Fix: ‘Internal Hard Drive Showing as Removable Disk’ issue

Many people want to know more about how to Fix ‘Internal Hard Drive Showing as Removable Disk’ issue on Windows. In some cases, Windows 10 or 11 may see an internal SSD or SATA drive as a removable device (media). So, the safe removal icon for the disk shows up in the system tray, just like it would for a regular USB flash drive. You won’t be able to eject the SATA drive where Windows is installed on the fly, but you might remove the extra SATA drive by accident. Another problem with “Removable” drives is that you can’t make more than one partition on them in Windows.

This problem has to do with the fact that both internal SATA hard drives and external eSATA hard drives in Windows use the same driver: the Standard SATA AHCI controller. When these drives are plugged in, the operating system checks to see if HotPlug mode is supported. If the controller works in AHCI mode, this feature can always be used. The Safely Remove Hardware icon on the taskbar is supposed to show SATA drives that work in this mode. Most chipset makers, on the other hand, include the ability for internal SATA drives to be automatically hidden in their drivers or in extra software.

The internal Hard Drive shouldn’t be shown as an external device that can be easily taken out. This means there is a problem with the way your computer is set up, and it may run slower than usual. Let’s fix this mistake by changing some settings in Device Manager, updating BIOS and Windows, and making sure everything else is set up correctly. This software will fix common computer problems, protect you from losing files, malware, and hardware failure, and make your computer run as fast as possible. Now, here are easy ways to Fix ‘Internal Hard Drive Showing as Removable Disk’ issue on Windows.

Overrule the way the inbox driver sets the devices

Fix: Windows Thinks Hard Drive / SSD is Removable: If updating the BIOS doesn’t help, you’ll need to change how the inbox driver places devices on certain ports. As was already said, the problem is with your system’s BIOS and how it decides whether or not the device is removable. Basically, the inbox driver looks directly at SATA ports and decides that the devices connected to them are external, which means they are removable. So, another solution is to change how the inbox driver figures out what devices are on some ports. Here’s what you should do –

1. Right-click on the Start button on the taskbar.
2. Choose “Device Manager.”
3. Double-click on Disk Drives once Device Manager is open.
4. Find the SATA device underneath it that you want the inbox driver to see as an internal device. Select Properties when you right-click on it.
5. On the General tab, next to “Location,” write down the Bus number.
6. Now, open the command prompt as the admin. (You can do this by pressing the Windows key, typing cmd, clicking Run as administrator, and then clicking Yes on User account control).
7. Change x in the following command to the Bus number you wrote down. Now cut and paste the whole command into the command prompt.
8. Add “HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesstorahciParametersDevice” to the end of the exe file. /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d
9. Hit Enter.
10. Close all of the windows and restart your PC to get the best results.

Disable SATA Hot Plug

Hot Plugging or Hot Swapping is a feature of BIOS that is built in. When this option is turned on, the hard drive is seen as a removable device by the motherboard. So, you run into the problem of your internal hard drive showing up as a removable disk. So you need to turn it off to fix the problem. If you want to know more information about this visit official Microsoft support site.

For Windows 10, click here.

1. Hit the Windows and I keys.
2. Choose Updates and Security.
3. Select Recover.
4. Click the button “Restart now.”
5. The computer will restart, and a new menu will appear. Click Troubleshoot on this new menu.
6. Choose the “Advanced” menu.
7. Pick the UEFI Firmware Settings option.
8. Click Restart. When you restart the system, it will take you straight to the BIOS.
9. Check the SATA port and turn off “Hot Plugging” here.

For Windows 11, click here.

1. Hit Winkey + I.
2. In the right pane, click on Recovery.
3. Next, click Restart now in the section called “Advanced Startup.”

Check and Update BIOS

Since the problems are with the BIOS, you need to first look for and install any updates for it. Installing its most recent version will fix a number of bugs and problems, such as an internal hard drive that shows up as a removable disk. First, find out what model it is. Then, go to the website of the company that made it and download the update. Here’s how to find out what model it is –

1. Press Win+R.
2. Put in msinfo32.
3. Select OK.
4. When the System Information window comes up, look for the “BIOS Version/Date” item. Write its Value down.
5. Now, open any web browser and go to the website of the company that made your motherboard.
6. Look for the number of your model and download any updates that are available for it. Install the updates and then check to see if the internal hard drives still show up as removable media.

Enable Write Caching Policy

Device Manager is another way to fix an internal hard drive that shows up as a removable disk. Several forums and experts have found this method to be useful, and it also makes the system run better. Here’s how you would use this workaround –

1. Right-click on the Start button and choose Device Manager from the menu.
2. Click on – Disk Drives twice.
3. Right-click on the SSD or HDD inside the computer.
4. Choose Properties.
5. Change the tab to Policies.
6. Mark the box next to “Write Caching Policy.”
7. For good results, click “OK” and restart the device.

Why Does My Hard Drive Show up as Removable

First, we’d like to explain why the hard drive inside your computer is shown as a removable disk. Whether or not the device can be taken out of the system depends on the BIOS and how the SATA ports are marked on the motherboard. The inbox driver checks the SATA port directly, and a device connected to a “external” port is treated as a removable device. Some storage drivers don’t do this, which could lead to data corruption or loss.