When I plug my external hard drive into my laptop it is not recognised by the computer. The light on the external hard drive turns on - indicating it is working. However it does not come up in This PC or Device Manager etc.

The issue may arise if the currently loaded USB driver has become unstable or corrupt or if your PC requires an update for issues that may conflict with a USB device and Windows. This may also occur if your USB controllers may have become unstable or corrupt. So, I would suggest you to try the following steps and check if the issue persists.

Method 1:

Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and check if it helps.

a) Press Start button from the keyboard.

b) Type “Troubleshooting” in the search bar and press “Enter”.

c) In the “Troubleshooting” window, click on “View All” on the left pane.

d) Click on “Hardware and devices”.

e) Click on “Advanced” and then click on “Run as Administrator”.

f) Click “Next” and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the troubleshooting process.

If the issue still exists, try the next method.

Method 2:

Remove and reinstall all USB controllers.

Press Windows key + X, click Device Manager.

In the list of hardware categories, find and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Right-click every device under the Universal Serial Bus controllers node, and then click Uninstall to remove them one at a time.

Restart the computer, and let the USB controllers get reinstalled.

Plug in the removable USB device, and then test to make sure

that the issue is resolved.