I had an fTPM problem on my work laptop that prevented me from signing into Windows. While troubleshooting, I followed instructions to connect a portable SSD and use Command Prompt with several robocopy commands to copy files from the laptop. After the final command displayed an error or status message, I was told to shut down the laptop and reconnect the SSD to my main PC. Since then, the SSD no longer appears in File Explorer, Disk Management, or Device Manager. Another identical SSD works normally on the same PC. Is the drive simply corrupted, or could it have been permanently damaged?
2 Answers
If the SSD appeared in Disk Management, reformatting or securely wiping it might fix a corrupted partition. Since it does not appear there or in Device Manager at all, though, this is probably not something a normal format can solve. You could still try another USB cable, port, or computer before assuming the drive has failed. Also, be very cautious with AI-generated commands—especially anything involving firmware, BIOS, partitions, or disk cleanup—and make sure you understand each command before running it.
A secure wipe is something you can usually do yourself with the right disk utility, but the computer must detect the drive first. If the SSD is not visible anywhere—not even as an uninitialized or unknown disk—there is nothing for the wipe tool to target. That points more toward a connection problem or hardware failure than ordinary file corruption. Avoid initializing or wiping anything until you confirm which disk is the SSD, since choosing the wrong drive could destroy your other data.
That makes sense. Since the system does not recognize it at all, I won’t try wiping anything blindly. I’ll test the basic connections first.
I checked both Disk Management and Device Manager, but the SSD is missing from both. I’ll try different cables and ports, but I’m concerned that it may have failed completely.