How to Fix No display when an external hard drive is plugged

The 'No display' issue had been causing a lot of trouble for the users, majorly on startup, as some users claimed that black screens appeared right after connecting an external hard drive. This article presents solutions for that issue.

Fix No display when an external hard drive is plugged into Windows PC

If you are facing an issue with "No display" while connecting the external hard drive, go ahead with the below troubleshooting steps:

1. USB port and connection: Make sure the drive is connected to a working USB. Try another port or USB.

2. Display driver restart: Restart the graphics driver using Win + Ctrl + Shift + B, which may help resolve issues with display.

3. Reinstall Universal Serial Bus Controller driver: This driver allows the communication between your computer and the USB device. In case there are outdated, corrupted, or incompatible drivers, then you're most likely experiencing one of these connectivity concerns below.

4. Boot Order: Make sure that your hard drive is the first among the sequence listing of the booting order in BIOS or UEFI firmware. It just ensures that the system can access the drive in a proper manner.

5. Update the chipset driver: The chipset driver is responsible for controlling the communication between your CPU and other components; these include USB ports. Incompatible chipset drivers may be delivered by using an outdated chipset driver.

6. Update or reinstall the graphics card driver: Sometimes the issue may be due to a faulty or outdated graphics card driver. Search for the latest drivers on your manufacturer's website.

7. System Restore: If none of the above works, consider system restore to one of the previous points. This can revert any kind of changes that may cause this issue.

Use diagnostic software to conclude if your drive is failing. If indeed it is, you most likely will have to have it replaced to avoid losing files.

1] Reinstall Universal Serial Bus Controller driver

To fix the USB Host Controller driver issue, follow the steps below;

1.                  Make a System Restore Point: First of all, make sure you create a system restore point so you could always restore the operating system installed on your computer to a previously working state, in case things go south.

2.                  Launch the Device Manager utility: Launch the Device Manager utility either using the Start search box or via Win + X menu option.

3 Locating USB Host Controller: Expand the " Universal Serial Bus controllers" category

4 Uninstall Driver: Right-click on the USB Host Controller driver and select " Uninstall device"

5 Restart or Scan for Changes: Restart the computer or do the hardware scan that will automatically reinstall the driver

Note: In some cases, even after reinstalling the driver you might need to update the driver from the manufacturer's website or perform troubleshooting on your other hardware components

2] BOOT ORDER

"If a black screen occurs due to the connection of the external hard drive, then it may be trying to boot from an external drive and not from the internal system drive. So, to solve an issue, check and adjust the boot order from your computer's BIOS or UEFI setting. The highest preference to be called in BIOS should be the internal system drive."

3]Updation of the chipset driver

"An outdated chipset driver may sometimes make hardware malfunction. You can update your chipset driver to the latest version of the driver to work around it. You can get these drivers on the manufacturer's official website. Another solution is that you reset your BIOS. Resetting one may fix the compatibility problems in some cases. This is done by entering a setup menu where you choose to restore settings to default. Please read your computer's manual for further assistance and information on how to enter and reset your BIOS."

4] Reinstall graphics or update the graphics card driver

For re-installing the graphics or updating the graphics card driver, go with the following steps:

1. Update or Reinstall Graphics Driver: Download the latest driver for the graphics card from the official website of either the computer manufacturer or vendor of the graphics card; then run the installer to install the driver.

2. Clean Installation: In the case of no success with the above, perform an entirely new installation with a tool like DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), which completely uninstalls the drivers. A clean installation can very well sort out any driver-related issue successfully.

6] Restore your system

"If your computer worked perfectly a short time ago, and is now acting up, you can roll it back to a previous state of bliss by using System Restore. To accomplish this you need to find the restore point that predates when the computer started acting up."

6] Your hard disk might be failing

"If your hard drive still acts up, then it may be failing. Check the status of its health through a diagnostic tool. Listen for some odd clicking sounds—one common drive failure indication. An attempt to connect the ailing hard drive to another system would confirm whether or not the hard drive is to blame. If the ailing system reappears, the problem is most probably the hard drive itself; if it does not, the problem is most probably your computer's power supply. As a safeguard, obviously always back up your important data to avoid being hindered due to hard drive malfunction."

Key enhancements include:

• Conciseness: It avoids repetitions and is more direct with the sentences.

• Clarity: More straightforward language has been used to avoid technical terms that may be present.

• Action-oriented: The steps for troubleshooting are more specific.

• Safety emphasis: The importance of backing up data has also been reinforced.

That is all about How to Fix Nothing Displays When Connecting External Hard Drive, so we hope we have been of great help to you.