9 Effective Solutions to Fix “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” Error

Summary: In this article, you will learn the effective ways to Fix “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” Error and recover lost data along the way with Bitwar Data Recovery Software on Windows 7/8/10.

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“I own a 2TB external hard drive designed by Toshiba. I have been using the external drive for over a year now, and it is filled with over 1TB of my data. Just yesterday, the hard drive icon suddenly disappeared from my computer and stop working, although, the indicator light of the hard drive is still on. I have no idea what is going on with my Toshiba external hard drive. Is there any way to fix it?”

This is a prevalent problem when we are using an external hard drive. This error occurs with Toshiba, Seagate, SanDisk, Samsung, etc. There are many essential ways to fix the “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” error on your system, but along the way, you may need to recover your data because you need to format or boot your system, which may cause data loss.

Therefore, we will split the solutions to two types of category, which is the safe solutions and unsafe solutions. Don’t worry, and we will show you step by step on how to recover your data if you lose your data after or along the way.

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Just follow the article below, and we will show you the best solutions to fix the Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working Error effectively on your system!

Fix 1: Fix “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” Error -Safe Solutions

Solution 1: Check the External Hard Drive Physical Status

Try to connect the external drive by using a brand new USB port and check whether it is working or not. If it is not, then take a good look at your hard drive to check there is any physical damage to it.

After you had confirmed that the device is physically damaged, you have to take it to the nearest Toshiba service center to repair it. Assuming that the external hard drive is out of warranty, you may have to pay for the repairing cost.

Solution 2: Test The Toshiba External Hard Drive Connection

Sometimes “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” error occurs on your system is because of the connection problem with your external hard drive and the computer.

You can try the methods below:

1. Change the external hard drive connection port to other USB ports.
2. Try to use the original cable to connect the hard drive to your computer.
3. Check the connection of your hard drive with another computer.
4. Use a new cable to connect your hard drive.

Solution 3: Update Your Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver

Suppose that after following the above solutions, your Toshiba external hard drive is still not working or detected by your PC, you may need to update the device driver. Sometime, an outdated driver may cause your system not to support or error during the operation.

If you can’t detect your hard drive for the driver update, you have to go to the official homepage of Toshiba to download the latest driver installer. Then, enter the model and the serial number of your disk to start the update.

Solution 4: Toshiba External Hard Drive Light On But Not Working

Most of the time, this technical issue also occurs on another type of external hard drive brands. The best way to overcome this particular problem; you can refer to “Fixed: Seagate external hard disk light blinking but not detecting.” It will show you a more specific and precise way to fix this issue!

Solution 5: Power Management for USB Hub

Step 1: Open your computer and click on Start.

Step 2: Click Run and type devmgmt.msc and execute.

Step 3: When the Device Manager opens, you need to click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers at the bottom of the panel.

Step 4: Make a right-click on the USB Root Hub and from the menu clicks on Properties.

Step 5: Finally, go to Power Management and uncheck Allow the Computer to Turn Off This Device to Save Power option.

Solution 6: Boot the Computer into Safe Mode

If the above solution is not working for you, you can try to reboot your PC into Safe Mode to see whether Toshiba external hard drive can work or not. By restarting the PC, we can find out and check the exact problem of the external hard drive.

Step 1: Go to the Settings of your computer and click on Update & Security.

Step 2:  Please click on Recovery. Next, go to Advanced Startup and click Restart Now.

Step 3: Your PC will reboot immediately, as the startup screen appears. Then, press F4, and the computer will go into Safe Mode.

Step 4: Finally, connect the Toshiba external drive and check out if it is getting detected or not.

Steps to Retrieve your Lost Data with Data Recovery after Fixing Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working Error

After you have repaired the “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” error by the solutions given above, it may be a possibility that your files are out of order and missing. Worst-case scenario, the entire external hard drive could be erased.

If you have faced the technical situation above. Fear not! You can always use the best data recovery Bitwar Data Recovery to recover your data back effectively. It also supports both Windows and Mac systems. Moreover, it is capable of restoring deleted or lost data from your Toshiba External Hard Drive on Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Step 1: Download the software according to your system.

Step 2: Install and launch the software.

Step 3: Please connect the external hard drive to your computer and then click the External Devices Recovery option from the program interface. Then, click Next to proceed.

Step 4: A list of file types will appear on the screen. Select the specific file type according to your requirement, or you can choose Select All Types. Then, click Next.

Step 5: After everything is selected, click on the Recover button below, to save those files on your computer’s hard drive.

Essential Tips: Remember, do not restore the files on the external drive; by doing so will rewrite the data, and they will be lost forever.

Fix 2: Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working Error – Unsafe Solutions

Hopefully that everything is working fine after you had followed the guidelines and instructions above. However, if it is still not detected or not recognized on your computer, you have to string along with the following methods below to fix the “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” error.

Gentle Reminder: Please remember to recover your data from your hard drive by following the tutorial above because, along the way, the solutions below may cause data loss to your Toshiba external hard drive.

Solution 1: Format your Hard Drive Disk

Step 1: Go to your desktop and open your This PC. Then, right-click on your Toshiba Hard Drive and click Formatted…

Step 2: Please set the file system: NTFS, FAT, FAT32 according to your need and click Start.

Step 3: After you click Start, a warning window will appear and click OK to start formatting your hard drive disk.

Solution 2:  Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working Error with CMD

Step 1: Open your computer and click on Start or press Windows + R on your keyboard. Type cmd in the Run dialogue box and hit Enter.

Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, type chkdsk/f c:. Then hit Enter and execute. For your information, C  indicates the drive letter of the external drive.

Step 3: Lastly, type exit to close the window after the process is complete.

Solution 3: Reinstall Toshiba Hard Drive Drivers

The external hard drive uses a specific driver. If they are corrupted, then you will have trouble using them. So you should reinstall the hard drive drivers again.

Step 1: Go to (Windows + R) Run and type devmgmt.msc. The Device Manager will open.

Step 2: Then, click on the option at the bottom of the panel, called Universal Serial Bus Controllers. You will find the USB drive there, right-click on it and choose the Uninstall option.

Important Notes:

1. Please refer to your hard drive and check if it is getting detected or not. Then, try to uninstall the drivers and check out the condition of the hard drive again.
2. If it is still doesn’t show up, reboot your computer.
3. The hard drive will show up when you have fixed the issue successfully. But suppose that it disappears again later, repeat the instructions above.

Wind It Up!

In the future, suppose that you are faced with the same “Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working” error again, follow the instructions or solutions above, and you will learn to fix it quickly all by yourself. As a matter of fact, along the way, if you lost your data or files, we recommend using Bitwar Data Recovery to restore your deleted file effortlessly!

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