Tony, a new user of the Ghacks forum asked for help regarding a issue with his removable hard disk and Windows 7. While the disk was showing up in the operating system, a click on it to access it in Windows Explorer yielded the error message “Insert Disk, Please Insert A Disk Into Drive” followed by the assigned device letter of the drive.
It is a confusing error message, considering that the device is a hard drive, and not a drive where a disk can be inserted. There are however a few things that users can do to troubleshoot the issue.
Drive Letter Conflict
A drive letter conflict occurs if the disk that is affected by the error is mapped to a reserved drive letter. That’s probably the easiest to resolve, as it can be resolved by changing the drive letter of the affected drive.
- Type computer management in the start search box and hit Enter. You can alternatively click on the Start Menu orb, then Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. Please note that the path is valid for Windows 7, and may differ for other operating systems.
- Click Disk Management.
- Right-click the partition, logical drive, or volume that you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
- Click the removable drive, click Change, click the drive letter that you want to use, and then click OK. Make sure you map a drive letter that is not in use, preferably x,y,z. If that works you can still change it to another drive letter easily.
You may also want to try plugging it into another free port if available.
Software
Transcend JetFlash Online Recovery is a free software program to fix the insert a disk into drive error in Windows. Please note that this drive has been designed for Trascend removable drives. It appears to be working with other drives as well, but there is no guarantee for that. Before you use the software, try finding a comparable software from your device manufacturer. Many happen to have recovery software for this problem available. You may also want to consider contacting the manufacturer’s support first.
Visit the site and download the RecoverISP tool. Please note that you need to supply an email address before you can download the software. The program is compatible with all Microsoft operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.
Once downloaded plug the removable drive in the computer and start RecoverISP. It is a portable tool that requires no installation. The software scans the removable drive and displays that the ISP is ok or broken.
Press the OK button. If broken was shown a new window appears. A pulldown menu is available in that window. Make sure the right device is selected before starting the repair with a click on the Start Fix button.
Press ok on the next screen to confirm the procedure. The program displays a report in the end detailing whether the fix was successful or not.
Unplug your drive, and plug it in again to see if the fix has resolved the issue. If it did, the error please insert a disk into drive should not appear anymore when accessing the drive in Windows Explorer. The software has been designed to preserve the data on the removable drive. Still, it may be a good idea to backup the data before you proceed with the repairs.
Super Stick Recovery Tool
This tool is not available anymore on a company website. I have downloaded it from Megaupload and checked it at Virustotal. No antivirus engine used at the site reported a hit. I have uploaded the program to Ghacks for a more reliable hosting option. Download Super Stick Recovery Tool 1.0.2.19 from this location and unpack it once it has been downloaded. Please note that this tool will erase all data on the drive, use it as a last resort or if no or only unimportant data is on the drive.
Run the tool as administrator while the removable drive is plugged in. It may take a few minutes before the process completes.
Formatting, Partitioning
Formatting the drive may or may not work depending on the type of error. Some users may get the error “There is no disk in drive. Insert a disk, and then try again.” when trying to format the drive. That’s usually the case if you look at the drive properties and notice that it reports a capacity of 0 Megabytes (in Device Manager > Disk Drives > Right-click, properties > Volumes.
Use GreyGrue has another solution:
Open Command Prompt with admin rights.
*Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.
Or
*Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
As I was on an Admin account already I just hit Start key + R. Then type in cmd.First type DISKPART and hit enter. You will see a text block saying version number. Takes a second depending on number of drives.
Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number of your USB flash drive. it will be listed as disk 0, disk 1, and so on. My thumb drive was Disk 4 with my other four drives before it. You can also see the total size as well as free space for each drive. Here my Thumb drive was ** bytes, 0 Bytes free. While the windows manager displayed a 0 bytes, 0 free.
Replace the drive number “#” with the correct drive number for the following commands.
SELECT DISK #
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
(here you put the file type you wish to format in to. NTFS, FAT32, FAT16. FAT32 is standard.)
FORMAT FS=NTFS
(Format process will take a few seconds)
ASSIGN
EXIT
Verdict
The Please Insert A Disk Into Drive error can have numerous causes and symptoms. That makes the troubleshooting and fixing problematic. As a rule of thumb: If no data is on the drive, or only unimportant data, then use the the formatting / erasing / partitioning option. If important data is on the drive, contact the drive manufacturer first, they sometimes have tools that they send out on request only.
Have you encountered this error message before? How did you fix the issue on your PC?
Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter.Related Articles:
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This seems to be a common that I’d bet most of us encounter. However, in my particular case I get it after I’ve run a reg clean, and it appears when I try to run pre-installed programs, such as MS Office or iTunes. Haven’t tried these steps yet, but its worth a try.
I think it is usually the drive letter that needs to be changed. One may have to rename drives using C:\ for the removable disk and something else for the HD on the machine.
I have a couple of 8GB HP V125W sticks. Invariably I get an “Access denied” message, or the system (XP-SP3) demands I shall insert a disk. In the beginning they worked fine, as they do on any other computer. Above recommended tools return “insert device”. Sometimes, they work. Now I have set the device to “Share on network” – and it works! But I still get “insert device” message. I have played around with this issue for many hours to no real avail, fiddled with registry keys, wholesale deleted some, un- and reinstalled USB …
I wish everybody plagued with this problem good luck!
Hi Dear, Thanks a lot for this information. It’s really works and particular u mention that web link in your web page. I really appreciate your work. thanks a lot. i need this help full information in future also.
I Heartily thanks you.
Have a great life.
i had a “please insert drive into disk” 4G transcend… it was fixed using that TRANSCEND ONLINE RECOVERY… thanks!… really really helpful!
i mean the “please insert a DISK into DRIVE” problem
i am using Windows xp and when i on my pc it go to welcome screen and there a warning window open which say to put in the Drive A . its not plugged . i don’t know what to do
thanks thanks thanks a lot men.. a million thanks sir.. the software recovery helps my problem.. keep the good work men..
Thank QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ….SuperStickRecovery Tool is befit and save my USB drive…………
nothing for me, i tryed many solution and nothing worked so far(many tools tryed – arround 12, many command and other and still nothing)
thank u! i had 16GB twinmos flash drive with the insert disk error. SuperStickRecoveryToolV1-0-2-19 fixed it!