The hard drive cannot be initialized. Hard drive does not initialize

Sometimes when working with a computer, an input/output error may occur on the device. HDD. This problem does not indicate anything good, reporting problems with the hard drive or its software. Let's take a closer look at what it is, what causes it to appear, and also find out how to fix it on your PC.

Often this type of problem involves problems with reading and writing data to the hard drive. When the operating system accesses the disk to read or write information and it fails, it displays a similar message.

If a standard computer restart does not help solve the problem, then let's look at the reasons why the hard drive does not initialize and how you can fix the situation in one case or another.

Hardware problems

The immediate causes of this error are a broken hard drive, dysfunctional control board and bad clusters. If your hard drive starts to be too loud, creaking or squeaking, as usually happens with devices from Seagate and Western Digital (WD), then most likely the internal mechanism of the drive has simply failed. This is usually due to obsolescence and wear and tear of the device, as well as mechanical damage.

If you don’t know what to do in this situation, when the disk is terrible, then don’t worry or worry. There is no need to immediately try to format it or carry out excessively loading operations. It is possible that he only has a few minutes or hours left to work, which is why your actions will simply finish him off completely.

It is necessary to carefully disconnect the hard drive from the computer and take it to a trusted and reliable service center. Its performance should be checked by experienced specialists. If the HDD is fully operational, has no defects or mechanical damage, then move on to the next point.

Problems with connectors or cable

A fairly common cause of malfunctions hard drives, there are problems with the power wires and SATA cable, namely with their damage or oxidation of the contacts. This causes a complete loss of contact and, as a result, problems. It may also work, but partially, resulting in an I/O error.

The solution is quite simple:

If after carrying out maintenance and replacing the cables, the hard drive still does not initialize, then this means that this is not the problem.

Sometimes problems can occur due to external storage devices connected to the computer, such as card readers or flash drives. Therefore, disable them and try working with the hard drive without them.

Motherboard connectors

Very often, the connectors on the motherboard that connect the hard drive to the PC or laptop fail and cause these problems. This may be caused by age or frequent switching on and off of the loop.

Fixing the problem is simple:

Connect the cable to any other connector motherboard.

Software problems

Sometimes hardware problems cause software problems in the operation of the device, when in the event of physical damage the integrity of the file system is violated, as a result of which the input/output error we are considering appears.

The solution is quite simple - you need to check the connected hard drive. If yes, then you need to use it to identify bad clusters and fix them.

You can also use the software available in the system, which is pre-built into your laptop or PC.

To do this you need:

Having done everything exactly according to our instructions, all you have to do is wait for the verification to complete. After that, do the same steps, only with other sections.

You can use third-party utilities, for example, RStudio, which allow you to reconstruct existing disk arrays as efficiently as possible. Another option is to use an earlier restore point to downgrade to an earlier version of the system.

Another main cause of breakdown is overheating. To avoid this, you should adhere to the following, with which you will extend the life of your device.

Lack of rights

It is also necessary to consider the situation when the user does not have permission to write data, since this is the actual cause of errors of this type. IN in this case must be provided to the user account required rights and simply refuse the operation. It is possible that the ban on recording is a decision of the computer administrator.

OS update failed

According to user reviews online, the I/O problem may occur after the next Windows updates, however, not entirely successful.

To correct the situation you need:

In addition, you can perform a system restore or so-called “rollback” to the previous point:

If none of this helped and the I/O error remains, move on to the next step.

Unstable OS

A common cause of problems is the installation of an unstable operating system on a computer with many defects, often pirated version. Solution to the problem: search on the Internet good version OS and install it on your PC instead of the previous one.

Statistics show that I/O errors on computers are most often associated with a physical malfunction of the hard drive. Check the hard drive cable and the connected connectors on the motherboard, make sure that the device works as usual, does not make noise or make strange sounds.

Then you should try specialized recovery utilities that will help restore the disk structure.

If none of the recommendations help solve the problem, there may be a problem with motherboard. You need to contact a service center, whose experienced employees know how to properly initialize a hard drive and will be able to identify the cause of the malfunction and eliminate it.

Video instructions on the topic

For many users of desktop computers and laptops, a situation may arise when everything seems to be in order with the equipment, but after rebooting, a problem arises - the hard drive does not initialize.

And such situations can arise quite often. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with our tips and recommendations on how to get rid of the problem.

First of all, you should figure out and understand what the problem is, then it will be much easier to solve the problem that has arisen. But it’s worth pointing out right away that if you are not an advanced PC user, then you shouldn’t risk your data.

Place your computer in the safe hands of problem solving specialists who will be able to carry out professional diagnostics.

There are many reasons for this:

The laptop's interface cable may be damaged.
The hard drive (hard drive) may not be receiving power from the network.
The chip on the disk is damaged.
There may be a problem with the motherboard.

You can determine the breakdown by connecting another storage medium, or using another cable and connector on the motherboard for operation. If everything works, you should look for another cause of the breakdown.

In order to protect your computer and protect yourself from problems and viruses, you should use an original and reliable software from the official websites of OS developers.

It's worth taking care of good antivirus, do not visit various sites that are not trustworthy. If there are any problems with your computer, or the device makes unpleasant “squeaking” sounds when booting, then you should regularly save important data by creating copies on another medium.

Don't underestimate defragmentation and checking your hard drive for errors - if there is the slightest problem, the OS is able to handle it itself.

Do not open many tabs in the browser, and do not save information “to capacity” on your hard drive. For adequate operation of the OS, free space is required.

Other damage may occur due to errors in computer operation:

Wear and failure of the hard drive itself.
Various errors on the hard drive.
Operating system malfunctions, driver problems.

What to do first

First of all, you should check BIOS settings, if the hard drive does not respond and it refuses to respond to OS requests, that is, the computer cannot fully load all the data.

There is a high probability that a specialist will immediately see in the BIOS information that loading the OS is impossible. The solution to the problem is to initially boot from the hard drive and then solve problems as they arise.

You can launch the operating system to solve the problem that has arisen using external hard disk if the same OS is installed on it. At the same time, after launch, immediately without delay, it is worth checking the entire system and the correct operation of the devices.

Even if it doesn't connect external hard disk, then it is worth checking the functionality of the cables by disassembling desktop computer. You should not climb into the laptop yourself; you can cause even more damage.

If the system still boots, but disk space is not available, you should reinstall the drivers, naturally downloading them from a reliable source, and best of all, from the official website.

How to check the operation of the storage medium

You can check the overall performance of the entire device through the control panel by looking at the “Devices” section. To do this, just go to the “Start” menu in the operating system.

A possible reason why external and internal drives are not detected may be that the computer owner installed incorrect software. Due to the installation or update of device drivers, additional installation programs containing viruses or bugs.

It’s worth trying to restore the system from the last point in the database, and by the way, it’s worth creating it regularly to avoid such problems. Or regularly save important data on another medium.

If external drive does not work due to a device error - what to do

First, you should make sure that the device is turned on BIOS system. It is also worth making sure that the interface is working properly. It may be worth replacing the cables and connectors of the device, if they are approved.

Please also remember that the external hard drive must come with a set of technical information and a driver disk. Just enable driver update in the control panel, and after reinstallation you will be prompted to update the OS outdated driver to a more modern version.

If OS Windows versions XP, then you may need to install a later version first; with this procedure it is worth repeating and returning the BIOS to an earlier version.

How to recover data if the disk is damaged

If you have a copy of all the data from the media, you can try to do it yourself. But you shouldn’t rely on a banal “maybe”, but turn to programmers and specialists in their field.

In the event of a fatal error, the hard drive will have to be completely formatted, hoping that it will subsequently work adequately. It’s good if you only have to format not the entire disk, but only part of it, the partition where the OS is installed.

Specialists may not neglect this action, using special software, not only in the boot area, but throughout the entire hard drive, restoring not only data, but also “reanimating” Windows.

But first, it’s worth trying to boot from another medium in order to recover lost data and solve any problems that have arisen. You should definitely check your computer for viruses.

After installing a new drive into a computer, many users encounter the following problem: the operating system does not see the connected drive. Despite the fact that it physically works, it does not appear in the operating system explorer. To start using the HDD (the solution to this problem also applies), it must be initialized.

Carrying out HDD initialization

After connecting the drive to the computer, you need to initialize the disk. This procedure will make it visible to the user, and the drive can be used to write and read files.

To initialize a disk, follow these steps:

Run "Disk Management" by pressing the Win+R keys and entering the command in the field diskmgmt.msc.

In Windows 8/10 you can also click on “Start” right click mouse (hereinafter RMB) and select "Disk Management".
Find an uninitialized drive and right-click on it (you need to click on the drive itself, not on the area with space) and select "Initialize disk".
Select the disk with which you will perform the planned procedure.
There are two partition styles available for the user to choose from: MBR and GPT. Select MBR for a drive less than 2 TB, GPT for a HDD more than 2 TB. Select the appropriate style and click "OK".
Now the new HDD will have the status "Not distributed". Right-click on it and select "Create Simple Volume".
Will start , press "Further".
Leave the default settings if you plan to use all disk space and click "Further".
Select the drive letter you want to assign and click "Further".
Select NTFS format, write the volume name (this name is, for example, " Local disk") and put a tick next to the item "Quick Format".
In the next window, review your selections and click "Ready".

After this, the disk (HDD or SSD) will be initialized and appear in Explorer "My computer". It can be used in the same way as other drives.

To figure out why the hard drive on your computer does not initialize, you need to pay attention to the sounds it makes and analyze the information that appears on the screen. Also remember the events that preceded the failure. Have you been able to initialize the disk before?

A hard drive (hard drive, HDD), SSD, that is, built-in data storage, is the most unreliable component of a computer or laptop. In case of mechanical breakdowns, it may not turn on at all or make unusual sounds, such as knocking, clicking, crackling, clanging, howling.

They can be translated into human language as follows: “I can’t read information.” In combination with persistent failures during initialization, this means that it is impossible to operate the hard drive. You should contact a service center, whose specialists will find out whether it is possible to fix this hard drive or at least copy the information on it.

Viral infection

Another very common reason for a hard drive not initializing is due to a virus infection. Sometimes viruses declare this themselves, often making demands for some kind of payment. There is no need to succumb to blackmail. The easiest way in this case is to boot from another device and cure the infected one with an antivirus. To avoid such situations, you should use a high-quality antivirus (both Kaspersky and DrWeb are suitable), which includes a program like Secure Disk, which loads before the operating system starts and checks both the hard drive and RAM for viruses.

System data failures

If the hard disk on which the operating system is located does not initialize, then immediately after executing the primary input/output system (BIOS) program, an error message may appear in the CRC data, indicating that the information cannot be read correctly. Other messages are possible. Messages like Boot Disk Failed or Primary Master Disk Fail mean that the zero track of the device is damaged, without which it is impossible to start reading.

Disk Boot Failure indicates that there is a data error in the system's master boot record (MBR or GPT). The phrase Invalid Drive Specification indicates that the device parameters do not match the information about it that is stored in the BIOS. This may also be caused by failures in the MBR, or an input/output error due to mechanical damage to the read heads or contacts in the interface.

First, in these cases, you should check the BIOS settings. Here you need to pay attention to which device is assigned for initial boot and whether the hard drive parameters are recognized correctly. In some cases, changing the boot device may help.

System data corruption can be fixed using Windows or using utilities like ACRONIS DISK DIRECTORY, however, you can immediately begin active actions on a faulty device only if there is no data on it. Existing information may be damaged when corrected, so first of all, you should think about how to restore personal data. To do this, as in the case of viruses, you will need to boot from another device and use utilities such as R.saver, R-Studio or Get Data Back. You should restore data to another device to avoid damaging files that have not yet been processed. Damage to a significant number of sectors of the hard drive indicates that it will soon fail and we need to prepare to replace it.

The reason that the hard drive is not initialized may be changes in the software made before the failure occurred. For example, changing drivers or installing updates to the operating system or other system products. In this case, it is advisable to restore the system from the last restore point created before the patches were made. In order for system recovery to be initiated, access to the device on which the relevant data is located is required.

When installing an operating system on a formatted large-capacity hard drive (more than 2.2 TB), problems may arise due to the fact that not all versions of Windows are capable of working with a GPT master boot record. You can change the recording format to MBR, but this will not use the entire disk space. If it is not possible to upgrade to a more modern OS, then it is better to use a smaller capacity device for the system.

Additional hard drives

What to do if initialization failed hard disks containing alternative operating systems or other information? First check if they have any letters assigned to them. To do this, right-click on the “Computer” line, select “Storage devices” in the “Management” item and then “Disk Management”. If the device you are looking for is visible, but the letter is not assigned to it, the problem can be solved very simply. Just select this line, press the right mouse button and change the letter to any free one.

There may be other reasons why the disks are not initialized. If they have already been used before, they may have worked as part of a dynamic volume, or were encrypted. In these cases, it is unlikely that you need someone else's information; it is enough to reformat the devices again. To prepare for this, you can use a utility like ACRONIS.

Error initializing external device

If your external hard drive or SSD does not initialize, first make sure it is turned on. Also check if the interface is working properly. Try replacing the interface, connecting it to another SATA (or USB) connector of the motherboard. As with the HDD, you should check whether a letter is assigned to the device.

An SSD disk is designed differently from a hard drive; it does not have any rotating parts, and the information is stored in special chips. Writing and reading data does not require moving the heads, which speeds up the process and increases the mechanical stability of the device. However, SSDs have a limited number of write cycles, and the controllers that control data fragmentation can fail due to power surges.

It should be borne in mind that SSD technology is rapidly developing, so it is better to check the features of your device on the Internet. If the SATA interface is used, check whether it is set in the BIOS AHCI mode for the controller that controls your SSD. Update the drivers for this controller. Initialization of an SSD type disk with a SATA interface may not occur due to connection to a port with a high number. Such ports may be supported by additional controllers or operate at lower speeds. You can recognize them by their color - ports that have a color different from SATA-1 should not be used.

Some drives come with software that allows you to transfer the operating system to them. If the problem occurs after such a transfer, rebuild the system from scratch. If you have Windows XP, you may need to upgrade to a later version of the operating system. Perhaps a transition to latest version BIOS. See the video below for more details.

Hello admin. I bought a new hard drive, or rather solid state drive SSD and connected it to my computer. In the future I want to replace the hard drive on my laptop with this SSD, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now.

I connected the SSD to a high-speed SATA Revision 3.0 port (up to 6 Gbps) and turned on the computer, the system booted, then this window appeared " Initializing disks", "Before the Local Disk Manager can access it, the disk must be initialized.".

So I'm thinking what should I choose:

1. Master Boot Record (MBR)

2. Table with GUID partitions (GPT - GUID Partition Table)

Tell me what the note means: GPT partition style is not recognized by all previous versions of Windows.

I mainly use Windows 8, will it be okay if I convert the SSD to GPT? What previous Windows won't see it?

Initializing the hard drive

Hello! If you initialize a hard drive or SSD to the new GPT partition table style, then Windows XP will not see it and XP Disk Management will display something like this.

But there is a way out, you just need to take the files disk.sys, partmgr.sys from Windows Server 2003 and copy them to the corresponding folders, the first file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers and the second file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache on Windows XP. These files can be found on the Internet.

Another question is, will you need Windows XP? And one more question, why do you need a solid-state drive? SSD new GPT partition table style?

An SSD will work equally fast with an MBR. I once experimented and transferred Windows 8 from regular hard drive new laptop on solid state SSD drive, I didn’t disable UEFI, Windows started working much faster on the SSD. This was not enough for me and I disabled UEFI, then reinstalled Windows 8 on a laptop with an SSD. MBR disk, I want to say that everything also “flyed”!

Note: operating system installed on a regular hard drive converted to GPT boots and works somewhat faster than with MBR, but again it cannot be compared with SSD. If you want to significantly increase Windows performance, then simply transfer the operating system to the SSD solid-state drive or simply install Windows again on the SSD, no matter what you initialize the SSD in, GPT or MBR.
It definitely makes sense to initialize a new 3TB hard drive to a GPT partition table, since if you convert it to MBR, the same Windows 7 will see only 2 TB on it, and sometimes even 700 GB. Who cares about the difference between GPT styles and MBR, read our article.
If necessary, you can convert a hard drive or SSD from GPT to MBR and back without deleting data; there are special utilities for this, although if Windows is installed on the hard drive, this will not work just like that.

Disk initialization process

Let's go to Disk Management. Right-click on the hard drive you want to initialize and select Initialize Disk from the menu that appears.