15-09-2021

In this episode we are going to make our USB flash drive appear as a local disk, stay tuned. By default your USB flash drive will appear as a removable storage in your Windows computer or any other device. You might want it to appear as a local disk, just like a hard drive. Today, I am going to talk about a hot issue – USB drive cannot be opened in Windows 7/8/10. Now, more and more users like using USB flash drive to store data or transfer data. However, according to users’ feedback, users have encountered some different problems like USB drive not showing files and folders, USB flash drive not recognized.

Possible Reasons: Insufficient power supply to the flash from USB port. Overloading USB ports like inserting multiple USB drives simultaneously, or use tortured USB cable may result in the USB showing 0 bytes and No Media. Virus infection. The files on the USB drive may be damaged by computer viruses.

If your USB flash drive shows no media and 0 bytes, try to fix your problem through the quick navigation bar here below:

Many users report that their computer cannot recognize the USB when they insert a USB flash drive into the computer. And the USB shows no media and 0 bytes in Windows Disk Management. This is a common problem for USB flash drives, SD cards, and pen drives. In this article, we will introduce why this issue happens and how to fix it.

What Causes USB No Media and Shows 0 Bytes

There are many reasons that would lead to USB no media 0 bytes problems. Read on to check more details:

  • Hidden files. The files are still there but set as hidden by accident.
  • No recognized partition on your USB drive.
  • Remove the USB drive without ejecting or safely removing it. It may damage stored files on the drive, so does the MBR or PBR of the device.
  • Insufficient power supply to the flash from USB port. Overloading USB ports like inserting multiple USB drives simultaneously, or use tortured USB cable may result in the USB showing 0 bytes and No Media.
  • Virus infection. The files on the USB drive may be damaged by computer viruses.
  • Failing flash drive, usually, NAND flash failing. No Media error happens also when the flash memory controller cannot communicate with the NAND flash memory on the drive. As a result, Windows will treat the drive as an empty disk drive.

After knowing the reasons for the USB showing no media phenomenon, it is time to learn how to get this problem fixed in a quick way.

Important
To avoid unexpected data loss troubles in the 0 bytes storage devices such as SD cards/USB drives/pen drives, etc, it's highly recommended that you get back the hidden files or restore data before fixing the 0 bytes problem.

How to Fix USB Drive Showing 0 Bytes

Besides showing as no media and 0 bytes, USB flash drives have other possible error conditions, such as displaying unallocated and RAW in the disk management. For the above situation, you can find a solution in this article. Keep reading and check more details.

Part 1: USB Shows 0 Bytes in Disk Management

It is not suggested to format the drive immediately if you see the prompting dialogue because that will delete all data on that drive. When your USB drive or other portable devices becomes 0 bytes, you should check it in Disk Management.

1 - If your device shows 0 bytes in Disk Management, you'll need to take your device to a local data recovery service center and ask for help.

2 - Sometimes, Disk Management doesn't show the right capacity of your USB but marks your device as 'Online' or 'Healthy', you can try these fixes:

  • Unplug, replug the device and reboot the computer
  • Change the USB ports and STATA cable, and reboot the computer
  • Connect 0 bytes storage devices to another computer to check data
  • Connect the USB to the USB port on the computer motherboard (the USB port on the back of the desktop computer)

Part 2: USB Shows Other States in Disk Management

Usb Localdisk

If the USB does not show as 0 bytes in Disk Management, you can solve this issue by following the guide. At first, press 'Windows + X' > select 'Disk Management', then, check the USB:

1 - Showing as Unallocated

If the device is showing as unallocated, you can solve this by creating a new partition. You can follow the manual guide below, or create a new partition using the software.

Step 1: Connect the unallocated USB/SD card or other devices to the PC. Right-click on This PC/My Computer > Manage > Disk Management.

Usb Localdisk

Step 2: Locate and right-click on the unallocated space of the pen drive, select 'New Simple Volume'.

Set partition size, drive letter and file system (NTFS), etc. Click 'Finish' to complete the process.

2 - Shows RAW in Disk Management

If the USB shows as RAW, online, with a healthy state, you are unable to access the device. To resolve this issue without data loss, you must recover data first and then solve the RAW issue.

First: Recover Data

We highly recommend you choose a professional data recovery software to recover your data. EaseUS disk data recovery software can fully support RAW partition recovery and solve your problem. Here are what the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can do:

  • Recover data from a dead hard drive.
  • Perform USB recovery, hard disk recovery, or external hard drive recovery.
  • Support users to preview all recoverable files.
  • 100% secure and works well on both Windows and Mac computers.

Download this tool and perform fast and secure data recovery on the USB drive, SD card, or other storage devices with the '0 bytes' issue.

Step 1. Run USB Data Recovery Software

Connect the USB flash drive to your computer and launch EaseUS USB data recovery software on your PC. Select the USB drive which is labeled as a removable disk, and click 'Scan' to start looking for your lost files.

Step 2. Scan and Search Lost Files on a USB Drive

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will thoroughly scan your USB flash drive and find all your lost data on it. When the scan process completes, use the Filter feature to filter by a specific file type. This program allows you to check and preview files found on your USB.

Step 3. Restore All Lost Files from USB

A double-click will allow you to preview the scan results. Select the target files to restore and click 'Recover' to save them to a secure location on your PC or other external storage devices.

Video Tutorial of USB Data Recovery

Second: Format 0 Byte RAW USB/SD Card

After restoring USB data, you can format the 0 bytes RAW hard drive partition.

Step 1: In 'This PC/My Computer', select the USB.

Step 2: Right-click the 0 bytes USB, then choose 'Format'.

Step 3: Select FAT32 or NTFS as the file system for the USB and click 'OK' to confirm.

You may need further help for tough data loss situations like reformatting drive, RAW disk, partition loss, repartition failures and system boot error. Consult with EaseUS Data Recovery Experts for cost-efficient one-on-one manual recovery service. They could offer the following services after FREE diagnosis:
1. Unformat the drive
2. Repair the RAID, RAW disk or operating system
3. Recover lost partition (the one that cannot be recovered by software)

The Bottom Line

Whenever you meet the problem 'USB flash drive showing 0 bytes', you can try the solutions above. And your USB may show as another status, never hesitate to ask EaseUS for help. We provide you with professional help all the time. You can contact us through the live chat or our email ([email protected]).

Summary :

If you’re fed up with the slow speed of your computer (desktop or laptop), what are you going to do with this old hard drive? In fact, turning HDD to USB is a better choice than throwing away the old hard drive; it’s more economical and environmentally friendly. This post will show you how to convert internal hard drive to external USB in detail.

Many users’ first reaction to a slow and old computer is replacing the hard drive with a new one or with a SSD. Some people also choose to buy a new computer for a better experience. Either way, your old hard drive will be put aside.

Please don’t throw the old drive away; it is still useful. Making old HDD to USB is a more economical and environmentally friendly choice. It only takes surprisingly little effort for you to convert internal hard drive to external USB.

HDD to USB: A Better Way to Dispose Old Drive

You need to prepare an external hard drive enclosure before changing internal hard drive to USB; it works as the SATA-to-USB converter to allow you to turn an internal SATA hard drive into an external USB drive. What you should do before converting hard drive is to transfer data from hard drive or use software from MiniTool to backup data. Then, determine whether the old drive is ok. If the drive is working file, you should follow the steps that will be explained in the following content.

If any files get lost unexpectedly, you should retrieve data from hard drive by following this:

If you are stuck in finding ways to recover files from dead external hard drive efficiently, this passage will be very helpful.

How to Convert Internal HDD to External

Step one: take out your old hard drive, and remove the brackets and screws on it carefully.

Step two: confirm the size of your internal hard drive (the laptop hard drive is usually 2.5 inch while the desktop hard drive is 3.5 inch). Confirm the interface of hard drive (IDE, SATA, or PATA).

Step three: look for an external hard drive enclosure/internal hard drive to USB adapter that is suitable for your old drive.

Step four: connect the old hard drive to the enclosure carefully.

Step five: attach the enclosure to your desktop or laptop by using the USB cable.

Step six: open Windows File Explorer to check whether your drive shows up there. If it does appear, it means it is ready for use; if it doesn’t appear, you should read this post to know how to fix.

If the system tells you that the Windows Explorer needs to be restarted, what you should do to solve the problem?

Usb Localdisk

It’s easy to encounter Windows Explorer needs to be restarted issue on Windows; this post tells you how to fix it properly.

Usb Local Disk Zip

That’s how to turn internal hard drive to external. Now, you can use the USB hard drive like any other external hard drives.

Usb Localdisk Zip 64 Bit

Can You Convert Internal HDD to External without Enclosure

Usb Local Disk Rar

Some users are asking whether they can convert an internal hard drive to external HDD without enclosure. Certainly, yes, they can make their own external HDD enclosure from card . Besides, they can purchase a PATA/SATA to USB adapter and then use it to connect the internal HDD directly to PC via USB port.

What to Consider When Buying an Enclosure

When buying an enclosure for converting HDD to USB, you should take 2 things into consideration: interface and size. The interface and size of the enclosure to buy must match that of your hard drive.

Usb Local Disk 64 Bit

  • If the hard drive is taken out from a laptop, it’s possible that the interface is SATA (there are also a small number of laptop hard drives equipped with an IDE interface) and the size is 2.5 inch. Therefore, you need a 2.5” SATA enclosure.
  • If the hard drive was used in a desktop originally, it’s possible that it has a PATA interface and 3.5 inch size. At this time, you should look for a 3.5” enclosure that gives support to PATA/IDE.

You can actually convert the old internal hard drive to external and use it for storing files, backing up data, and keeping videos/games that can be used on your TV/PS4.