WD My Passport Not Detected

Hi, my device has been working quite nicely for a while now but a few days ago my passport (1TB) is not recognized in windows. Furthermore, the newest edition of WD smart ware cannot detect it either. Can anyone help me out? I uninstalled/ reinstalled Smartware but it hasn’t done anything useful… Maybe storing files on my computer is safer than this thing :frowning:

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What OS are you using and does the drive show in Disk Management? Does it say anything in Disk Management down where the bars are shown like Raw? Never trust important data to just one drive internal or external no matter who makes it. You need at least 2 copies to be safe.

Joe

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I am using Windows Vista. The device comes up as the USB symbol on my taskbar but nothing shows up in Disk Management.

Bump. Can anyone offer a suggestion that won’t brick my drive?

Ive only had mine 2 months and I had the same problem, you would think that this issue should have been addressed by WD. When I plug mine into 1 of 3 pcs it shows on the devices settings but I cannot access it, its spins, lights up but no notification that I can access the Hard Drive. 

I am a photographer/designer and the images are super important for our business and clients.

Please if anyone has any ideas help!!! 

I have  a brand new WD passport essential 500gb USB 3.0 when I connect to the PC the light comes on but it doesn’t show that the drive is connected.  How do I get it to read the drive?  Is there a problem with it? Any help or ideas would be great.

Thanks

I’m having the same issues!  Can anyone help?  This is obviously a reoccuring issue.  WD, figure it out.  

Bring it to a data recovery facility… most likely a Level II data recovery… expect to spend around $300+ for the recovery.

Have the data recovered, then RMA the drive.  There is nothing that cane be done to precent drives from failing.  This isn’t a simple firmware issue.  It’s more of an issue from the factory.

Okay, so as I said originally, my harddrive was not recognized on any system at my college; not Vista, not Win 7, and not Mac. However, I brought it home recently and tried it on my Dad’s XP, where it worked for a while, then began spitting out error messages.

I noticed the drive works perfectly fine if I am pressing the usb head connected to the actual drive very snugly. If I so much as moved my hand, however, the drive was not recognized once more.

So I got a rubberband and secured the usb cord to my drive so it is snug and I’m now copying all of my files off this piece of **bleep** with flying colours.

My solution? Rubberband it, try it on an XP, or buy a new cord (Like $10)

Hope this works for you!

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If the drive is still in warranty contact WD and they’ll send you a new one. Glad you got it figured out.

Joe

I’ve had it for more than two years so I highly doubt it has warranty.

I would get a new cable  http://www.wdc.com/en/products/resources/drivecompatibility/. Also make sure this isn’t the only copy of your data in case the USB port is going bad. They’ve been known to break off also.

Joe

I have  a brand new WD passport essential 500gb USB 3.0 when I connect to the PC the light comes on but it doesn’t show that the drive is connected.  How do I get it to read the drive?  Is there a problem with it? Any help or ideas would be great. my cable is still brand new. what suppose i do to make it working again.

What OS are you trying to connect it on.  Also, look in Disk Management and see if it shows up there.

I have a 500GB Passport WD drive which failed to be recognized by my mac laptop and my windows desktop.  I happened to be back home here in Africa when this happened and my brother told me that I could just get a 2.5’ OEM External Sata Hard Disk Enclosure to USB2.0 (Z10) for $60.00 to solve my problem.   He got me the   Z10 model  and voila! I got all my files back.  

What you need to do is to get your actual hard drive out of My passport WD case and plug it into the Z10 pins and that’s it. 

My WD Passport Essential Not Detected. I am using Windows Vista.The device comes up on my taskbar but nothing shows up in Disk Management.

Is there any vibration from the drive?  If not then, the drive itself failed.  What you’re seeing on the taskbar is the bridgeboard responding.  If it doesn’t show up in Disk Management, there’s not much you can do but replace it.  Especially if it is a SmartWare drive.