I have WD 1 TB portable hard disk. When I connected this with my laptop, it opened up initially prompting me to scan for errors But then it froze. Upon restarting the same never appeared in My Computer but I can see the same in disk manager and device manager. I have tried every single method to get it work but failed. I do not want to loose this. Please let know if any way to save my hard disk.
Sure, it seems like your WD 1 TB portable hard disk is giving you some trouble. It’s great that you can still see it in the disk manager and device manager, so there’s hope. Let’s try a few things to get it back on track. First, we can try assigning it a new drive letter in the Disk Management settings. Sometimes, just giving it a little nudge can do the trick. If that doesn’t work, we can check if the drivers need updating or reinstalling by going to the Device Manager. If it’s still being stubborn, we might need to consider using some data recovery software like recuva or stellar data recovery software to try to retrieve your files. If you’re still having no luck, we can give the disk a check for errors through the disk management tools. However, if none of these work, reformatting might be the last resort, but just remember, this will wipe all your data. If you have any important files, it’s a good idea to seek professional data recovery services. Don’t worry, all the best!
Hi Amelia,
Thanks for the revert. I have tried all the steps and it is still not working. When try to update the drivers, it says it has updated drivers. Also, There is no option to format. Tried using Recuva also but this is giving error as it cannot read the drive. Stellar reads the files but asking huge amount to recover the files.
I am ok to reformat but no success with even that as well. I have uploaded more screenshots which might be helpful.
Thanks for all your help.
Regards
Harish Kumar
Hi Harish,
I understand your concerns, and I’m sorry to hear that the suggested solutions haven’t been effective in resolving the issue with your WD 1 TB portable hard disk. It’s unfortunate that the data recovery software hasn’t been successful and that the cost for using Stellar is prohibitive.
Considering the situation, it might be worthwhile to seek the assistance of a professional data recovery service as they have the necessary expertise and tools to handle complex data retrieval cases. Although the cost might be high, it could be the most reliable option for recovering your important files.
If you’re considering reformatting the drive, please proceed with caution as this will result in the loss of all data on the disk. You should be able to initiate the reformatting process through the Disk Management tool, but it’s crucial to ensure that you have a backup of any critical files before proceeding.
I hope this information helps, and I sincerely hope you can find a suitable solution for your hard disk issue. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Best regards,
Amelia
I also have the same issue. I’m not able to “Initialize the disk”, Format or anything else.
My model number: WDBCKA0100HBK-NE32, SKU:6290669. Are there any recover services that western digital works with? Can western digital do the recovery process?
WD has its own diagnostic tools, such as WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic, which can help you check the health of the disk and attempt repairs. First of all you need to format the disk in drive artinya https://www.handyrecovery.com/you-need-to-format-the-disk-in-drive-fix/. Hope i helps
Hi.
No, the tool of WD is no more operational and hence could not fix it. Thanks for the follow up though.
I also encountered such a problem and lost my hard drive data. This comment helped me, you can take a look!
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For the “Disk 1 unknown not initialized” error, this blog plost includes some basic troubleshooting steps, though I’m not sure if they’ll be helpful to you.
If nothing works, I recommend taking your hard drive to a repair shop and having a professional take a look.
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It sounds like your WD portable drive is suffering from partition table corruption or file system damage, triggering the “not initialized” error. Here’s a step-by-step approach to recover your data and possibly restore the drive:
- First: Do NOT Initialize the Disk
Initializing will wipe your data. Instead:
Open Disk Management → Right-click the disk (not the partition) → Select “Offline” to prevent further damage.
-
Try Data Recovery Before Repair
Since the drive is detected but inaccessible, use 4DDiG Data Recovery (I’ve used it for similar WD issues):
Recovers files from uninitialized/corrupted drives (even if partitions are missing).
Deep scans RAW drives without requiring a file system.
Free preview to verify recoverable files before saving.
Always save recovered files to a different drive to avoid overwriting. -
Repair the Drive (If Data Is Recovered)
After backing up your files:
Open Command Prompt (Admin) → Run:
diskpart → list disk → select disk X → clean → create partition primary → format fs=ntfs quick
(Replace “X” with your WD disk number. Caution: This erases all data!)
- If the Drive Still Fails:
Test with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic → Perform a “Quick Test” (if it fails, the drive may have hardware issues).
If under warranty, contact WD Support for replacement.
Why This Happened?
Sudden power loss/unplugging (even if properly ejected).
Aging drive/firmware bugs (common in heavily used portables).
In this situation, you can initialize the disk directly to keep it from becoming uninitiated. The next query is: Does data get erased when a disk is initialized? In actuality, initializing a disk will format the hard drive and rebuild the master boot record. The files on your drive will be deleted. This post provides quick access to information about the six techniques to fix the disk not initialized without data loss.
