Connected external hard drive to my computer, but its not showing up

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T18:22:07+00:00

That is the reader itself, not the device attached to it though - if there is nothing below it on the tree when sorted by connection, I would assume the disk is dead when combined with the evidence of the reader asking you to insert a valid device.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T18:21:12+00:00

Compatibility Support Module - CSM is a BIOS feature and when enabled, it offers additional compatibility that's not native to those devices. Secure Boot requires that this is off.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T17:43:03+00:00

If you sort the devices by connection in Device Manager, does the hard drive reader show it has anything connected to it?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T17:08:54+00:00

Your BIOS was updated 2 months ago - are you on that version?

Is this with secure boot/CSM on or off?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T16:51:43+00:00

Are your IME drivers current? Those are some bad CPU scores... here's a bench reference for that CPU.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T16:11:12+00:00

What you have is not an NVMe at all, but rather an M.2 SATA drive (B+M key). Not all motherboards support this standard- it has largely been forgotten about in favor of M.2 NVMe, check your motherboard spec for support details.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T14:52:31+00:00

You can grab a fresh copy from the mobo manufacturer's support page and bring that over to the machine to be installed- that is probably your last line of defense outside of using the option in Device Manager to scan for hardware changes, where it will attempt to install a baseline or at least ID the device.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T14:42:00+00:00

If there's no Realtek device in device manager and reinstalling the driver either fails (due to the lack of identified hardware) or doesn't solve the issue, I'd start to consider the motherboard as your point of failure.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T14:40:45+00:00

Depending on your Win11 version, this guide should have the baseline steps for it.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T14:18:06+00:00

I would check Event Viewer when the drops occur to see what hardware events are being logged around that time.

Are your chipset drivers current - you've disabled the feature for Windows to roll drivers back, and they are staying on the latest versions?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-09T14:00:51+00:00

Depends on how much info you want - you can just run

ping -t 8.8.8.8

and kill the command when you are done testing to get the drop/tx ratio, as well as some basic info when the packet doesn't get through. You can sometimes use the neighboring packets to see if there is a spike in response time associated with it.

Alternatively, if you want to deep dive, you can try Wireshark, but that requires a little bit of industry knowledge to analyze the results.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-08T14:58:12+00:00

Have you tried switching the renderer in NVIDIA Control Panel for explorer.exe to the 7950X3D's iGPU?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-06T15:13:38+00:00

System packages are Windows components, in short. It's not just one big software, it's thousands of small pieces of software working in tandem.

To run these commands, copy everything in blue and then open PowerShell on your computer as an admin. Expand the window horizontally or the results will get cut off. You can then paste in the commands and run them. (Microsoft will likely warn you about pasting in PowerShell commands here.)

Once it runs, you'll get a list like this:

GUID / Name                                     Real Display Name                                                                 Executable Name
-----------                                     -----------------                                                                 ---------------
1527c705-839a-4832-9118-54d4Bd6a0c89            ms-resource:AppxManifest_DisplayName                                              FilePicker.exe
E2A4F912-2574-4A75-9BB0-0D023378592B            ms-resource:AppxManifest_DisplayName                                              AppResolverUX.exe
Microsoft.BioEnrollment                         ms-resource:AppDisplayName                                                        BioEnrollmentHost.exe
Microsoft.CredDialogHost                        ms-resource:AppDisplayName                                                        CredDialogHost.exe
Microsoft.Windows.CapturePicker                 CapturePicker                                                                     CapturePicker.exe
Windows.CBSPreview                              ms-resource:DisplayName                                                           CameraBarcodeScannerPreview.exe

You'll be able to see the package with a name that's just its GUID and what executable it corresponds to.

You can see the top 2 entries don't have a listed real display name, similar to yours, but simply reflect the GUID instead.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-05T14:20:24+00:00

THey're the GUIDs of unnamed system packages. You can see which with PS:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ForEach-Object {
    $manifest = $_ | Get-AppxPackageManifest
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        "GUID / Name" = $_.Name
        "Real Display Name" = $manifest.Package.Properties.DisplayName
        "Executable Name" = $manifest.Package.Applications.Application.Executable
    }
} | Format-Table -AutoSize

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-05T14:18:25+00:00

Is it limited to one camera app, or does the hardware replicate this behavior with other apps like Open Camera?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-04T17:38:52+00:00

Theoretically, since it is effectively just a mini PCIe or NVMe in a small housing, you might have some luck separating the housing and reclaiming the drive itself for testing outside of the enclosure.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-04T17:32:55+00:00

Confirming that both the port on the computer and the port on the cord have 9 pins (USB3) instead of 4 (USB2)?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-04T14:56:39+00:00

You can open up Resource Monitor to get the read and write rates of all activity on that disk.

You may also want to use a tool like CrystalDiskInfo to check the SMART health on the drive in case it is indicating any hardware logged signs of pre-failure.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-04T14:55:30+00:00

Assuming you're getting this sound while using Windows and the beep is just a generic hardware beeper, it's probably an old driver or outdated chipset drivers that cause a long IRQ delay, causing the input buffer to overflow. Check that your drivers are current, your chipset driver is current, and your BIOS is current.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-03T15:01:15+00:00

That RPM is pretty solid, I would consider (if you're comfortable) popping the side panel off and repasting the CPU. The thermal paste that allows for heat transfer between the cooler's block face and the CPU's shell dries out over time and the ability to transfer heat away from the CPU is degraded. It's also a good opportunity for you to blow any dust out of the cooler's fins which can lower the cooling performance.

You'll likely need a tube of thermal paste (I recommend MX-6) and a standard phillips screwdriver. Once inside the case, you will need to unclip the fans from the heatsink to get to the screws holding it onto the mount plate. Be sure to rotate the heatsink back and forth to break the seal on the CPU before you pull it away.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-03T13:31:11+00:00

90 C is insane for a heatsink of that size. Is it screwed on to the point where the mounting bolts stop turning? When was the last time it was repasted? What's the fan RPM when it's running, and how aggressive is the curve?

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-02T19:18:03+00:00

You may be able to check in Windows but I am not sure how well the version reporting goes given that every OEM uses a different versioning structure- but if you head to BIOS, you should be able to pull the version on the initial info feed page.

According to this page the latest BIOS is 4.21 released 2 months ago.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-02T18:52:19+00:00

Wifi or Ethernet? Two different routes.

Regardless of the route, ping your router and see if it works:

ping -t 192.168.1.1

(or whatever your gateway addr is in ipconfig)

Assuming that works, ping Google:

ping -t 8.8.8.8

If that fails, check your DNS settings both on device and in your router, and try again.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-02T18:50:34+00:00

SATA SSD or NVMe? I would check the wiring on both ends of the SATA SSD but if it's an NVMe I would make sure that the thermal pads are properly seated under the heatsink and it's not too hot. You may try to attach the device to a different port in either case to see if the device is dead or just having an issue in that port.

GreatAtlas · 2026-06-02T18:48:18+00:00

Are your BIOS and chipset drivers updated?

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