Just got a new Seagate external or internal hard drive? Don’t panic if it doesn’t show up in "This PC" or on your desktop right away. Most new drives need a quick initialization and format before you can store files.

Modern operating systems (Windows 10/11, macOS) usually recognize the drive immediately. It will appear in your file explorer (Windows) or Finder/Disk Utility (Mac).

Whether you have purchased a high-performance internal SSD for gaming, a massive internal HDD for bulk storage, or a portable external drive for backups, the setup process is straightforward. This guide walks you through the steps to get your Seagate drive up and running on Windows and macOS.