WD5000E035-00 - Unable to detect WD Element external HDD

Hi all,

I’m unable to detect my WD Element HDD in “My Computer”.

It was working fine just last week but today when I connect it to my desktop, I can see the blue light keep blinking on the HDD but it doesn’t show up in “My Computer”.

Sometimes it takes a while to show up but when I double-click on it, it just freezes my whole computer until I unplugged it from my PC and my PC is working again.

I’ve not tried checking it in the disk management yet.

I’ve tried to switch to another USB cable but still the same issue.

I’ve also tried to connect the HDD to another computer yet the same issue happened.

The only thing I have not tried is changing the power adapter because I didn’t have any extra.

The power adapter should be fine since I can hear the sounds of the HDD operating (disk spinning) and the blue lights is blinking.

It blinks for a few times then the blue light stay for 1 second and then it blinks few times again and it keep repeating in this order.

Anyone have the same issue?

happened to me before… nothing else to do but to send it for RMA if it is still under warranty.

1 Like

Hi markoliveros,

Thanks for your sharing.

My warranty has long expired since 2011. :cry:

Seems like I have 2 other things to test: getting a new power adapter & check in disk management.

Below are the FAQ from Bill_S, for which i’ve answered accordingly.

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Troubleshooting Your External Drive

It’s always best to start with the most simple possible causes when troubleshooting. Follow the steps below in order to eliminate the common simple issues:

  1. If the drive is not being recognized, disconnect the power adapter from the surge protector/UPS and plug directly into the wall. Sometimes, surge protectors diminish the power being supplied as more devices are added to them.
    My power adapter go straight to the wall power socket.

  2. If after doing this the drive does not spin up at all (you can tell by feeling for vibration on the drive), then either the drive or the power adapter has failed. You will need to replace the power adapter to proceed with troubleshooting.
    My HDD disk is spinning as I can tell from the sound and vibration.

 

  1. If after replacing the power adapter, the drive still doesn’t spin up, then you will need to replace the drive. You will find links for data recovery and warranty replacement below.
    Not applicable.

 

  1. If the drive is spinning but not recognized in My Computer, then change out the data cable with one that you know is good. Cables get old and the wires inside can break, or pull loose from the connectors.
    I’ve changed the data cable but still the same problem.

  2. If that doesn’t work, connect the external drive to another USB port. The first USB port could be malfunctioning.
    I’ve tried 2 other USB ports, still same problem.

  3. If your drive still isn’t being recognized, turn your PC off, disconnect the data cable, restart the computer, and once the operating system is fully up and running, reconnect the data cable. Give it a minute or two to recognize then you will want to access Disk Management to see if the drive shows up in there. If it does show up in Disk Management, then you most likely have a corrupted or damaged partition and will need to re-partition and reformat the drive for it to be recognized on your PC. See Links and note below.
    I’ve tried restarting my pc but still same problem. I’ve not check in the disk management yet.

 

  1. If the drive doesn’t show up in Disk Management, then the last option you have is to connect the drive to another PC. If it works, then there’s an issue with either the hardware or drivers on the primary PC. You will then have to troubleshoot that computer and operating system. For help with the operating system, you will need to contact Microsoft Support. For help with the computer hardware, you will need to contact the computer manufacturer.
    I’ve tried connecting to another PC but same issue as well.

  2. If the external drive does not show up on another PC, then the drive has failed. You will need to go to data recovery if you need the data on the drive. If the drive is under warranty, you can then replace it with us.
    My drive no longer under warranty.

In addition, I have used the same power cable and 2 different data USB cables on another external HDD, which also showing the same problem.

So, could it be the power cable issue?

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Today I’ve tried the following,

  1. If the drive is not being recognized, disconnect the power adapter from the surge protector/UPS and plug directly into the wall. Sometimes, surge protectors diminish the power being supplied as more devices are added to them.
    Tried connecting to a different wall power socket, same issue.

 

6) If your drive still isn’t being recognized, turn your PC off, disconnect the data cable, restart the computer, and once the operating system is fully up and running, reconnect the data cable. Give it a minute or two to recognize then you will want to access Disk Management to see if the drive shows up in there. If it does show up in Disk Management, then you most likely have a corrupted or damaged partition and will need to re-partition and reformat the drive for it to be recognized on your PC. See Links and note below.

I’ve checked in disk management, it doesn’t detect the HDD and it hanged whenever the HDD is connected to it.

However, the HDD does get detected in Device Manager under “Disk drives” and when I checked the Properties, it says “This device is working properly.”.

 

Again, I have used the same power cable and data USB cable on another external HDD, which also showing the same problem whereby it wasn’t detected in disk management but it got detected in Device Manager.

 

Previously, the power cable was all tangled and I’ve straighten it yet it doesn’t show any good sign.

 

Could it be the power adapter issue afterall?

 

 

Updates to my issue:

I’ve ended up buying a SATA to USB adapter connector which I have to open up the casing and retrieve the 3.5" HDD inside.

It works now as it can be detected in My Computer but however, when I double-click on the drive found, it said i must format it before i can use.

From there i know I have to do data recovery and I’m using getdataback software which works wonder for now.

My question now is, after I’ve done all the data recovery, is the external HDD still safe for me to use again?

Or I should just throw it to the open sea?

My ext. HDD once started having problems. My computer couldnt recognize my passport properly. And everytime I tried to open it, it gives me an error message. 

What I did was use a free software for recovery, worked perfectly fine. (GLADLY)

then finally I formatted the HDD with windows. and it works COMPLETELY FINE, but I can’t garuntee the same results for you I guess… Try it out! Hope it solves ur problem.

Hi gibec,

Thank you for sharing your experience.

I’ve recovered most of my data successfully and formatted it as well.

It seems to be quite stable as of now but for sure I won’t be using it to store important files which are non-replaceable.

By all means, I’m anticipating for another possible crash in the future. LOL!

Hi,

I have the same drive but my power supply has packed in.

Could you tell me, if I open the box up, would i be able to use the SATA to USB device you mentioned?

Also, what was the free data recovery software you used?

Thanks.

If you open the drive you void the warranty. Drives that come with Smartware are hardware encrypted by a circuit board. connecting without that card will get you encrypted data if the drive gets recognized.

Joe

Hi,

Yes, any SATA to USB adapter will works fine.

The free data recovery software is GetDataBack for NTFS.

You can try to find a crack key gen for it as well.