Device unavailable; appears in Disk Management yet not in File Explorer
Device unavailable; appears in Disk Management yet not in File Explorer
I have two storage devices that are currently unreachable. They functioned properly just two days ago but are now malfunctioning. They appear in disk management but not in the file explorer. I’m unable to perform actions like formatting or changing their drive letters because of an error message: "The operation failed to complete because the Disk Management console view is not up-to-date. Refresh the view by using the refresh task. If the problem persists close the Disk Management console, then restart Disk Management or restart the computer."
I ran chkdsk on one of them, and after completion it showed no issues and displayed correctly in file explorer. That resolved the problem until I restarted the PC. After that, it reappeared in file explorer but without any data I needed.
I attempted to wipe the drives using diskpart and create new partitions, but encountered a similar error: "DiskPart has referenced an object which is not up-to-date. Refresh the object by using the RESCAN command. If the problem persists exit DiskPart, then restart DiskPart or restart the computer."
I checked the device manager—drives listed as normal under Disk drives, but four unknown devices appear elsewhere, possibly linked to Volume Manager. The error indicated missing drivers (Code 28) with no compatible options found online. I tried searching for solutions manually, but nothing came up.
Crystaldiskinfo can see them and reports both drives as "Good," suggesting the hardware is intact. I’m considering creating a bootable Windows drive, though the issue seems to affect USB drives too. I’m unsure what to do next.
You might have thought it was simple, but have you tried unplugging the power cords and SATA cables before trying to plug them back in? Maybe switch a disk to a different SATA port on your motherboard. This would be my first step if the software isn’t working.
Attempted port swap using another functional drive—both recognized and unrecognized drives didn’t appear (though DiskPart still does). Ran a clean install on the unidentified drive—refer to initial warning. Changed the letter of the known drive, then reset it back to default; the recognized drive functioned, while the unknown drive continued to fail.
I changed the ports to disconnect the SATA and power cords from both disks, keeping the cables inside the motherboard while swapping the connectors. After the swap, both drives failed, but the working one continued to show the issue. When everything was returned, the functional drive worked again, though the problematic drive remained affected.
Apologies for the delay. I discovered a spare SATA cable and tested two new ports alongside the old one using both original and new cables. On an unknown drive and the functional one, all setups produced the same outcome. Only the known working drive remained active with its original cable and port.