'My Computer' doesn't recognize replaced second hard drive

Question

My primary SATA hard drive on my Dimension 8400 has my XP operating system on it. My secondary SATA hard drive (storage, & some programs) developed a problem, so I replaced it with a new SATA drive. The "Device Manager" sees the new drive and says it is operating properly, but when I open "My Computer", the new secondary drive is not there. I did "Dell Diagnostics", and the new drive is recognized, and "Dell Diagnostics" found no problems. I have been into "Setup", and the new drive is also recognized there.

How do I assign a drive letter through Device Manager? I have been there, and cannot find a way to assign a drive letter under drive "Properties", or any of the tabs under drive "Properties".

DELL-Kalyan S · Accepted Answer

Hi Artie1946,

Welcome to Dell community!

If the second hard drive is detected in “Disk Management” without a drive letter, we can assign one. Refer the following link for detailed instructions: http://dell.to/175cp6U

Please post the results.

Artie1946 · Answer

My primary SATA hard drive on my Dimension 8400 has my XP operating system on it. My secondary SATA hard drive (storage, & some programs) developed a problem, so I replaced it with a new SATA drive. The "Device Manager" sees the new drive and says it is operating properly, but when I open "My Computer", the new secondary drive is not there. I did "Dell Diagnostics", and the new drive is recognized, and "Dell Diagnostics" found no problems. I have been into "Setup", and the new drive is also recognized there.

How do I assign a drive letter through Device Manager? I have been there, and cannot find a way to assign a drive letter under drive "Properties", or any of the tabs under drive "Properties".

Tom Green · Answer

Hello Artie 1946 Go to 'Device Manager' and right click on new drive and assign a drive letter to it. You may need to format the drive as NTFS also. Hope this helps. Tom

Artie1946 · Answer

Hi Artie1946,

Welcome to Dell community!

If the second hard drive is detected in “Disk Management” without a drive letter, we can assign one. Refer the following link for detailed instructions: http://dell.to/175cp6U

Please post the results. Thanks "Dell-Kalyan S" for the link. It fixed my issue, and I copied it for futuer reference. I didn't have this problem when first installing secondary drive in my Dimension 8400 (or had knowledge since lost), and am curious as to why that might be the case, although that may be a long shot. I am new using this forum, so am not sure if I replied correctly to your fix. Thanks again,

Art

DELL-Kalyan S · Answer

Hi Art,

You’re welcome!

Ideally, windows would assign the drive letter automatically. In your computer’s case, it seems windows could not recognize the volume. Hence, a drive letter was not assigned to the second hard drive. I’m glad to know that the issue is resolved.

You may refer the following link for “Tutorials and How-To's” for users new to the community forum: http://dell.to/18UMGzS

Feel free to post in the forum for any issues. We’d be glad to assist. Have a good one.

Storage, Drives & Media

"My Computer" doesn't recognize replaced second hard drive

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