WD My Passport spinning, not being recognized.

[jesternonchalant]

I will try to provide as much detail as possible:

I dropped my drive a couple of days ago, and when I plugged it in for the first time, it was recognized as usual. However, when I tried to move a file to the drive, the protocol froze and would not recover. I restarted, and the drive was still recognized, but when I clicked on it in Windows Explorer it started to read the contents and froze. I restarted one more time, and when plugged in asked if I wanted to attempt to recover the contents.

I should also note that while the drive was plugged in during boot, it would freeze the process. This occurred both pre and post-POST. The device is also not showing up in the device manager. The symptoms are as such. Power light is on, I can feel the drive spinning, but every 90-120 seconds or so it will beep and stop spinning.

The device is under warranty, so getting it replaced is not an issue. There is a large amount of data on the drive I would hope to recover, but have tried to un/reinstall USB drivers and there seems to be no solution.

I think that dropping the device may have disconnected the drive to the USB cable, but not the power? Regardless, I was hoping there was another possibility before I gave up hope.

You're my last hope, Tom's Hardware.

EDIT: The drive is being recognized in the WD Drive Utilities app. It shows the My Passport Ultra with 0.00 KB. Additionally, the SMART status check failed. Things are not looking good.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

"The device is under warranty, so getting it replaced is not an issue."

I wouldn't be too sure about that if they can tell it's been dropped. Warranty doesn't cover that.

The drive has almost certainly failed. If you want confirmation, test it with WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostic:
http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=307&lang=en

Ignore the drive pictured on the page. The software will test any WD external drive.

 

[jesternonchalant]

The drive is not being recognized in the WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostic tool. Is that an indication of a failed drive?

 

[rjbahnsen]

I will try to provide as much detail as possible:

I dropped my drive a couple of days ago, and when I plugged it in for the first time, it was recognized as usual. However, when I tried to move a file to the drive, the protocol froze and would not recover. I restarted, and the drive was still recognized, but when I clicked on it in Windows Explorer it started to read the contents and froze. I restarted one more time, and when plugged in asked if I wanted to attempt to recover the contents.

I should also note that while the drive was plugged in during boot, it would freeze the process. This occurred both pre and post-POST. The device is also not showing up in the device manager. The symptoms are as such. Power light is on, I can feel the drive spinning, but every 90-120 seconds or so it will beep and stop spinning.

The device is under warranty, so getting it replaced is not an issue. There is a large amount of data on the drive I would hope to recover, but have tried to un/reinstall USB drivers and there seems to be no solution.

I think that dropping the device may have disconnected the drive to the USB cable, but not the power? Regardless, I was hoping there was another possibility before I gave up hope.

You're my last hope, Tom's Hardware.

EDIT: The drive is being recognized in the WD Drive Utilities app. It shows the My Passport Ultra with 0.00 KB. Additionally, the SMART status check failed. Things are not looking good.

 

[rjbahnsen]

Being dropped is an issue and getting a replacement from WD may be an option but it doesn't help for your data. My experience with WD has been hopeless so I tried another option which worked a treat! copy of my post follows.
Hi - See my post. WD no help at all, pathetic really for HDD still in warranty. I had 3TB and 2 TB fail and after all the usual software and other trys got PCB replacement from outfit in Canada after begging WD for help. Going to data recovery firms as advised by WD way too expensive. Great service from Canada outfit and found on ebay. USD 75.00 and all good now. Tried to claim costs from WD but no joy. Will be buying Seagate or other from now on.

 

[BillyDataGuy]

I will try to provide as much detail as possible:

I dropped my drive a couple of days ago, and when I plugged it in for the first time, it was recognized as usual. However, when I tried to move a file to the drive, the protocol froze and would not recover. I restarted, and the drive was still recognized, but when I clicked on it in Windows Explorer it started to read the contents and froze. I restarted one more time, and when plugged in asked if I wanted to attempt to recover the contents.

I should also note that while the drive was plugged in during boot, it would freeze the process. This occurred both pre and post-POST. The device is also not showing up in the device manager. The symptoms are as such. Power light is on, I can feel the drive spinning, but every 90-120 seconds or so it will beep and stop spinning.

The device is under warranty, so getting it replaced is not an issue. There is a large amount of data on the drive I would hope to recover, but have tried to un/reinstall USB drivers and there seems to be no solution.

I think that dropping the device may have disconnected the drive to the USB cable, but not the power? Regardless, I was hoping there was another possibility before I gave up hope.

You're my last hope, Tom's Hardware.

EDIT: The drive is being recognized in the WD Drive Utilities app. It shows the My Passport Ultra with 0.00 KB. Additionally, the SMART status check failed. Things are not looking good.

You must stop running the drive.
When ever there is a fall or jolt, there is most likely internal mechanical failure.

All the freezing, beeping, and cessation of spinning is indicative of this.

At this point you need to have professional help because specialized DR equipment is required to preserve the data. You may also need a parts change which would require a clean room environment.

some resources:
Data Recovery 101
Sounds of Mechanical Failure