Old WD black backup drive - not working

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

I have an old WD black backup drive that is not recognized when I plug it into the computer. I’ve downloaded the suggested tools however the only message is stating that I need to plug a WD drive into the computer to start. I’m not sure when I bought this wd drive - probably around 2009 but also possibly earlier.

This drive has many years of family pictures that I want to recover. Is there a software package that I can use for products released 8+ years ago?

Thanks

2

Hello,

Can you please share the model number of your drive?
WD Black drives are internal drives but you posted on “External drives for PC” so that got me a little confused.

3

The numbers on the bottom sticker are:

WD P/N WD6400H1U-00

B/N:[Deleted]

2009B

R/N:A0C

I’m not sure which one of the numbers is the model number.

The device is black, 2" inches thick, about the size of a small book, has WD on the side and there is a blue light that lights up when I plug in the usb. I can hear the drive spinning up when I plug in the usb but I cannot get the drive to be recognized. So I think the wd drive is working I just need a method to get it recognized when I plug it in.

Thanks,

4

This is a My Book Essentials.

If the drive is not seen on the computer I recommend you try some basic troubleshooting:

1- Connect the power adapter to the wall directly.

2- If the computer is a desktop, connect it on the back USB port (directly to the PC, not through a hub).

3- Make sure you hear the connection sound windows makes when recognizes a USB device.

4- Go to "Disk Management” to verify if the drive shows up there.

If the drive shows up in disk management but it is not seen on Computer, then it means the partition is corrupted and you will have to format it in order to use it again. Please note that formatting the drive will delete all data stored on it.

If you want to recover the data on the drive then I recommend you try using a data recovery software before attempting to format the drive.