Solved: Windows 10 Disk Management Not Loading - 10 Fixes

Updated by

Sherly 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

In this article, we will walk you through resolving issues with Disk Management not loading or being unresponsive in Win10. By following these solutions, you can eliminate the inconvenience and ensure seamless disk management on your Windows 10 system.

How to Fix the Issue of Disk Management Not Loading in Windows 10

Here, for your convenience, we have outlined ten different solutions that you can adopt depending on your situation to fix the Disk Management not loading issue in Windows 10.

1. Solution 1: Use a Disk Management Alternative Tool 2. Solution 2: Restart Your Computer 3. Solution 3: Disconnect Unnecessary External Devices 4. Solution 4: Repair Disk Management from the Services Window 5. Solution 5: Run SFC and DISM Scans 6. Solution 6: Check Running Hardware 7. Solution 7: Create a New User Account 8. Solution 8: Keep Windows Up to Date 9. Solution 9: Update Device Drivers 10. Solution 10: Restore Windows to Factory Settings

Solution 1: Use a third-party disk management tool

To fix the issue of Windows 10 Disk Management not loading or responding, you can use the tool called Partition Master Professional. It is an excellent and powerful disk management utility that offers flexible and various practical features. It can seamlessly handle tasks like extending volumes and formatting partitions, serving as an ideal solution when the default tool fails.

In many aspects, MiniTool Partition Wizard can perfectly replace Disk Management:

• Create/Delete Partitions: Effortlessly partition or remove sections to meet your storage needs.
• Migrate and Resize: Seamlessly adjust the size and position of partitions for optimal disk space utilization.
• Extend/Contract Partitions: Precisely expand or shrink partition sizes to accommodate changing storage requirements.
• Format Volumes: Quickly and securely format volumes in preparation for data storage or other purposes.
• Split/Merge Partitions: Divide large partitions into manageable smaller ones or merge smaller partitions for smoother storage management.

Ease your disk management journey with today's Partition Master. Harness its powerful features to easily extend volumes, format partitions, and overcome Windows 10 Disk Management challenges. This is the main interface of the tool, Partition Master.

When you come across Disk Management empty, unresponsive, or unavailable, don't miss this disk management tool. It's a perfect alternative to Disk Management for Windows users.

Solution 2: Restart your computer

Try restarting your computer to see if that resolves the issue. Sometimes, a simple restart can fix temporary issues that might cause Disk Management to fail to load properly. It's a simple step, but one that can work surprisingly well.

Fix 3: Disconnect unnecessary external devices

In some cases, an overloaded USB port or a conflicting external device might affect the Disk Management functionality. Try the following solutions:

Step 1. Unplug all nonessential external devices, such as external hard drives, USB flash drives, printers, and webcams.

Step 2: Keep only essential devices connected, such as a keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

Step 3. Open Disk Management again to see if it loads properly.

If disconnecting the peripherals fixes the problem, reconnect them one by one to identify the problematic device, and to prevent future conflicts.

Disk Management is a reliable disk management tool, but it can encounter some errors during operation. Please refer to the following related articles for more detailed information.

Solution 4: Repair Disk Management from the Services Snap-in

The issue of "Win10 Disk Management not working, loading, or responding" can also be resolved by altering the status of related services via the Services window. You can effectively repair the Disk Management tool using the Services utility in Windows.

Follow these steps:

Step 1. Press Windows+R to open the “Run” dialog box, type services.msc, and then press Enter.

Step 2: In the Services window, scroll down to Remote Access Connection Manager, and then double-click it.

Step 3. On the General tab, click the drop-down menu under Startup Type, and select Disabled.

Step 4: Click Apply, then click OK.

Step 5: Locate the "Remote Access Auto Connection Manager" in the Services window.

Step 6: On the General tab, click the drop-down menu next to Startup Type, and select Disabled. Click Apply, then click OK.

Step 7: Double-click on Virtual Disk to open it.

Step 8. On the General tab, click the drop-down menu next to Startup Type and select either Manual or Automatic. Click Apply and then OK.

Step 9. Finally, restart your computer and check Disk Management to see if the issue has been resolved.

Please share this article to let others know about these solutions.

Fix 5: Run SFC and DISM scans

The issue of "Windows 10 Disk Management not loading" might be due to damaged or missing system files. To resolve this, it is recommended to use the System File Checker (SFC) and Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management (DISM) tools for file repair. Please follow these steps: 1. Press the Windows key + X on your keyboard and select "Command Prompt (Admin)" or "PowerShell (Admin)" from the menu. 2. In the Command Prompt or PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter: ``` sfc /scannow ``` This will scan your system for any corrupted files and attempt to fix them. 3. Wait for the scanning process to complete. It may take some time, so please be patient. 4. Once the SFC scan is finished, type the following command and press Enter: ``` dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth ``` This command will use Windows Update to restore any corrupted system files. 5. Again, wait for the DISM process to finish. This may also take some time. 6. After the DISM operation is completed, restart your computer. 7. Check if the "Disk Management" issue has been resolved after the restart. If these steps do not solve the problem, you might need to consider performing a system restore or reinstalling Windows 10 as a last resort. Make sure to back up your important data before attempting any major system changes.

Step 1. Type cmd in the Run box, and then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2. Type sfc /scannow in the Command Prompt and press Enter to execute the command.

Step 3. Restart your Windows PC and open Command Prompt once again when the scan is done.

Step 4: Type each of the following lines one at a time, pressing Enter after each.

• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
• DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
These are commands used to troubleshoot and repair the Windows Component Store using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. Here's a brief explanation of each: 1. **DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth**: This command checks the overall health of the system image. It looks for corruption and verifies if the components in the store can be serviced. 2. **DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth**: This command scans the Windows component store for any corrupted files and reports any issues it finds. It doesn't fix the issues; it only identifies them. 3. **DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth**: This is the command that actually repairs any corruption found in the previous steps. It uses Windows Update or the Windows 10 installation media to restore any corrupted system files. This command should be run after running the /ScanHealth command.

Step 5. Restart your computer and see if the error is fixed.

Consider sharing this guide with your friends and colleagues who might be experiencing the same issues – these solutions could save them a lot of headache.

Step 6: Check for hardware problems

When there's a hardware issue, Disk Management won't work properly. Your PC's hardware consists of six main parts – the hard drive, CPU, GPU, motherboard, RAM, and battery. This solution requires more technical knowledge and poses a risk of data loss, so proceed with caution. To run the Windows Performance Monitor, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press the Win + R keys to open the “Run” dialog box, then type in perfmon /report, and hit Enter. A window will appear (collecting data for 60 seconds).

Step 2: Go to the "Diagnosis" section, where you will find detailed results displayed in the subsections below.

More tools and steps for checking your hardware:

1. Open Device Manager: Press Win + X and select "Device Manager" from the menu. Check the status of your hardware devices. Look for devices with warning symbols or error messages. 2. Check disk health: Use built-in tools or third-party software to assess the health of your storage devices. Address any issues that you find. 3. Inspect memory: Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic to check for memory-related issues. Restart your computer to let the tool scan and identify problems.

Solution 7: Create a new user account

In some cases, creating a new user profile/account and logging in with that account might resolve the issue of “Disk Management not loading in Windows 10.”

Follow the steps:

Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings, then select Accounts.

Step 2: Select “Family & other users,” and then click “Add someone else to this PC.”

Step 3: In the window that appears, select I don't have this person's login info.

Step 4. Click “Add a user without a Microsoft account.” In the next window, enter the user's name and password, then click “Next.”

Step 5: After successfully creating the new account, switch to it and see if the issue is resolved.

Fix 8: Keep Windows up to date

Keeping your Windows system updated is crucial for maintaining optimal performance and security. Outdated software can lead to various issues, including the "Windows 10 Disk Management not loading/responding" problem.

Follow the steps:

1. Open Settings. Press the Windows key and I at the same time to do this.

Step 2: Go to Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

Step 3: Wait a moment while it scans for any updates.

Step 4: If any updates are found, download and install them according to the simple on-screen instructions.

Fix 9: Update Device Drivers

Outdated or incompatible device drivers can sometimes cause Disk Management to fail to open or load with an error. By updating the device drivers related to your disk, you ensure that your system has the latest software to communicate and interact effectively with your storage devices.

Follow the steps:

Step 1. Type “Device Manager” into the search box. Click on the “Device Manager” app in the search results.

Step 2. Click the arrow (>) next to "Disk Drives" to expand it. This will show a list of all the storage devices connected to the system.

Step 3: Right-click the driver for the main storage device and select "Update Driver."

Step 4: Choose your update method. You'll see two options:

• "Search automatically for updated driver software": This option allows Windows 10/11 to search online for the latest drivers.
• "Browse my computer for driver software": This option lets you manually select a downloaded driver file (this is not recommended unless you have a specific driver provided by the manufacturer).

Step 5: Select Search automatically to search online and update the driver automatically.

Solution 10: Reset Windows to Factory Settings

This solution should be tried only when all other methods fail. The last resort to fix the “Disk Management not loading on Windows 10” issue is to restore Windows to its default settings, but backing up important data is necessary before resetting since a factory reset will remove your personal files, apps, and settings.

After backing up important data, reset Windows by following these steps:

Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings.

Step 2: Go to Update & Security > Recovery.

Step 3: Click the “Get started” button under “Reset this PC.”

Step 4: Choose the Reset option. You'll be given two choices:

• Keep my files: This option removes apps and settings but keeps your personal files. • Remove everything: This option removes your personal files, apps, and settings, and reinstalls Windows.

Step 5: Choose the reset option that suits your situation. To prevent data loss, it's recommended that you keep your files.

Step 6: Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the reset process.

Conclusions

Encountering issues with Windows 10 Disk Management not loading or responding can be frustrating for system management. Identifying the root cause is crucial for implementing the correct solution. The problem of Windows 10 Disk Management not functioning can stem from various factors, such as temporary errors or glitches, virus or malware infections, application conflicts, corrupted or missing system files, and outdated or incompatible device drivers. In such cases, you can turn to a reliable and powerful alternative tool like Partition Master.

"Frequently Asked Questions for 'Disk Management Not Opening/Working'"

If you're experiencing challenges or have more questions about the Windows Disk Management not responding error, consider seeking help from these common issues.

< strong > 1. Why is my Disk Management empty?

There could be several reasons behind an empty Disk Management window. Corrupted system files, issues with the Logical Disk Manager service, or even hardware problems can cause this issue.

< strong > 2. Why won't Disk Management load or respond?

Several factors can contribute to Disk Management failing to load or respond properly. Conflicting services, outdated drivers, or temporary system glitches can all affect its functionality.

Why does my hard drive not show up in Disk Management but appears in BIOS?

The drive might not be initialized, formatted, have a corrupt partition table, or have a hardware issue.