AOMEI Partition Assistant
6 Ways to Fix SSD Initialize Does not Work
Have you ever encountered the SSD initialize does not work error showing as “Disk 1 unknown not initialized”? In this post, we’ll explain the possible reasons and offer 6 effective methods to help solve the SSD can't initialize issue.
By Hedy / Updated on October 29, 2024
The error: SSD initialize does not work
I have 3 disks on my desktop: 1 M.2 disk (boot disk) , 1 SSD drive and 1 HDD drive . Everything was working well until yesterday I was unable to access some files on the SSD drive . After restarting the computer the SSD drive doesn't appear anymore .
In disk management appears as "Disk 1 - Unknown - Not initialized". When I click to initialize I got the error "A device which does not exist was specified." What can be the cause of this? How can I initialize the drive?
- Question from Microsoft Community
As the user described above, when you find SSD initialize does not work, it usually appears as "Disk 1 Unknown Not Initialized" in Disk Management. You will see the following two status:
◉ Disk unknown, not initialized, unallocated:
◉ Disk unknown, not initialized, no disk space:
No matter whether it shows unallocated space or nothing about the disk capacity in Disk Management, you cannot access the data on the SSD then. What's worse, when you try making the SSD initialization in DM or DiskPart, you will be reminded "the device is not ready".
Luckily, the next content will tell you why you are unable to initialize disk and how to get rid of this issue quickly and securely.
Why SSD initialize does not work?
To solve the SSD unknown not initialized error, you should know some possible reasons for why SSD can't initialize.
◤ Corrupt/ Incompatible/Outdated Driver
◤ MBR Corruption
◤ Missing or lost partition
◤ Bad Sectors in hard drive
◤ Corrupt File System
◤ Virus infection
6 solutions to SSD initialize does not work
We have mentioned that when you can’t initialize SSD, it displays as two different situations in Disk Management. Therefore, when it comes to how to fix this annoying error, we'll discuss the solution in different situations.
Situation 1. Disk 1 unknown, not initialized, unallocated space
1. Initialized disk
If SSD can't initialize using Windows built-in tools, why not resort to a third-party disk manager like AOMEI Partition Assistant designed for Windows 11/10/8/7? It can break many limitations to initialize HDD or SSD to a suitable partition table.
Download this software and follow the below guide to initialize the disk within three clicks:
100% SecureStep 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and right-click on the solid-state disk you want to initialize, choose "Initialize Disk" in the pop-up menu.
Step 2. In the pop-up window, there will be two options for you to choose. You can initialize the disk to MBR or GPT style. Click "OK" to continue.
Step 3. Click "Apply" to complete the initialization process.
2. Rebuild the MBR boot
If your SSD shows as "disk 1 unknown, not initialized, unallocated space", it means the hard drive can be detected by the OS but the MBR table is corrupted. You can use AOMEI software we mentioned above to fix/rebuild MBR or repair boot issues. Below are the steps.
Step 1. Open AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the hard drive, and select “Rebuild MBR”.
Step 2. In the small pop-out window, you can set the type of MBR for the current OS and click "OK".
Step 3.Then, you’ll back to the main interface, click "Apply" on the toolbar to launch the progress.
3. Recover lost partition
If there is one single partition on your SSD but you accidentally delete or lose the partition, it will show as unallocated space in Disk Management. In this case, as long as you recover the missing or lost partition, you are most likely to fix the SSD initialize does not work issue.
AOMEI Partition Assistant offers two methods to help recover the lost partition to the greatest extent.
Step 1. Install and open AOMEI Partition Assistant, and click "Recover" > "Partition Recovery" on the left panel.
Step 2. Select the target solid-state drive.
Step 3. Select a search method as you like, you can try "Fast Search" for the first time and click "Next".
Step 4. Tick the lost partition and click "Proceed". Then, click "Finish" to exit the operation.
Situation 2. Disk 1 unknown, not initialized, no disk space
1. Check the device connection
If the hard drive shows no disk space when “Disk 1 unknown not initialized” appears in Disk Management, you should reconnect the hard drive to check if there is a poor connection.
1. Take out the SSD or disconnect it from your computer
2. Reinstall the drive or connect it with a USB cable.
3. Or connect the hard drive to another PC.
2. Update the device driver
If there is no problem with the device connection but you are still unable to initialize disk, you can check if your driver is outdated, corrupted, or incompatible. In such a case, formatting the SSD or upgrading the outdated driver as follows may work out.
1. Type "Device Manager" in the search box, and select Device Manager from the list of results.
2. Right-click the solid-state hard drive and select "Update Driver".
3. Select "Search automatically for updated driver software" and follow the instructions to complete the driver update.
3. Run CHKDSK
If there are bad sectors on your drive, it's not strange to meet SSD initialize does not work issue. To resolve the problem, you can check for bad sectors using the professional disk diagnostic software or Windows inbuilt program.
1. Navigate to the target drive, right-click it, and select "Properties".
2. Click the "Tools" tab and the "Check" option under the Error checking section. It will begin to check the file system errors.
Conclusion
When you find SSD initialize does not work, you will be faced with two different situations in Disk Management. From this passage, you have figured out why SSD can't initialize and learned how to fix this error in different situations. If you encounter HDD not initialized or external hard drive not initialized, you can also try these ways to solve it.
