How to Fix Disk is Unknown, Not Initialized, Unallocated in Windows 11/10/7
Quick Navigation:
- Solution 1: Initialize Disk
- Solution 2: Recover Data from the Unknown Disk and Format the Disk
- Solution 3: Check Disk Connection
- Solution 4: Update Device Driver
When your disk shows 'unknown', 'not initialized', or 'unallocated' in Windows 11/10/7, there is a high chance that there is physical damage or MBR corruption on the system. The good news is that you can initialize the disk and recover your data with this best hard drive recovery solution and get the 4 solutions to solve it.
'Windows 10, Windows 7 disk 1 unknown not initialized unallocated' issue is common in Windows 7 as well as 8 ,10, and 11. When this happens, the external hard drive may not show anything or it shows 'unallocated space'. With this error message, you will be unable to open or access the data that you have saved on the disk. So, how do you resolve the issue of 'disk 1 not initialized Windows 10'? Read on to read all about the solutions.
Solution 1: Initialize Disk
When the disk is not initializing and showing unallocated, the best way to fix the issue is to initialize the disk. This is the simplest way to resolve the issue of 'Windows 11 external disk not initialized'. If your external hard drive is new, this also works perfectly for initializing it. To do this, follow the steps below:
Right-click on 'My Computer' and navigate to 'Manage' so you can run the Disk Management.
When you are in the Disk Management menu, right-click on the hard drive, and then click 'Initialize Disk'.
A dialog box will pop up. Here, select the disks that you want to initialize and select GPT or MBR partition style. This will run the initialization process.
When this is complete, you can easily recover your important data from the disk. Depending on your requirements, you can recover the data from the disk alone or recover the partitions as well as the files in them.
Solution 2: Recover Data from the Unknown Disk and Format the Disk
This solution can be used when the disk is not initialized and does not show unallocated. When using this solution, you should back up the important files that you have on the external hard drive. It is also recommended that you use Deep Data Recovery for the recovery of data. This is because it's a great and effective tool that can completely recover data when you receive disk 1 unknown not initialized incorrect function error message.
Deep Data Recovery is an efficient and easy-to-use hard drive rescue software that offers two powerful modes of scanning to enable you to restore all lost/deleted and formatted data. To resolve the issue of hard disk not initialize without losing data, follow the simple steps below:
Step 1. Download and install Deep Data Recovery.
Step 2. Select a specific location to find or scan the data and click 'Scan'. This may be a specified location or partition. The program can scan specified drives, external storage devices, and the whole hard disk to find lost data. When it completes the search, it displays the searches.
Step 3. Preview and recover all lost files that have been found. Check the upper area of the window to see the displayed result. Preview the files to be sure that you have all the lost data that you want to recover. Click 'Recover' to save the found files on your computer. You can also use the Deep Scan mode if you want to make a more extensive search.
4. When you have completed the disk recovery process, you can format the disk to return it to its default setting. With this, the issue of external hard disk not initialized unallocated should be resolved.
Solution 3: Check Disk Connection
Trivial connection problems can also cause major issues like 'disk not initialized the device is not ready' error message. Therefore, if your disk is not initializing and it's also not showing anything about the capacity of the disk, follow the steps below to check the disk connection and resolve the issue:
Connect your external hard disk to another USB port, such as the one in the rear part of your PC. Using the original cable to connect the hard drive to the computer.
Connect the external hard drive with another cable.
Connect the external hard drive to another PC. If disk connection is the issue, this should fix it and you should be able to access your disk again.
Solution 4: Update Device Driver
When you notice that your disk is not initializing or showing anything about the disk capacity, it may be that the device driver needs an update. You should know that if your disk drive is corrupted or outdated, you may also experience the 'disk not initialized Windows 10' error code. If this is the problem, you will need to update the device driver. The good news is that you can easily get this done through the Device Manager. So, how can you update the device driver? Follow the easy steps below:
Open 'This PC' and right-click on it. Select the 'Properties' menu.
Click on the 'Device Manager' menu and expand the 'Disk Drives'. You will find the problematic disk. Here, right-click on the disk and choose 'Update Driver'.
Click the 'automatically search for driver software online' option.
The update process will start when the driver software has been found. Wait for it to update and reboot your computer system.
Connect the external hard drive to the computer and check whether or not the drive shows up. If this is the issue, it should resolve the issue.
If you are experiencing Windows 7 disk 1 unknown not initialized unallocated error message, the solutions provided above should resolve the issue. Follow the steps above to resolve your issue without any practical experience. Remember, you should back up your data before you resolve any issue to avoid data loss. When it comes to data recovery, Qiling data recovery software is the best choice to consider.
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