It's probably cause the drive is in a format your operating system is not familiar with. Like say a ext drive that is windows formatted but you're trying to use it with a Mac. Make sense?

Makes sense, but that is not what is happening. I've always used Pcs. When I plug it in, it shows up on my computer but when trying to get the files into serato it's no where to be found.

What file format are the files in you are trying to import into Serato?

That I don't know. It worked on my laptop Saturday before it crashed. I know this isn't a whole lot of help to you guys. Sorry

What exact model ext drive are you using? Do files still play from the ext drive? Like iTunes or any media player

Is a wd passport. Haven't tried playing any files but pictures I had saved inn there opened up if that helps

K well I do know Serato doesn't play certain audio formats so that could be it to.

right click on your hard drive and click on properties make sure your hard drive is not read only

Watchwww.youtube.com

@DJ Hcables

When using Serato DJ on Windows, you'll need to ensure that your drive is formatted to the NTFS or FAT32 format, with Read & Write permissions.

If your drive is still not showing in Serato DJ, this could be due to your drive being labelled as A: or B: - these drive letters are unable to be read in Serato DJ. You'll need to use Disk Management on your Windows computer to change this.

If you need any further help, I suggest opening a help request so our support team can help you out directly.

- Dave

I uninstalled serato dj. Reinstalled it with the external hooked up. Everything showed up. Didn't have to search for anything. I think the cable I had wasn't the best. Thanks for all the help

So you didn't really have to uninstall SDJ it was just the cable. Prob just need to get a better one.

You can first check the USB port, cable, and the connection if it is working properly:
1. Try to change the USB port or cable. You might also want to check the connection if it is working properly.
2. Check the USB cable if it is working or not. If not, you can change it and try again.
3. Try other USB ports to see if the PC or computer is able to detect your external hard drive.
4. Check if the external hard drive is working with other computers, if possible. So you can check if it can detect and read the external hard drive or not.

You can also Check if your external hard drive can be recognized or detected in Disk Management or Troubleshoot the computer or laptop.

If there are important files on the external hard drive, I suggest you recover the data first. You can try Bitwar Data Recovery, which helped me recover lost data from formatted drive.