WD Elements 2TB: Diagnostics OK, but drive unusable by Windows

Portable Drives My Passport
1

Hello everyone,

I am on Windows 10.

I have a WD Elements 2TB, and since last night when I connect it, the drive letter shows up but trying to access the drive gives me an error message saying that the folder cannot be displayed because it is damaged.

What I tried:

  • Switched USB cables
  • Tried different USB ports, both USB 3 and USB 2
  • Tried it on another PC (tried 6 in total, same issue everywhere)
  • Tried rebooting with it connected, or connecting after the boot
  • Checked device manager: no problems anywhere
  • Changed the drive letter
  • Tried updating the driver in device manager, says it’s up to date
  • Tried removing the driver & rebooting
  • Tried drive properties > Tools > Check disk, says it can’t access the drive

It gets interesting when running WD’s Data Lifeguard Tools: if I connect the drive after booting, Windows’ drive manager sees the drive, but the lifeguard tools don’t detect it. However, if I connect the drive and reboot with it connected, both the drive manager and the lifeguard tools detect the drive.

So the current result is the following:

  • Lifeguard SMART Test: Everything OK
  • Lifeguard Extended Test: Everything OK
  • Drive Letter visible in Explorer, but not the drive name
  • In the eject USB safely menu, it is referenced correctly as WD Elements
  • In Drive Manager, it shows up as healthy but with RAW file system
  • Cannot run drive check, Windows says it cannot access the drive
  • Viewing properties of the drive does not show the drive’s capacity

Even though the lifeguard tests run without a problem. the drive is still unusable by Windows. What gives??

Any help is appreciated, I’d really like to recover that drive.

Regards,

Mistralys.

2

Hi,

Have you tried changing the drive letter?

Also, I’ll recommend you to contact WD Support for further assistance.

WD Contact info:

3

Hi,

thanks for the tip, but that did not change anything either. I changed the drive letter, no effect, then just to make sure I changed the drive letter again, turned off the PC and rebooted it. No change whatsoever :expressionless:

I opened a support ticket, I hope they’ll be able to help.

Regards,

Mistralys.

4

WD Support put me on the right track: they suggested trying a disk recovery software since the drive is recognized by Windows, even if it is inaccessible.

I searched for some free solutions, and found TestDisk. I’m copying files from the disk as I am writing this :slight_smile:

Thanks a bundle for the great support!