The unknown device hardware ID is ACPI MSFT0101 which indicates the Security Chip (TPM) setting issue. For whatever reason, Windows 10 didn’t install drivers for the device. This may be a simple error where it was unable to find drivers or it wasn’t able to correctly identify a device. Regardless, to fix the problem, open Device Manager and right-click the unknown device. After an upgrade from Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 to Windows 10 is completed, the HP 3D DriveGuard driver is displayed as an unknown device. Device Manager displays an exclamation mark (yellow bang) indicating there is a problem with the driver. As Windows 10 cannot identify the hardware, it cannot install a right driver for the device, Windows 10 unknown device in Device Manager error code 28 or any other device manager error codes pop up. You can find what your error code is from Driver Properties.

Summary:In this blog, you will learn how to fix Disk Unknown Not Initialized error in Windows 10. The cause of this error may be corrupt MBR, outdated device driver, missing partition, bad sectors, etc. You can try the best methods to fix this error. We have also articulated an efficient way to recover data using a powerful data recovery software in case of data loss due to this error.

When you connect an external drive to the system to copy some files from it to your system, or to create a backup of the system data, sometimes you get a ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ error (See Image 1). This error on your disk makes the drive unreadable, due to which, you are unable to access your data stored on it. However, you may take help of a data recovery tool to get back your data. And to fix the error, try attempting the methods given in this blog post.

Why ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ Error Occurs?

There could be several reasons due to which ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ error message may occur, which are mentioned as following:

• Corrupt/ Incompatible/Outdated Driver
• MBR Corruption
• Missing or lost partition
• Bad Sectors
• Corrupt File System

Best Ways to Fix Disk Unknown Not Initialized in Windows 10

Method 1: Update Device Driver

As explained above, an outdated, corrupt or incompatible device driver may be the cause for this error. You may fix it by updating the latest driver or uninstalling the problematic one, and then reinstalling the compatible driver for the device. Follow these steps to update the device driver:

a. Press Windows + X, locate and open Device Manager. (See Image 1)

b. Select the category of the devices and double-click on the one you want to update driver for.

c. Right-click on the driver. If you see the Update driver option, select it.

d. Choose ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ and Windows will find the latest one. (See Image 2)

e. If you see Properties option on right-clicking the driver, click Driver tab on the open window.

f. On the next prompt, click Update Driver. (See Image 3)

g. Proceed by clicking ‘ Search automatically for updated driver software’.

When Windows will find you a latest driver for the device, update it. If you couldn’t see any latest driver software available for the device, you may uninstall the corrupt one and re-install the compatible driver to fix the error.

Method 2: Rebuild MBR Boot

If the error occurs due to the MBR corruption, you may fix MBR (Master Boot Record) with the help of the following steps:

a. Open Command Prompt and type the following commands:

• bootrec /fixmbr
• bootrec /fixboot (See Image 4)

b. Once done with the process, close the Command Prompt.

c. Check if the error still persists.

Method 3: Initialize Disk

Try fixing ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ error in Windows 10 by initializing disk with the help of the following troubleshooting steps:

a. Open Disk Management and locate the drive, which is not initialized. The drive will show as unallocated. (see Image 5)

b. Select the unallocated disk, right-click on it and click Initialize Disk. (See Image 6)

c. Select between an MBR and GPT. It is recommended to select GPT and click OK to proceed. (See Image 7)

d. Once this process is done, you will be back to the main window. The drive will be listed as Online and Basic.

e. Go to This PC and check if you can access the drive.

Method 4: Assign a Drive Letter

If you see your drive in Disk Management as UNALLOCATED, you may assign a drive letter and a file system to the drive to fix it. To do so, follow the steps given below:

a. Go to Disk Management and find Unallocated drive.

b. Select the disk drive, right-click on it and select New Simple Volume. (See Image 8)

c. Click Next and then click Next on the next prompt to specify the volume size. (See Image 9)

d. Click ‘Assign the following drive letter’, choose a letter from drop-down list, and click Next. (See Image10)

e. Choose ‘Format this volume with the following settings’. Provide the drive a NTFS file system and click Next to proceed. (See Image 11)

f. Select Finish to complete the procedure and close the window. Once done, check if the error is fixed.

Method 5: Run CHKDSK Command

This error may occur due to bad sectors on disk drive. To fix the corrupt drive or drive with bad sectors, you may run CHKDSK command utility. Follow the given steps:

a. Go to Start by pressing Windows + X, find and open Command Prompt (Admin) (See Image 12)

b. Type chkdsk /f /r d: in the Command Prompt, and hit Enter. (See Image 13)

This command line utility fixes if there is any corruption with the disk. However, it also finds and marks down the bad sectors on the disk. This utility helps Windows understand not to store or read data stored on the bad sectors. Doing so, will make you lose any data stored on those sectors.

Hence, if you run this command to fix ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized” error and lost data due to this, use a powerful data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Software. This Do-it-yourself tool can recover data from a formatted, or corrupted Windows PCs and external storage devices like HDDs, USB, SD, and SSDs, etc.

Method 6: Run Diskpart Utility

You may also try to fix ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ by using Diskpart utility. This utility helps to quickly format the drive partition or change the disk partition to NTFS or FAT32.

NOTE: This method requires you to format the partition that leads you to data loss situation. Therefore, before proceeding further, either create a backup of your data or keep a data recovery tool handy to restore the data.

Follow the given steps and to fix the error:

a. Open Run window by pressing Windows + R, and type cmd to open Command Prompt.

b. In the command prompt window, type diskpart, then type list disk, and hit Enter.

c. Now, type Select Disk 0 (Where disk 0 is the disk showing error) and hit Enter. (See Image 14)

d. Type clean and hit Enter.

e. Type create partition primary and hit Enter.

f. Type format fs=fat32 quick or fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter to proceed. (See Image 15)

g. Let the process finish, type exit and hit Enter.

h. Reboot the system and check if you are facing the error with the disk.

Recover Lost Data with Data Recovery Software

Due to ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ error, you will not be able to access your drive. Even, in an attempt to fix this error by applying some of the methods mentioned above, you may end up losing data stored on the drive. Regardless of the reason of losing data, you may get it back with the help of a powerful data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery. This do-it-yourself (DIY) software can recover lost documents, email files, photos, videos, and more. It supports multiple file formats on different storage devices. The data can even be recovered from formatted and corrupted Windows PCs and external drives.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have discussed what you can do when your system or an external drive encounter ‘Disk Unknown Not Initialized’ error. Performing the aforesaid methods may help you fix the error. However, methods such as diskpart utility or fixing unallocated space require you to format the drive, wiping out the data stored on it. To avoid losing data on the drive, you may use a data recovery tool such as Stellar Data Recovery software. The tool can efficiently extract lost files, folders, documents, photos, and more.

Have you encountered an Unknown Device error and wondered how to deal with it? Certainly, it can be fixed by downloading drivers for unknown devices? It is agreeable that the Unknown Device issue is due to a malfunctioning device which is why you need to obtain an updated driver for the faulty device.

The most common approach to resolving functional issues of computers is by getting the right device drivers for your system.

In this article, we will first understand the root cause of the error, followed by learning how to identify which device has gone down and finally take a look at how to download drivers for unknown devices.

How to Identify Which Device is Not Functioning?

For this, you need to head to the Control Panel of your system and then to the Device Manager. The Device Manager hosts and displays all the devices installed in a system.

An Unknown Device will be listed in the Device Manager and indicated with a yellow exclamation mark. You can look at the Properties of this unknown device to figure out the hardware ID and consequently identify the device.

Causes of Unknown Devices in Device Manager

• Upgrading the PC to Windows 10.
• Outdated or corrupted drivers can be another cause.
• When the device driver is not available as in the case of USB devices.
• Faulty hardware or firmware.
• Unrecognized device ID.

Update Device Drivers to Fix Unknown Device Error:

The Unknown Devices issue can be resolved by installing the correct version of the device drivers. This can be done by either updating the drivers manually or updating them automatically.

1. Updating Drivers Manually

If you got the right expertise, patience, and time, then you can install the correct version of the drivers manually from the manufacturer’s website. However, one challenge here is that you need to first figure out which device is malfunctioning.

If you are not already aware of this, then let me inform you that every device has a hardware ID assigned to it. Once you know what the hardware ID is, you can easily recognize the unknown device and then grab the right version of the driver.

To identify the device driver effortlessly, you can use the following steps:

• You can go to the Device Manager and right-click on the Unknown Device to select the ‘Properties’ option.

• Once the ‘Unknown device Properties’ window opens, go to the ‘Details’ tab and click on the dropdown menu of the Property.

• In the value field, you can see a list of values which is nonetheless the hardware IDs.
• You can copy the top-most value by using the right-click action of the mouse.
• Post this, you can paste the device hardware ID on the search engine that will show the device to which it belongs.
• After device identification, you can visit the manufacturer’s website and download the updated driver version of the device.
• You can then follow the subsequent steps to install it on your system and get rid of the Unknown Device error.

Read Also: How To Update Device Drivers on Windows 10

2. Updating Drivers via Device Manager

If you don’t want to go through all the cumbersome manual steps, then don’t worry as the ‘Update Driver’ function can come to your rescue and save you from all the hassles. Want to know how? Well, take a look at the subsequent steps to understand it entirely.

• In the Device Manager, you need to first right-click on the Unknown Device and choose the ‘Update Driver Software’ option.

• Then, you need to choose the former option in the following prompt to let the Windows search online for the updated driver automatically and install it on your system.

3. Updating Drivers Automatically with Bit Driver Updater

Don’t you agree that an all-round driver updater software can put an end to all your device drivers related issues at once? They are not only capable of downloading drivers for unknown devices but can also look after the overall condition of all the system drivers. Thereby, they are the most ideal tools for improving your system performance.

Bit Driver Updater tool is undoubtedly the best driver updating software that we recommend, as this tool can automatically scan your system and detect the outdated drivers swiftly.

Other Devices Unknown Device Windows 10

Users can avail of a trial version before deciding to procure the pro version of the tool. The software can be obtained in three quick steps easily.

Besides, scanning your system for missing or corrupted drivers in real-time, it can also find the latest version of the driver software online and install it on your system to replace the outdated ones.

What makes this tool user-friendly is its ability to scan the Windows PC for outdated drivers and update them to the latest ones in just one simple click. Additionally, you also get commendable round the clock technical assistance.

Last but not the least, Bit driver Updater can also backup your device drivers and help you to restore them when needed.

Install Driver For Unknown Device Windows 10

Conclusion

So, you now know that downloading drivers for Unknown Devices is a task that can be easily accomplished with a potent driver updater software. Keeping drivers up-to-date ensures that you can experience a smooth functioning system without encountering glitches and errors.

The advantage of using automated tools over manual methods is that it saves your time immensely. Also, those who lack technical skills can easily resort to using a smart tool without messing up with the drivers manually.