What does Error 0x800701B1 mean?

The Error Code 0x800701B1 forbids the user from accessing some features of any external Hard Drive that they have connected via a USB port. There are many reasons for this error, such as outdated or corrupted driver, use of USB 2.0, some glitch, etc. But the worst-case scenario is still corrupted Hard Drive. We will see how to know if your Hard Drive corrupted hereinafter. We will be talking about all of them and more in this article.

Fix Error 0x800701b1, A device which does not exist was specified

If you see Error 0x800701b1, A device which does not exist was specified, then first of all restart your computer and retry performing the same task again, if the issue persists, then use the given solutions to resolve it. Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Use a Different Port

Some users were able to fix the issue by connecting their external Hard Drive to USB 3.0 instead of USB 2.0. There is a very obvious reason for it. USB 3.0 is superior to USB 2.0, it has a better data transfer rate and can supply more power to the device connected. Therefore, you should check if your computer has a USB 3.0 port, if it does, use it for external Hard Drives.

2] Manage your Drivers

The issue can be because of corrupted, outdated, or buggy Hard drive drivers. So, you can roll back, update, or reinstall the driver in question and resolve the issue.

3] Rescan Disks

If the issue is because of some glitch then rescanning can solve the issue. To do that, follow the given steps. Let the process complete as it may take some time and check if the issue persists.

4] Take Ownership of the Drive

Usually, you will have ownership of the connected drive, but usually, you won’t even see the error message. Therefore, we need to see how to take ownership of the drive in question here. Follow the given steps to do the same. IMPORTANT: It is fine to take ownership of a Data drive, but you should never take ownership of your System Drive where Windows is installed. In such a case, it is better to take ownership of the folder only. Now, try doing whatever you were doing before seeing the error and see if it works. Similar errors:

Location is not available, A device which does not exist was specifiedVPN Error 609, A device type was specified that does not exist

5] Check your Hard Drive health

A faulty Hard Drive can cause the error message to appear. Hence, you need to check if your Hard Drive is the one causing the trouble. The best thing to do would be to just plug it into another computer and try doing the same thing there. If the error appears again, then the chances are you need to replace it. If you have a USB cable that connects the HDD/SDD to a computer, you should try replacing it and notice if that fixes the issue. Sometimes, faulty cables can cause the error as well.

How do I fix error 0x800701B1 on Xbox?

To fix Xbox error 0x800701B1, which occurs when you try to launch a game or an app, first power down and restart your Xbox console and see. If that does not help, uninstall and reinstall the game or app. Read Next: External Hard Drive not showing up or detected.