Model number is WDBABM7500ABM
I’d tried to write emal support, but can’t get the to submit, “knowledge base error” it says, so will just copy-paste what I’d sent here
I didn’t find the exact model number in the options drawbars in the model field above, though it does who up in your download pages, it’s My Passport Essential SE, purchased in 2011, so past warranty, I’d guess.
I travel, it’s taken quite a beating at times from drops and jars though still worked afterwards…the USB comes unattached at times, because of other things on my deskspace or moving it with the laptop when changing places/seating…so I’m lucky it lasted as long as it did…and assumed too much, I hadn’t restored a lot of backed up files back to my laptop and what’s on there is my whole life’s work (I’m a composer/songwriter and also have a huge photo collection and various writings); I have another copy in Canada of everything up until June 2012 but have been in Asia since…
So…the usual disconnecting-without-ejecting-because-of-USB-connection is a regular thing, there had been some “soft drops” in moves in the previous week, not as bad as others, it was working fine, though slow in being recognized quite often. Then I inserted a USB keydrive into another slot, on Xmas Eve I think it was, or the day before, and BAM I had a CD Drive showing instead of My Passport. Somehow it seems that the driver-install for that keydrive messed things up…
I’ve been reading around your pages and others and find various solutions, mostly referrals to to Data Recovery, but also some tips about running CHKDSK or CHKDSK /R from the command prompt; we haven’t tried that YET but my helper-colleague who’s advising says because it’s being read as a CD Drive and not an HD it probably won’t work. but that was from a page where the exact problem/symptom said to use it, if it showed up as a CD Drive in Explorer, but still showed in Disk Management/Device Manager as the My Passport 071A, which it still does. I did some poking around in properties boxes, and there are two drivers for the hard drive, one for its cd drive function, and all drivers are installed and working properly…but what about the drivers ON the device?
It’s not clear on your page about the SES Driver as to where that installs; does it add files to the XHD - namely the HD driver which seems to be missing?
it hasn’t made any clicking sounds and the drive seems to be rotating fine (I can feel it) though on some startups it “groans” for a bit, as when yesterday an Ubuntu install was trying to find it. and such “groans” I had a few months ago, but it’s been fine since.
I’m really hoping, against all that I’m reading that it needs replacing and Iwon’t ever see all the data on it again, that there’s a software or system fix to restore its HD driver; the system still sees it as what it is, but Windows Explorer doesn’t…
I’ve pondered sacrificing a chicken over it. 
I can’t afford another drive right now, much less pay for data recovery. Please tell me there’s hope yet.
and yes, I did try it in my buddy’s machine, and the CD Drive display showed up on his too…Ubuntu couldn’t see it, though we haven’t played around in that OS with it much…and one Android tablet said “the drive is damaged and needs to be replaced” as its error message…but I’m still hoping, and trying…
Best wishes and a Happy New Year
Skookum1
Otres 2, Sihanoukville, Cambodia
