Acer Predator Helios 300 users enjoy the luxury of having two hard drive bays. You’ll enjoy lots of storage space and fast boot times with multiple hard drives.
Unfortunately, this is impossible when your Acer Predator Helios 300 2nd hard drive is not showing up.
This article will help you fix the Acer Predator Helios 300 hard disk problem.
Why Is My Acer Predator Helios 300 2nd Hard Drive Not Showing Up in My PC?
Your 2nd hard drive might not be showing due to the following issues
- Out of date drivers
- Uninitialized drive
- Problems with SATA cable or loose connection
- Unallocated space
- 2nd hard drive hasn’t been assigned a letter
Ways To Fix Acer Predator Helios 300 2nd Hard Drive Not Showing Up
If your 2nd hard drive hasn’t been detected on your Predator Helios 300, use the following methods to fix the problem:
2nd Hard Drive Not Showing Up In File Explorer
A 2nd hard drive not showing up in file explorer can be fixed by the following solution:
Solution: Initialize & Partition The 2nd Hard Drive
A hard drive that’s not initialized will not show up in windows file explore. Here is how to initialize and partition your 2nd hard drive:
- Open a new file explorer window and Right-click on “My Computer or This PC.”
- Click on “Manage” and open the “Disk Management” option
- Locate the 2nd hard drive & right-click it. Select “Initialize Disk” from the menu
- Ensure that you select the GPT (GUID Partition Table) option and click OK
- Now follow the instructions to complete the initialization phase
Once you succeed in initializing the disk, it will be shown as unallocated space. Now you have to partition it to show up in file explore.
- Open Start.
- Search for “Disk Management” and select the top result.
- Right-click the partition on the hard disk without a drive letter and choose the New Simple Volume option.
- Click the Next button.
- Fill in the “simple volume size” to the value you want, then click Next.
- Choose the “Assign the following driver letter” option.
- From the drop-down menu option, select a drive letter.
- Click Next.
- Select the “Format this volume with the following settings” option.
- From the “File system” drop-down menu, select the NTFS option.
- Select “Default” from the “Allocation unit size” menu.
- Key in a random name for the drive in the “Volume label” field.
- Check the “Perform a quick format option.”
- Click Next.
- Click the Finish button.
Solution 2: Assign Drive Letter & Path To 2nd Hard Disk
A hard drive without a drive letter won’t show up on your PC. Assign the drive letter by following these steps.”
- Go to “Disk Management,” right-click the 2nd hard drive, and choose “change driver letter and path.”
- Choose your desired letter from the drop-down menu and click OK.
- Now Restart your laptop.
2nd Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management
If you can find the second hard drive in disk management, try the following solutions:
Solution 1: Update the driver
Outdated 2nd hard disk driver can prevent your second HDD from showing in disk management. Updating the driver should solve the problem.
- Right-click on Start and go to “Device manager.”
- Double click on the Disk driver and locate your 2nd hard drive.
- Right-click on the disk and choose “Update Driver Software.”
- Follow the instructions given to update the disk driver.
Solution 2: Uninstall & Reconnect the 2nd HDD
- Instead of updating the drivers, select “uninstall driver” and confirm.
- Reboot your laptop and plug in the 2nd hard drive again.
2nd Hard Drive Not Showing Up in BIOS
If your 2nd hard drive isn’t showing up in BIOS, there is a chance you haven’t enabled it in BIOS or the hard drive is faulty. Here is how to enable the second hard drive in BIOS:
Solution 1: Enable Drive in BIOS
- Restart your laptop and keep pressing F2 to enter into BIOS.
- Enter Setup and check system documentation to confirm if the 2nd hard drive is turned off in System Setup.
- If it’s Off, turn it ON.
- Reboot PC to confirm if the 2nd hard disk can be recognized.
Solution 2: Replace SATA Cable
If the Acer predator helios 300 hard disk problem persists, there is a likelihood that your SATA cable or drive bay connections are faulty:
In that case, you have to replace the SATA cable. We recommend taking your laptop to the technician to have the SATA cable checked and replaced.
Your technician should address all the connection problems in the 2nd hard drive bay.
Final Thoughts!
By now, your Acer Predator Helios 300 second hard drive should be showing up and working properly. If not, your hard drive could be faulty, and you should replace it.