I last used my WD Passport (500GB) to copy a virtual machine from a laptop that has since been returned to my former employer two weeks ago. When I connect it to my personal laptop, it shows up as “Local Disk” icon instead of the usual “WD Passport” icon. The light on the Passport is blinking continuously. I observed that software like Microsoft Word is freezing, but is able to run properly when I disconnected the Passport. I tried connecting the Passport to my desktop computer. All of the same symptoms appear for the desktop. I took it to a computer repair shop, described the problem. The technician said that the Passport is acting like a virtual machine and is trying to start up like a virtual machine. I left it with him in the hopes that he can scan and eventually retrieve the files. A week later, the technician called me and said that the files have been detected. When he tried to copy them over, the connection broke. He suggested taking it to some kind of lab, but doesn’t know of any place like it. Appreciate any feedback/suggestions. Thank you.
The following link will provide you with a list of specialized data recovery service companies:
Hopefully they’ll be able to recover your files.
On the other hand it, your hard drive’s symptoms are similar to file system corruption. Have you tried to search online for a file system repair software?
