Fix There are no fixed disks to show Diskpart error

If you see the There are no fixed disks to show error when using the diskpart command in Windows 11/10, this post will help you resolve the problem. It usually happens when the computer is not able to detect the connected hard drive. If it happens to the primary drive, then the computer might not boot at all. The same can happen with a USB drive or an external storage device. Let’s see how to fix it.

Fix There are no fixed disks to show Diskpart error

The reason for the error could be an issue with the cable or if some damage has happened to the storage device. In either case, it is possible to fix it. Depending on what caused the problem, one of these solutions should be able to fix the problem.

Check hardware connectivity
BCD corruption
Rebuild MBR
Install or Update Drivers

Let’s get into the details of each method.

1] Check hardware connectivity

Sometimes it is a loose connection of a wire that could cause the drive to be turned off or stop from time to time. If it’s a laptop, you may have to take it to a service center if the rest of the solution doesn’t work. If you own a desktop, you can open the cabinet and manually check the wires. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, sometimes basic things like these cause problems.

2] BCD corruption

BCD or Boot Configuration Data is a file placed in the boot folder on the Windows partition storage. It contains boot configuration parameters on how to start your Window and also carries a registry hive, also called as BCD Store. If there is corruption in this registry, then it may not work properly. It is advised to boot into advanced configuration mode and then fix BCD corruption.

To rebuild the BCD or Boot Configuration Data file use the command –

bootrec /rebuildbcd

3] Rebuild MBR

The same bootrec command can be used to fix the Master Boot Record. It keeps a record of how many OS is available on the storage and offers a menu to the user. Here are the options that can fix the master boot record:

/FIXMBR: It will write an MBR to the system partition.
/FIXBOOT: This command will write a new boot sector onto the system partition.
/SCANOS: It can scan all OS installed on the computer.
/REBUILDBCD: If an OS is missing, you can scan all disks and add the missing entry

You may have to boot into the Advanced Startup Options screen to execute this command.

4] Install or Update Drivers

If it was working fine and went offline all of a sudden, it could be an issue with the updated driver. Windows Updates, are at times, known to mess with the hardware, and it’s a good idea to roll back or update the driver to figure out what works for you. If you are facing this issue with VMware Driver or any virtualized container, then you may need to update the driver

If you are able to access Windows, and the error is for another drive, then you can also use a third-party tool to run BCD commands. Tools like EasyBCD and Advanced Visual BCD Editor can help fix it easily if you don’t like the command prompt.

Also read: Delete is not allowed, Diskpart Virtual Disk Service error

How to solve diskpart has encountered an error?

When you see diskpart has encountered an error while running diskpart commands, you can fix it by running the Chkdsk scan, and SFC scan, and by formatting your disk. You may have to create a new partition to get rid of the error in some cases. If you have lost data due to disk part errors, you can recover the data using third-party recovery tools after fixing the issue.

How to show disks in diskpart command?

To show all the disks with the diskpart command, you can use the List Disk command. You can use Select Disk followed by the number of the disk and see the partitions in the disk using the List Partition command. There are many diskpart commands that you can use to manage disks on your Windows 11/10 PC.