files back onto the Sony drive.

Safe-removal notification

This is separate from the missing-files problem. In Windows 11:

1. Right-click the taskbar → Taskbar settings.
2. Expand Other system tray icons.
3. Turn on Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media.
4. Use Show hidden icons in the taskbar tray, select the USB icon, and choose Eject device.

The icon may not appear when Windows does not recognize a connected device, which can explain why the Sony drive is absent from that menu. A recognized device should disappear from the menu and show Safe To Remove Hardware after a successful eject.^5^

References

1. Disk Management in Windows | Microsoft Support
2. Change a drive letter
3. Troubleshoot Disk Management
4. Windows File Recovery | Microsoft Support
5. [Windows 10](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/safely-remove-hardware-in-windows#use-the-system-tray-icon)