In Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, an error like virtual disk manager the device is not ready may appear when you are trying to access data from flash drives, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and other storage devices. Though it is a common error, it is still crucial to know why your computer system is showing such a kind of error.
Generally, ‘The device is not ready’ error is related to virtual disk manager and diskpart, and there is not just one reason that leads to it. Hence, you can face the device is not ready to see the system event log for more information because of the following reasons:
What Causes “ The Device is Not Ready Error”?
There are several causes that can lead to this issue. A few common causes that can lead to “diskpart the device is not ready SSD” error are:
- Accessing the drive when in use
- Corrupted or outdated USB device drivers
- Serious hardware failure
- Connection errors between the USB device and computer
Now that we have understood the main reasons for the ‘The device is not ready’ error, let us now look into the solutions to resolve the same.
How to Fix ‘The Error Device Is Not Ready’ Error?
In Windows 11/10/8/7, an error message stating, “The device is not ready,” occurs for a flash drive, a CD or DVD, an external HDD, a virtual hard drive, or Diskpart. Although the solutions to ‘the device is not ready’ on different devices differ, the reasons behind these occasions are similar. For instance:
- External Hard Drives or Flash drives:
“Location is not available. The device is not ready”
When you try to open a removable disk, such as a USB stick, flash drive, memory card, or an external HDD, this device not ready error indicates that the Windows system cannot connect to it. It is preferred to check the connection problem in the first place.
- Internal HHD/SSD:
“Location is not available. The device is not ready”
If the local hard drive installed on your computer is having some issues like Bad sectors, most commonly, might be the key reason to cause the hard drive ‘the device is not ready’ error.
- Virtual Disk Manager:
“The device is not ready”
On the Virtual Disk Manager, this error means that you don’t have correct permissions or there is an issue with mapping the drives between the OS and the VM manager.
- Diskpart:
“Diskpart has encountered an error. The device is not ready”
In case you have a failed hard disk or a corrupt storage controller on the mainboard, you will receive this error.
Don’t worry this error can be solved if you take the right steps and rectify the issue by following the given troubleshooting methods.
Solution 1: Check the USB device connection
Before we move on to other solutions, let us begin by checking if the USB device is properly connected to the computer. Unplug the device and connect it back to check if the error persists. In many cases, this is found to resolve the error. However, if it doesn’t help, proceed to the next step.
Solution 2: Run the hardware troubleshooter
- Click on the Start menu and search for the word ‘Troubleshooting’ in the search bar and hit Enter
- Click on Troubleshooting and then click View All
- Click Hardware and Devices and then follow the on-screen instructions to run the troubleshooter
- Restart your computer and check if the error is resolved. If not, proceed to the next step.
Solution 3: Reinstall USB controller drivers
- Click Windows + X keys and select Device Manager from the menu
- Expand the option labelled ‘Universal Serial Bus Controllers’
- Right-click Universal Serial Bus Controllers and click Uninstall
- Restart your computer and check if the error is resolved. If not, proceed to the next step.
Solution 4: Assign a letter to the drive
- Click Windows + R keys to open the Run window and type ‘diskmgmt.msc’ to open the Disk Management window
- Right-click on the drive that represents the USB drive and click ‘Change Drive Letters and Paths’
- Click Change > Assign the following drive letter
- Select a letter and click Ok
Now check if the ‘Device is not ready’ error is resolved. If not, proceed to the next step.
Solution 5: Run SFC scan
- Click on the Start menu and type ‘cmd’ in the Search bar
- Right-click on the Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- In the command prompt, type ‘sfc /scannow’ and hit Enter
Wait for the SFC scan to complete and resolve any errors in system files. However, if the error still persists, proceed to the next step.
Solution 6: Run disk check
The ‘device is not ready’ error may also be caused due to corruption in the USB device or due to bad sectors. In order to resolve this error, you can run a disk check on the device. To do so, please follow the instructions below.
- Right-click on the USB device and select Properties
- Click on the Tools tab and click the Check button under the Error Checking tab
Now the file system corruption issues will be fixed. Restart your computer and check to see if the ‘The device is not ready’ error is fixed. If not, proceed to the next step.
Solution 7: Recover data and format the USB device
If none of the above solutions help you resolve ‘The device is not ready’ error, then it is a good idea to format the device. But before you proceed, recover data from the device using Yodot hard drive recovery software and format the device. Yodot is a wonderful choice to recover files from corrupted USBs, hard drives, and other storage devices. The advantage of using this tool is that data is recovered in its original form and in the same structure as before. Once you have recovered data, go ahead and format the device to resolve ‘The device is not ready’ error.
