SanDisk SSD Not Showing Up or Not Detected in Windows? Solved!

Scenarios of SanDisk SSD not showing up

SanDisk SSDs enjoy great popularity among computer users. People migrate OS to SanDisk SSD and clone HDD to SanDisk SSD to improve their computing experience. However, some users are frustrated with the issue they encounter: SanDisk SSD not showing up in their computer. Here are two real scenarios:

Scenario 1: SanDisk SSD not detected in BIOS

“Not sure what I'm not getting here. My SSD plus doesn't show up at start up in BIOS. Once Windows 10 is running it shows up in Explorer, Disk Management, etc. Can access it, etc. No problems, but I want to use it as my boot drive so BIOS not seeing it presents certain problems. Also not a cable/connection problem. So what am I doing wrong? Thanks!”

Scenario 2: SanDisk SSD not showing up in My Computer

“I recently bought a new SSD (SanDisk Ultra Plus) to install on my Asus P7P55D motherboard. Both the BOIS and Win7 detect the drive (it shows up under Disk Drives of Device Manager) but it does not show up under My Computer. The option to install Win7 on the new drive does not show up either when I put in the upgrade CD.”

How to fix "SanDisk SSD not showing up" in Windows 11/10/8/7 efficiently?

Here I’m going to show you quick fixes to SanDisk SSD not recognized under different situations separately:

• Situation 1. SanDisk SSD not detected in BIOS

• Situation 2. SanDisk SSD not showing up in This PC/Computer

Situation 1. SanDisk SSD not detected in BIOS

If your SSD drive is not detected in BIOS, following methods are worth your trying.

Fix #1: check the power and data cables

Re-plug the power and data cables to see if it works. If it doesn’t work, try to replace the cables.

Fix #2: check BIOS settings

1. Restart your computer and press the F2 key or any key according to your PC to enter BIOS interface.

2. Check if the SATA port to which the SanDisk SSD is connected is turned OFF in System Setup. If it is OFF, turn it ON. Restart your computer and enter BIOS again to see if the SanDisk SSD is detected now.

Fix #3: check SSD issues

Faulty or damaged SSD can also lead to SanDisk SSD not detected in BIOS. In this case, you can run some diagnostic tools like SMART or Checkdisk to debug the issue. You may check the return policy and replace the drive if you fail to repair the SanDisk SSD.

Situation 2. SanDisk SSD not showing up in This PC/Computer

If your SanDisk SSD is just not showing up in This PC/Computer, it can be caused by out-dated device drivers, uninitialized SSD, incorrect drive letter or corrupted file system. The first case can be solved with the Windows built-in tool Device Manager while the other three cases can be fixed via a handy freeware AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. You should backup files in advance to avoid losing data when running the fixes, especially for Fix #2 and Fix #4. Now follow the guidance below:

• Fix #1: update device drivers

• Fix #2: initialize SSD

• Fix #3: assign a new drive letter

• Fix #4: format SSD

Fix #1: update device drivers

1. Right click on the Start icon and select Device Manager.

2. Find your SanDisk SSD, right click on it and select “Update Driver Software”.

3. Select “Search automatically for updated driver software” in the pop-up window. This will update the device drivers automatically.

✐ Tips: If it doesn’t work to update driver, just right click the SanDisk SSD and select “Uninstall”. Then restart your computer, and Windows will reinstall the driver by itself.

Fix #2: initialize SSD

1. Download, install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant.

2. Right click on the SanDisk SSD and select “Initialize Disk”. 

3. Choose to initialize the disk as MBR or GPT style in the pop-up window. Learn the difference between MBR and GPT from here.

4. Click “Apply” and then “Proceed” to commit the operation.

Fix #3: assign a new drive letter

1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right click on the partition of the SanDisk SSD, select “Advanced” and then “Change Drive Letter”. 

2. Select a new drive letter in the pop-up window. You can choose whichever drive letter you like except the ones that are occupied by other drives.

3. Click “Apply” and then “Proceed” to commit the operation.

Fix #4: format SSD

1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right click on the partition of the SanDisk SSD and hit “Format Partition”. 

2. In the pop-up window, you can reset the partition label, file system, and the cluster size. Click “OK” to confirm the changes.

✐ Tips: Smaller cluster size makes less wasting of disk space. It is recommended that you use the default size if you don't know which one is better.

3. Click “Apply” and then “Proceed” to commit the operation.

* Missing SSD partition can also result in SanDisk SSD not detected. In this case, you can upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional and use the Partition Recovery Wizard to recover lost partitions.

Wrapping things up

No matter which is your case, you can find the corresponding solution to SanDisk SSD not showing up in Windows 11/10/8/7 from this page. As a professional partition manager, AOMEI Partition Assistant can also help you write zeros to hard drives and change partition type ID. Don’t hesitate to give it a try!