Policies tab missing for External Drive or USB drive on Windows 11

Some users have reported that they don’t see the Policies tab when they access device Properties from the Hardware tab for their external drive or USB drive on Windows 11/10. The Policies tab is used to enable or disable write caching policy for the devices to improve performance. For those who find the Policies tab missing for the external drive or USB drive on their Windows 11/10 system, we have covered some helpful fixes in this post to solve the problem.

Policies tab missing for External Drive or USB drive on Windows 11

If the Policies tab is missing for your external drive or USB drive on your Windows 11/10 computer, use the following solutions:

Use the Change settings button
Access the Policies tab from the Device Manager
Open the Policies tab using Disk Management
Format and change the File system for the device.

Let’s check these solutions.

1] Use the Change settings button

This is an easier fix. First, open File Explorer, and access the This PC section. Right-click on your USB drive and select the Properties option. In the Properties box, switch to the Hardware tab for the external or USB drive. Select the disk drive from the list, and then press the Properties button. Once the Device Properties box is opened, click the Change settings button on the bottom left part available in the General tab. The Properties box will open along with the Policies tab.

Read: How to add Compatibility Tab from File Properties

2] Access the Policies tab from the Device Manager

Here are the steps to access the Policies tab for external or USB drives using the Device Manager:

Open the Device Manager window
Expand the Disk drives section
Right-click on your external hard drive or USB drive
Select the Properties option.

This will open the Properties box of that device with the Policies tab.

3] Open the Policies tab using Disk Management

Follow these steps to open the Policies tab using Disk Management:

Open the Disk Management window on your Windows 11/10 PC
Right-click on the volume associated with your USB drive or external hard drive
Click on the Properties option.

The Properties box of the device will show the Policies tab.

Read: No Security tab in Folder Properties

4] Format and change the File system for the device

If these solutions don’t help, first take the backup of your external drive (if not already). Now format the device and make sure the NTFS file system is selected before formatting it.

I hope this helps.

Why is my external USB drive not showing up on Windows 11?

If your external hard drive or USB drive is not showing up on Windows 11/10, then first try another port and check again. If that doesn’t help, then update or re-install the device driver, disable the USB selective suspend setting, create a new partition on the drive, and enable and format the drive in Disk Management.

Read: Sound Enhancements tab missing in Speakers Properties

Why is the Security tab missing on my external drive?

The reason the Security tab is missing on your external drive could be the File system. In that case, you should convert the File system to NTFS. Additionally, you should reinstall the device driver from the Device Manager window and reinstall the USB controllers.