# Hard drive shows up in BIOS, but not windows?



## Krazykid122

Like i said it shows up in BIOS, but not Device manager, Disk management, or Windows Explorer. Its a seagate 160GB that was in my friends computer, but his computer crashed, so i told him id look at it and try and fix it. I took the HDD out and put it in my computer so i could get all the music/pictures and stuff off he wanted, but i cant get it to show up. i even downloaded the seagate seatool and it wont show up in that either, it shows all my other drives and my seagate that u have twice, could it just be a bad HDD?

System specs in the sig


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## LinkError404

MY only recommendation if you cannot get it to function past bios is to get a hdd enclosure. I just had an issue similar to this yesterday. While it recognized it in bios it would not let me even boot the computer and when it did it wouldnt show that the hdd was plugged in. A hdd enclosure with a usb may work. Or like in my case, i have a top mounted sata hdd docking station on my case and it works for me.


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## Locool676

I always test my disks using Hirens Boot CD and booting into parted magic or any other distro of Linux, I have enough trouble with hard drives that work and windows. So download Hirens or another Linux live cd and test it there.


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## Boinz

IDE or sata?


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## Krazykid122

Its SATA, and i think they would rather buy a new HDD than buy an external enclosure.


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## thepoopscooper

go into the windows start menu, and type in "disk management" without the quotes and when you find the drive hit format.


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## Krazykid122

the drive isnt in disk management as i said in the first post







only shows up in bios, its not there for me to format, even on the windows installation disc, when i tried to re install windows, it said no drives available.


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## Vagrant Storm

Tried a different SATA cable?

Most likely a dead HDD though. I've a had a bunch that could be seen by the BIOS, but not in the OS. Really they aren't "seen" by the BIOS. They are just identified.


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## Krazykid122

i have not tried another cable, but i tried a spare HDD i have and it worked, so i guess the HDD is faulty.


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## Boinz

WAIT, this will sound weird, some bios have a sata compatibility mode, either seeing the sata as IDE legacy, native, or AHCI. Check there really quick.


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## Vagrant Storm

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Boinz*
> 
> WAIT, this will sound weird, some bios have a sata compatibility mode, either seeing the sata as IDE legacy, native, or AHCI. Check there really quick.


Yeah with older drives AHCI will cause problems.


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## Doomtomb

It's because the drive hasn't been assigned a drive letter. Start Windows -> Start Menu -> Disk Management -> Right click on the drive and assign it a letter. It's an old problem and an old solution for a very antiquated drive "lettering" system thank Windows years and years ago.


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## Krazykid122

Doomtomb as ive already said twice, it doesnt show up in Disk Management, only my other 3 drives are there, ive formatted and lettered numerous drives, so i know if its there or not







and if the drive was originally working in its own computer, the SATA mode shouldn't have changed right? but ill double check, what mode should it be in?

- I just hooked up the old HDD, still the same error
No boot device available
SATA 0:Installed
SATA 1:Installed
SATA 2:None
SATA 3:None

I looked in BIOS, i didnt see the option to change the HDD Mode, i do know what your talking about, i have a laptop here and in the BIOS it has the changeable modes, but the desktop im working on doesn't. I read online you can do it by registry, but i cant get it to boot, so i cant do that.


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## AndyP

Hi,
I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.

My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.

After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!

Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


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## Watcherseye

AndyP...I created an account just to say that worked. Cheers man.


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## WilliamTell13

I also just created an account to say thank you to AndyP! My drives showed up perfectly after running that memory diagnostic tool. I would have never thought of that! Thanks again!


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## thankyouAndyP

God bless you Andy P!


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## thankyouAndyP2

It works and it was the HDD that makes weird sounds. I was told that it is DEAD for sure. Thanks man!


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## CHIZ

EDIT: Sorry, it's early in the morning and I didn't even see the second page. Sorry to revive thread. Feel free to delete the post if you want.


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## grudge3001

Thanks a lot, Worked like a charm.


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## xRehab

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


ANDY P YOU ARE THE MAN! Seriously if this was reddit I'd have bought you gold by now, I don't even know how/why/what asinine reason makes your method work, BUT IT WORKS! Seriously man, I was trying to figure out why people were making accounts thanking you years later, and after it actually worked I can understand why. My bro and I have been sitting here for an hour with 2 pc's scratching our heads and something as simple as that fixed everything. thank you again


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## GodBlessUAndyP

I also just created an account to say thank you to AndyP!

God bless you.

@eliooses from Buenos Aires.


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## AEzLV

Oh AndyP, i encountered similar problem this morning.. after furiously clicking all the forums that had to do anything with this problem and every time finding my disappointment in their solutions, i finaly found this gem, this light in the sky, this precious thread.. I can't even begin to explain to you how gratefull i am, as i had my pics and all other personal data on my second HDD. Thank you so much, i belive that your karma points have gone trough the roof. Also, i just created account to say my thanks to you!


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## Tigger-Only One

I just upgraded my Windows 8 OEM Clone Hard Drive to Windows 8.1.. when I reconnected my other two Hard Drives (Four in Total) only the original Two showed up in windows.

Your ODD Solution work GREAT!

I am suspecting some persistent information stored either in Memory (or perhaps related to the Page File) that was then updated or cleared when the Memory Check was run

Thank you very much as this type of thing drives me NUTS!

PS - I will be utilizing overclock.net in the future but Created This Account initially to Say THANK YOU - Tigger (The Only One, that's TI-Double g-ER)


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## neonmd

AndyP
Made an account to say thanks!
Upgraded a machine from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and the SSD kept working but two hard drives would not.
BIOS detected both hard drives but they did not show in device manager and doing a windows memory diagnostic solved the problem.


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## oversteer

Felt like I had to join to say +1


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## cta

andy you saved my *** time...

thanks... rep+

i suspected i had flash usb drive on th mobo for a while (eject mode) and delete another volume... cause on next boot, windows thought everything is installed properly...

heck weird problem...

btw sticky this thread now...


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## theturbofd

Bruh..... i'm late but thank you based god


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## ThankyouAndyp3

Thank youuuu AndyP!


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## santiclaws

AndyP is indeed the man! Why the F this works, I have no idea. But it works!


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## Krysaenaar

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


I was very skeptical about your solution Andy.

I tried it in Windows 10 and my old SATA2 HDD now shows up.

Many thanks Andy +rep


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## ChrisNow

You are the Man Andy P. I'm another guy who created account to say thank you. I have in the basement streaming PC based on Asus P8P67 LE motherboard and I have connected into it 7 Hard drives. One to Marvell controller and 6 Intel ones. After reinstal system from Vista 32bit to Windows 10 64bit one of the hard drives connected to Intel controller disappeared from the system but not from BIOS. I was thinking that it is faulty SATA port or bad- updated BIOS until I found yours advice. The tool restarted the computer scanned memory and bingo ! 4TB drive reappear again. Thank you !


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## yesthanks

Thanks AndyP! Just created an account to thank you.

Windows 10, 2 SSD, 1 HDD. After removing one of the SSDs the HDD wasn't visible any more in the device manager. After running your WEIRD FIX everything works again


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## darezzi

AndyP, Jesus ******* Christ man. That is the most inane, weirdest, senseless suggestion ever.

And by god, it worked perfectly. You are my new hero.


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## awesome AndyP

he is no1!
he is the boss
he is awesome
he is AndyP.

Ty AndyP, ur the man!!


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## lrch

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


Sorry to necro this thread, but I've been having this issue with a HP SFF I put an extra couple of drives in. BIOS detects them, everything dandy, Windows 10 refuses to see any drive besides the boot.

Running out of logical options, I did this ^ and it worked. The mind boggles.

Does anyone have a theory or explanation for why this works?


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## Frazius

Memory check is the way


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## Frazius

Nope, but it's great anyway!


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## Frazius

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


You just saved my day.


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## AlexNJ

Oddly enough if worked...?


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## archaeusz

I didn't know how it fixed my issue too!!

My three hard drives cannot be detected in OS but deteced in BIOS. Tried changing SATA cables and power supply but no luck also tried reformatting in different OS. Thank you AndyP for this magic trick! This is the only thing that worked!

Registered here just to thank you!

You deserve a trophy!!


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## monkeypatch2

Made an account just to rep AndyP's solution!


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## jeskes

Also an AndyP supporter - wish I would have known this years ago!


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## AllHailAndyP

First off I would like to thank AndyP! He is a god among men and will forever be remembered for his dumb luck! After having to replace my psu and cleaning the whole inside of my computer I thought I was done until I saw my E drive was missing! Needless to say after a lot of tinkering I came across this post and gave it a try. To my surprise it worked! I don't care how old this thread is AndyP is a god among men and should be worshiped forever!


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## galandorian

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


Hey, just had this issue and logged on to say that you're the man and it fixed my issue exactly as you said it would! Great work!


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## preach777

Andy P is the MAN. It worked like a charm even with an older HDD. Keep up the good work, I am sure you are a friend to all in this thread.


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## b1gby

THANK YOU ANDYP


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## Bulletpig

ANDYP - Drinks are on me. Wow never seen this problem before and your fix was nails.

Created account just to say many, many thanks!

Pig


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## Angrydutch

Same as everyone else made an account for this, andyP you are doing Gods work here son ?


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## digeo

You the man ANDYP
Same here just made an account to say thanks


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## tpotenberg

5/1/2017 and it's still the magical fix. Thanks Andyp.


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## old grey fox

I'm another fan who created an account just to say thank you. I bought my husband a WD black 1TB drive for his photos and it just never showed up in Windows. After your fix, I was able to see it in the disk manager and get it allocated and formatted. He is happy, and thanks to you, I am still his hero.


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## SpoogeP78

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


Another user who made an account to say thanks to Andy P.

This worked for me as well. Can't figure out why it worked but hey, just go with it. I've now got my hdds back and that's all that matters.

His post needs to be stickied at the top of the Topic.


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## AndyPis4ME

Had to make an account for my man AndyP. Will you forever be remembered as the god of HDD discovery. Thank you my good man. Because of you, I can now download TB's of Hentai. Thank you. So much.


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## ProMild

just had this issue when replacing the ssd that was broken. suddenly my secondary drive stopped being recognized in windows but not in bios,
turn out all you just need to do is to restart the system, it's a bit weird since i shutdown multiple of time and it never get recognized but after i do restart it's suddenly show up,

but still thanks for andyp since i get the keyword "The PC will be restarted several time" from him.

for other who having same problem, try do a simple restart (Windows -> Restart)


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## Phenom2222

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


You should get a freaking noble prize, worked like a charm after hours and hours of headache..


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## jjfallmu

Give this guy a cookie. August the 13th of 2017 and still helping. Even in Windows 10 1703.

AndyP


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## soorellana

75% on Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool... So I started to create an account to say thanks to AndyP for such a simple and great solution... I hope... 99% .... now rebooting.... And It worked like a charm

August 26, 2017


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## Rellik711

thank you Andyp, I was spooked solid and this fixed my issue. <3 made an account just to thank you!


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## DamnWndws10

*Update:*
Previously (copy below) I wrote that the *Windows 10 Memory Diagnostic Tool trick* did not work for me, that all external SATA drives remained unrecognized by the OS despite trying every published software/hardware "fix" I could find. Then came a unexpected turn: I had given up and powered the desktop down with one difference - that time I also unplugged the AC power cord and left it off for a couple days. Upon turning the PC on again, lo and behold - the external drives *(except one)* appeared in Disk Management!
*Don't ask me.*
Of course, the Windows 10 "improvements" prevented them from being mounted automatically like in Windows 7/XP/Linux, they each had to be manually assigned a drive letter first. It remains to be seen whether or not the next W10 update (v-1703 Creators) will affect these problems.

The single exception to external drive recognition was a 3.5" enclosure model that was "updated" by the factory mid-production to "improve" (ha ha again!) the functionality of the HDD activity LED - apparently the changes also somehow prevent the W10 OS from detecting it via the eSATA connection no matter what you do, although its USB 3.0 connection still works, and that same eSATA connection works OK in Windows 7/XP/Linux.

Previous post:
- - - - - - - - - -
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the run "*Windows Memory Diagnostic*" trick *did not work* for me - after trying everything else, I ran it twice, in standard mode and then extended mode, the last taking several hours. It had no effect, the external SATA drives still could not be detected at all (other than in BIOS), not in explorer, disk management, device manager, show hidden devices, or any combination of cables, enclosures, drives, driver updates, SATA ports, BIOS settings, and scanning for hardware changes.

The thing is, the various external hard drive enclosures are detected OK in this same machine (and others) with Linux, Windows XP, 7, and the first version of 10. If the drives are taken out of the enclosures and put in the PC's internal racks they work OK there too. It was only after running Windows Update to get Windows 10 V1607 (Anniversary with the latest Sept. 2017 updates) that the external drives could not be detected, either by hot-plugging or booting with the externals connected.

There are many similar complaints going back a long time posted on a lot of web sites, so it looks to be purely a Windows 10 problem which is being ignored by Microsoft. Those asking for help on Microsoft's support site seem to only get non-answers, such as try running the built-in hardware troubleshooting tool and posting the results. This seems to be a standard evasive reply, given out again and again, even though that tool only ends up saying "Troubleshooting couldn't identify the problem".

Anyone have suggestions? This defect and a lot of other well-known glitches/security leaks make Windows 10 an ongoing nightmare. Even Windows XP works better for most purposes, and Linux looks more and more like a savior.


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## florinus73

Thanks Andyp.

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version 10.0.14393 Build 14393.


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## MukhaBoek

Many thanks AndyP. You can add me to the list of people who have created an account just to say thanks.
Who'd have thought that the Memory Diagnostic tool would resolve the issue??


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## Ascii Aficionado

2500k system died 6 months ago, have been using one of my storage drives as an external in an enclosure until yesterday when I built a new system. Bios showed the drives working yet one wouldn't show up in W10. I had tried switching out cables, even taking it out and trying it on the laptop again and it worked.

The diagnostic tool didn't work for me.

It wasn't until I noticed the drives appeared in Device Manager and Disk Management that the drive actually wasn't assigned a letter for some reason.

Assigning a letter solved the issue.


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## Maco88

Thanks AndyP

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update - Clean Install.

Secondary 2TB data drive, with all my data on it.. showing up in the BOS but not in Windows/Disk Management

Amazing & unbelievably *(what the **** has the memory diagnostics got to do with a HDD not showing up in Windows.... obviously something)* this worked for me.

Very keen to find out more about this.

Cheers


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## tictaktoe333

Just created an account to say cheers man! Can confirm still works on windows 10. My hard drives corrupted after an error with the "storage spaces" array feature. THANKS!


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## beret21

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AndyP*
> 
> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


It just worked for me on windows 10 in 2018







Thanks man


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## Sandholme

*Works on Win 10*

Thanks, AndyP Memory Diagnostic Tools worked on Windows 10 as well when one out of 5 drives went missing having previously been recognised.


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## pandatoucher

AndyP said:


> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


5 years later and this still works. Weird. Thanks Andy


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## dimmisel

Really I cannot believe that this worked even so many years after the post! AndyP, you are my man! You save my day too!



AndyP said:


> Hi,
> I've just had a similar problem. I installed Windows 8 on a new computer with just drive C installed and then added my extra SATA drives to copy my data from the old PC. They were recognised in the BIOS but didn't show in Device Manager or Administrative Tools. New Motherboard, new disks so no old incompatabilities.
> 
> My fix was purely by accident. I was in Admin Tools and saw "Memory Diagnostic Tools" and clicked on it as I've never seen it before.
> 
> After Windows rebooted after the test, all my drives were there!
> 
> Why it worked I have no idea but it did. Hope this helps.


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## DragonXII

*Unbelievable*

This just worked for me, HP 8300 SFF Elite, Win10, using as a HTPC. Wouldn't ever recognize the SATA1 drive (2nd HDD) no matter what I did regarding BIOS, Disk Management, physical cable management/troubleshooting. Then on a 'lark' a post from what 2012, I figure what the hell. And, seemingly like everyone else, think well it can't hurt, and I run this mem diag Win10 tool ... ... ... BOOM 2nd HDD drive is there. Andy, I have to ask, did you ever work at MSFT and write this little bug in there  SO CRAZY RANDOM


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## il_matthew

I've just regeistered to say tha IT WORKS EVEN IN 2020

Hard drive swapped from old pc to the new one and it didn't worked; I run Memory DIagnostic Tools and it workied like a charm!!! 

thanks AndyP


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