Sometimes you might encounter a hard drive unallocated messages on your PC. If this happens, you won’t be able to access your hard drive or any files. This can be a big problem, but you might be able to solve it using one of our solutions.
If you have a second hard drive that is unallocated, then that is a complete waste of storage space.That is why we created this guide so that you can finally make use of all of your drives.Need more help with fining your hard drives? Then check out our Laptop & PC Fix section.Are other PC components giving you a hard time? Then go to our website’s Troubleshooting section!
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If your second hard drive is unallocated, you might not be able to access it properly. This isn’t the only problem with unallocated space, and speaking of issues, here are some similar problems that users reported:
- Unallocated disk cannot format – This issue can sometimes appear with a new hard drive. If this happens, try using diskpart tool to format and set up your new hard drive.
- Disk Management unallocated space greyed out – If this problem appears in Disk Management, you can always use third-party tools such as MiniTool Partition Wizard to set up the new hard drive.
- Unallocated hard drive Windows 10 – This issue can appear for various reasons, and if you encounter it, be sure to try some of our solutions.
- Second hard drive unallocated not initialized, showing, visible, detected – This problem can occur due to your drivers, so you might want to try reinstalling the hard drive drivers or updating them to the latest version and check if that solves the problem.
Second hard drive unallocated, how to fix it?
- Use a professional partition assistant software
- Use Disk Management
- Update your drivers
- Use Command Prompt and diskpart command
- Reinstall the hard drive driver
- Change the drive letter
1. Use a professional partition manager software
Although the previous methods can help you with an unallocated hard drive, they can also cause you to lose your files. If you want to fix the problem with the unallocated hard drive, we advise you to use dedicated software.
True, Windows has tools for creating, deleting, and resizing partitions. Even so, to find an unallocated hard disk, you may need to go the extra mile and use partition manager software that specializes in this task.
For a good reason, many users believe that third-party tools make such tasks easier since do not have constraints as a native partition manager.
Users claim that this method won’t delete any files from the unallocated drive, but we advise you to back them up just to be on the safe side. Many users reported that these tools helped them with this problem, so we strongly suggest that you try it out.
2. Use Disk Management
- Press Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu.
- Now choose Disk Management from the list.
- When the Disk Management tool opens, locate the unallocated space, right-click it and choose New Sample Volume.
- Set the size of the new partition and choose its letter.
- Now you can choose to format your drive. If you have a new hard drive, make sure that you format it. If your drive already has some files on it, choose Do not format this volume option.
If you just installed a second hard drive, and you’re getting a message that your hard drive is unallocated, you need to create a new volume using the Disk Management tool. This is a built-in tool in Windows that allows you to manage your hard drives and partitions.
Bear in mind that this method will cause file loss, especially if you already have files on your hard drive, so use it at your own risk. If you purchased a new hard drive, then feel free to use this method to format it and set it up.
4. Use Command Prompt and diskpart command
- Press Windows Key + X and choose Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
- Now you need to run the following commands:
- diskpart
- list volume
- select volume X
- delete volume
- delete volume override (use only if Disk Managment can’t create a new volume)
- list volume
According to users, if your second hard drive is unallocated, you might be able to fix the problem by using the diskpart command. Bear in mind that diskpart is a powerful tool, so it might cause you to delete all your files if you’re not careful.
3. Update your drivers
According to users, if the second hard drive is unallocated, perhaps the issue is related to your drivers. Missing drivers can sometimes cause this problem to appear, and in order to fix the issue, it’s advised to download and install these drivers.
Many users reported that this problem appeared because Virtual Disk Driver wasn’t installed. To fix this problem visit your hard drive manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your hard drive.
After you install Virtual Disk Driver, you should be able to assign the drive letter to the partition and access your files. Bear in mind that this solution worked for Seagate hard drives, but it might also work for other brands.
If you don’t want to download the drivers manually, you can also use a third-party tool to automatically update all your drivers with just a couple of clicks.
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- diskpart
- list volume
- select volume X
- delete volume
- delete volume override (use only if Disk Managment can’t create a new volume)
- list volume
In this solution, we’ll show you how to delete the problematic volume and recreate it. This process will delete all files from the selected volume, so keep that in mind. If your hard drive is new and you don’t have any files on it, you can use this solution without any worries.
Pay attention to the size of the volumes and be sure to select the volume with unallocated space. If you select the wrong volume, you might cause unexpected file loss.
After doing that, start Disk Management and try to create a new volume. If Disk Management can’t create a new volume, start diskpart once again, and repeat the same commands. However, this time be sure to run delete volume override after delete volume command.
Diskpart is an advanced tool, and if you’re not careful you can delete files from a wrong partition, so be extra cautious. Bear in mind that this method will delete all files from the selected partition, so it might be best to use it with a new hard drive or with partitions that don’t have important files on them.
5. Reinstall the hard drive driver
- Open Device Manager. You can do that by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Device Manager from the list.
- Locate your new hard drive, right-click it and choose Uninstall device from the menu.
- When the confirmation dialog appears, click Uninstall.
- Once you remove the driver, click Scan for hardware changes icon.
By doing so you’ll install the default driver and the problem should be resolved.
In some cases, your hard drive can become unallocated due to a bad driver. Your driver can get corrupted causing this problem to appear. However, you can fix the issue simply by reinstalling the hard drive driver.
6. Change the drive letter
- Open Disk Management tool.
- Locate the drive that’s not showing, right-click it and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
- Click the Change button.
- Set the desired drive letter and click OK to save changes.
If you’re having problems with the unallocated hard drive, perhaps you can fix the issue simply by assigning a letter to that drive. This is incredibly simple to do, and you can do it right from the Disk Management tool. To do that, follow these steps:
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After doing that, the problem should be resolved and you’ll be able to access your drive.
Problems with an unallocated hard drive can cause various issues such as the inability to access your files, and if you’re having this issue, you should be able to fix it with one of our solutions.
- Fix Hard Drive issueswindows 10 fix
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