After repaired by Win10, external hard drive can not be recognized by Win 7. How to fix it?

Question

After repaired by Win10, external hard drive can not be recognized by Win 7. How to fix it?

WinDIY 0

One WD external drive got repaired by Win10 (actually Win10 scanned and reported no error) and then can not be recognized by Win7. When plugging back to Win7 via USB port, Win7 reported its malfunction and identify it as unknown device.

The following steps were tried in Win7 but made no progress:

Plug it to the usb port int the back
In Device manager, "show hidden device" or "scan for hardware changes"
Right click "Universal Serial Bus controllers"/"USB Root Hub", update the driver, no progress; uncheck
"allow the computer to .... to save power", no progress; uninstall "USB Root Hub" and reboot, no progress.
uninstall "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and reboot, no progress.
Right click on "unknown device" to update the driver, get the message "the best driver... already installed".
Right click on "unknown device" to uninstall it and reboot the computer to reinstall it, no progress.

However, Win10 can open the drive and access the files.

Please advise how to make the drive accessible in win7 again?

1 answer

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Answer 1

Sin-D 7,265 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi WinDIY,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand the external hard drive works on Windows 10 but is detected as an unknown device on Windows 7 after being checked on Windows 10.

Since Windows 7 is EOS since 2020, you can try these workarounds instead:

1, On Windows 7, open Device Manager, right-click the unknown device, select Update Driver Software, then choose Browse my computer for driver software > Let system pick from a list of device drivers on my computer, select USB Mass Storage Device, and complete the installation.

2, Open Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, uninstall all entries named USB Mass Storage Device, then restart Windows 7 to allow the system to reload the default storage drivers.

3, Install the latest chipset and USB controller drivers for your motherboard or laptop from the device manufacturer’s official website, then restart Windows 7.

4, If the drive is connected to a USB 3.0 port, reconnect it to a USB 2.0 port, or use a USB 2.0 cable, then reconnect the drive and check Device Manager again.

5, Make sure Windows 7 has the latest available updates installed from Windows Update, then restart the system and reconnect the external drive.

6, Test the external drive on another Windows 7 device to confirm whether the issue is system-specific or related to Windows 7 driver compatibility on the original computer.

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Sin-D 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-27T07:28:15.19+00:00

Hi WinDIY,
Have you had the chance to check my answer yet?
Please do keep me updated.
WinDIY 0 Reputation points

2026-01-30T22:35:51.86+00:00

Hi @Sin-D

Many thanks for your detailed suggestions. I tried all the suggestions except for finding another Win 7. Unfortunately, nothing changed.
Sin-D 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-31T08:28:15.45+00:00

Hi WinDIY,

Thanks for your update.

Please try to follow these steps:

1, On Windows 7, open Disk Management and check whether the external drive appears without a drive letter or shows as an unsupported file system. If it appears without a letter, assign a new drive letter.

2, In Disk Management, right-click the disk label and check the partition style. If the disk is shown as GPT, note that Windows 7 cannot access GPT disks over USB in some configurations. Reconnect the drive and confirm the status again.

3, Check the file system shown in Disk Management. If the drive shows as exFAT, install the Windows 7 exFAT update from Windows Update, then restart the system and reconnect the drive.

4, Install the latest available Windows 7 updates, including optional hardware updates, then restart and reconnect the external drive.

5, If the drive is connected through USB 3.0, install the USB 3.0 controller driver provided by the computer or motherboard manufacturer, then restart Windows 7.

6, Connect the external drive through a powered USB hub or a different USB cable, then reconnect it and check Device Manager and Disk Management again.
WinDIY 0 Reputation points

2026-02-05T00:26:09.6333333+00:00

Hi @Sin-D

Thanks for your suggestions. Please see my response below.

1, On Windows 7, open Disk Management and check whether the external drive appears without a drive letter or shows as an unsupported file system. If it appears without a letter, assign a new drive letter.

A: The external drive is not recognized and thus does not show up in Disk Management

2, In Disk Management, right-click the disk label and check the partition style. If the disk is shown as GPT, note that Windows 7 cannot access GPT disks over USB in some configurations. Reconnect the drive and confirm the status again.

A: No recognized.

3, Check the file system shown in Disk Management. If the drive shows as exFAT, install the Windows 7 exFAT update from Windows Update, then restart the system and reconnect the drive.

A: Not relevant at this point.

4, Install the latest available Windows 7 updates, including optional hardware updates, then restart and reconnect the external drive.

A: Already installed.

5, If the drive is connected through USB 3.0, install the USB 3.0 controller driver provided by the computer or motherboard manufacturer, then restart Windows 7.

A: The desktop has only USB2.0 port. Please be advised that the external drive worked well with USB2.0 until recently.

6, Connect the external drive through a powered USB hub or a different USB cable, then reconnect it and check Device Manager and Disk Management again.

A: The external drive is 2.5" sata, manufactured with a case. No need to use additional power.

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After repaired by Win10, external hard drive can not be recognized by Win 7. How to fix it?

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