Computer can not see my external wd disk

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

can anyone please let me know where I can get a driver for :

wd5000aajs-00tka0

date: 20 apr 2007

DCM: hanchv2chb

I am running windows vista os or Linux. the problem is my vista and linux do not see the external drive at boot up.

thanks

2

I already replied to you in your other thread.

There are no drivers for SATA HDDs.

If your system doesn’t see it on boot, a driver wouldn’t help anyway, because the driver would not have loaded until the OS boots.

If your system doesn’t see the drive during POST, you probably need to investigate updating your BIOS.

3

thanks for your reply. I just re-posted my question hopefully in the right topic this time. My external disk worked before. I am running Windows vista or I can run linux. Linux sees all my drives except the wd external drive. I am are that wd has an app that will find the disk and reload the startup program that is probably on the disk itself. I have contacted wd support twice and they have not contacted me.
They know the problem. I just need to copy some files off this external drive and them I will probably never use it again.

4

Wait a second. You’re confusing the heck out of me. A WD5000AAJS is not an external drive. That’s a WD Blue 500GB SATA INTERNAL drive.

SATA drives don’t usually (ever?) have “startup” files on them. They’re a blank canvas.

5

Here are the specs to my drive:
WD Elements External USB Drive
wd5000aajs-00tka0
ser no : WCAPW1138337
date: 20 apr 2007
DCM: hanchv2chb

It is not a WD Blue, it is an Elements external 500G. Western Digital hard drives use drivers that are built into the operating system (OS). I am thinking there is a problem with the controller card inside the case that contains the drive. Not sure, but I am sure WD support is not helping me out.

6

Yes, that’s true, but if your PC isn’t even booting, the drivers have no chance to load. So it’s not a driver issue.

If your linux and vista machines are two separate machines (versus dual booting the same machine) then it’s likely the HD has failed (as you suspect.) There’s nothing WD will be able to do to help you since your drive is likely long past warranty.

But if your machine is a dual boot machine, try it on someone else’s PC and see what happens.

7

Thanks for your reply. My pc boots up fine and works great and sees all my drives except for my wd drive. I can use the linux os if I boot from a usb using Slax. In linux, if your type “lsblk,” you can see all the devices on your computer. Linux sees all my hard drives except for my wd elements 500G drive. My PC , running vista or linux use to see my wd drive for many years. WD support is not responding to my emails. I guess I did not complain. Thanks for your help.

8

try it like this,

  1. disconnect the power from the harddrive. let it sit for a while to cool down the device.
  2. try to connect again when it is in the evening as the temperature is not hot.
  3. it will shows up., if not, then try it another time.

it is the heating problem for the WD drive.