WD My Passport Ultra 1tb device not recognized

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KEC18

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Sep 29, 2014
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Hey guys!

I have been using a WD My Passport 1TB USB Portable for almost 2-3 months now. I am currently in college so I have A LOT of school files and document stored in it. Earlier while i was doing some school stuff. My device suddenly stopped working, then I replugged it several times and my Laptop just coudn't recognize it. Im using Windows 8.1 btw.

Please help? any suggestions or solutions would be great. I just want to access my files and save the drive. I would prefer solving this technically, without having to replace the drive. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Solution
Boogieman_WD
If it's a faulty cable, or USB port or a problem with the drivers, or anything else except the HDD - your files should be OK. But if the drive is failing then I'd recommend that you go with a data recovery company so that they try and recover the data on the drive and then RMA it, because it should be still under warranty.
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Hey KEC18. Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your drive. First of all you should go through all of the basic troubleshooting. Try the drive with a different USB cable (not longer than 12"), because yours might have become faulty, different computers and/or different USB ports. Another thing which you could try is assigning the drive a new letter. Here's a link with instructions on how to do that: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/137/
Does the drive make any kind of unusual sounds/noises?

Cheers,
Boogieman_WD
 
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Hey Boogieman_WD, thanks for your response. Currently, I have no access with another PC, and my laptop only has 1 USB 3 port. Though in the past, my hard drive can be read by my laptop's USB 2 port, but later on, it can only be read by my USB 3 port.

No, my drive doesn't make any weird noises, and physically, I can say that it's fine, no weird noises when I move it, like a loose part or something.

And also, I can't find it in "This PC" (My computer) and in Disk Management. 🙁
 
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That's very unfortunate. At least try finding another USB cable to exclude the possibility that yours has become faulty and I'd also suggest that you try testing another external HDD with the same USB port to see if there's a problem with it. You could also try updating or rolling back the USB drivers. In the worst case scenario you may have to go with a data recovery company and RMA. Here's a link with our data recovery partners: http://support.wdc.com/recovery/index.asp?lang=en
But before we go there I'd recommend that you try all of the suggestions, so that you're sure what's going on exactly.
 
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Currently, I can't find any compatible USB cable available with me. What if the problem is with the cable? does that mean that my files are still okay? And if ever that my hard drive itself is faulty, can i retrieve my files?
 
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If it's a faulty cable, or USB port or a problem with the drivers, or anything else except the HDD - your files should be OK. But if the drive is failing then I'd recommend that you go with a data recovery company so that they try and recover the data on the drive and then RMA it, because it should be still under warranty.
 
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Solution
Hi, shishir sanjeev.

This really sounds unfortunate. 🙁
Have you tried the drive with a different USB cable (12" or shorter) and a different computer, to see if it's recognized and if you can backup your data?
You could also try accessing the drive via Linux Live CD/USB, to see if it's properly recognized and if you can get to your files, or try some of the data recovery options from this thread: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html
However, the most reliable solution for data recovery remains, a data recovery company - you can find the link from my second post in the thread.

If you manage to recover your data, or if you don't need to recover any data, I'd suggest that you download DLG (Data Lifeguard Diagnostic) and run both tests (Quick and Extended), to see what's the situation with the drive. Here's where you can download it from: Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows and here's how to test your HDD with it: How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD
 
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Hi guys,
I had this problem. However, in my case the solution was odd. My drive had been put in storage for 5 months. It was working when I put it away but when I took it out and tried to get some files off it it wouldn't work. Drive showed up in Device Manager - but not in Disk Management. Computer made the "connecting" tone when connecting it but it wouldn't work at all. Tried it with 3 computers - same symptom. Drive sounded like it was working but was "clicking softly". I thought that the drive was faulty and was ready to bin it but none of this made sense...

Out of sheer desperation, I tried the 12V power supply from one of my Lacie drives. Voila! Everything suddenly worked!

I measured the WD power supply under load and off load and my measurements said that it was delivering 12V so it's a real mystery. If I re-connect my WD supply it won't work. Looks like the supply can't deliver enough current for the drive. Since this was a very odd fault I thought it might help someone out. Hope it does. It solved my problem. Glad it did. I had important files on the drive!
 
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Hey there Gaztech.

Thanks for sharing your feedback. It could indeed prove useful to someone who encounters the same problem. I guess you are referring to a 3.5" external drive if you were using 12V? Basically the USB power output is 5V and should be more than enough for a 2.5" (such as My Passport HDD). A faulty cable is often the cause for such issues, so you did pretty well by trying out a different one.

Cheers!
Boogieman_WD
 
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Hi Gaztech! I'm having the exact same problem! and I have some pretty important files in my WD disk..I'd like to try your solution but i don't really understand what do you mean by "12V power suply", can you show me a link or something? so I know where i can find one..thanks! this is very important for me!!






 
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Hi Gaztech! I'm having the exact same problem! and I have some pretty important files in my WD disk..I'd like to try your solution but i don't really understand what do you mean by "12V power suply", can you show me a link or something? so I know where i can find one..thanks! this is very important for me!!
Click to expand...

He's talking about a "wall wart" or "power brick" that plugs into a wall socket and has a 12 v. output cord that plugs into the HDD. You might be able to find one at Fry's or similar electronics store.

Yogi
 
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my device pretty much has the same issue. pc makes the tone when its connected and the light on the drive turns on like normal, only thing is instead of a ticking noise its more of a high pitched buzz that goes for about 1.5 seconds then a much higher pitched buzz for 0.5 seconds, im guess I stuffed up the port on the device because I had it hanging from the cable connected to my wall mounted tv soo, yeah just wondering how to fix it. learn from this people, respect your devices XD

 
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Hi NotATechGuychs.

This is unfortunate indeed. As you've already mentioned, one has to be careful with a hard drive, especially if there's valuable data on it.
You could take a look through the posts and all the suggestions I've mentioned and hopefully something proves useful. However it does sound like there might be a mechanical fault here. If the drive has been hanging most of the time in an awkward angle, this might have put extra strain on the motor thus resulting in the drive slowly getting to the point where if it spins you get this buzzing sound. 🙁

Please let me know if you have any questions about the suggestions from my posts or if there's anything else I can help you with.
 
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Honestly, I had the same problem. I unplugged the drive, and then banged it on my desk a couple of times. I plugged it back in and it works fine. Sounds like a bad idea but it worked for me.
 
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Interesting, but I'd strongly recommend that you don't do that again. Hopefully it isn't damaged. I have no clue how this could have fixed it. :)
Just to be on the safe side you could try testing it with DLG to see if anything unusual pops-up. There's a link in one of my previous posts in the thread with instructions on how to do that.
 
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Hi! I just bought a brand new my passport ultra 1tb and I can't seem to access it after installing. It does however show up on the Devices as working properly, but when I try to access it on Windows 8 explorer, it doesn't appear on the devices and drives. I've tried the rename/assign letter process but it won't let me "Change the letter..etc.. Please help. Thanks so much!






 
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Hi, Patricia_44.

I'm truly sorry to hear about that. 🙁

Would you please post a screenshot of what you see about the drive in Disk Management (you can use imgur.com to upload the image)?

I'd recommend that you try the HDD with a different USB cable and a different computer, just to see if that problem occurs again. Other than that, you could run both Quick and Extended tests from DLG, to see if anything out of the ordinary shows up: How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.

Please let me know what are the results.
Boogieman_WD
 
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I had the situation where my drive was recognized by Device Manager but not Windows Explorer or shown under "Computer" Here is how I fixed it:
Go to Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, then click on Computer Management. On that panel click on Disk Management. Scroll down to see if your disk is listed as a numbered disk at the bottom of the list. (Mine was listed as Disk 8.) If your disk is shown as a numbered disk, Right-click on it and select "Change Drive Letter & Paths" . You will be offered a drive letter to use; select what is offered or choose your own. After that the drive will be recognized. In my case the drive offered was the same letter as it had been before.
 
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