WD External Hard drive not recognized in my computer

WD External Drives WD Portable Drives
81

I finally found my problem!  With Windows, the drives are supposedly assigned the next available letter in Disk Management when a drive is connected.  In my case, it was not [I had changed a couple of drive letters to make more logical sense to me because of the many drives attached at one time or another].  For whatever reason, the system was not assigning the needed drive letter.  I checked Disk Management because I was confused as to why the system could see it but would not access the data. [Windows 7 64-bit]

Here is what I did:

  1. Right click on Computer icon and select Manage from the list.

  2. In the left hand Computer Management column, go down and select Disk Management in Storage group.

  3. In the top center block, look at the top of the list.  In my case, I spotted a volume without a letter assigned [blank spot]. 

  4. I clicked on it and looked at the bottom for the disk and it was there and was seen as 465.11 GB information. This meant I had the right volume as no other disk of mine has that amount of data volume.

  5. Up above, I right-clicked on the blank spot and selected CHANGE DRIVE LETTER AND PATHS…

  6. None was assigned so it was blank. I clicked on the ADD button. 

  7. A new window pops up.  The top radio button should be selected.  To the right is a list of available drive letters with the first unassigned drive letter indicated.  You can either select this one or choose another from the list.  I left mine as is and clicked on the OK button.

That was it!  Now, the drive shows on my system and I can access the data.  This may or may not be the problem on other machines but it is one item to double check and eliminate. 

82

You must have placed your post about the same time I was writing mine but that was exactly my problem.

83

Once the computer doesn’t recognize the drive, it doesn’t recognize the drive. It doesn’t show up in the computer’s drive list, it doesn’t show up anyway in device manager, it doesn’t work on any USB port, it doesn’t work with a different cable, and when connected, it lights up and starts up making its cheerful clicking noise.

I’m restraining myself here. WD is blaming the customer. All these customers. You have to be kidding. 

My drive is 750G, and I’ve lost more photos, music, important documents, backup financial data, etc., than I want to think about.

A crappy product is a crappy product. We are not computer newbies. I’ve been using computers since the earliest days of DOS. I worked at the Associated Press, the first news organization to adopt computer technology, back when bureaus were still using Delta Airline terminals with somewhat news-specialized software.

2 Likes
84

I have had this problem for almost 1 year. I was told to return it when I got an R/A but one never came and no reply to my mails so when I needed anouther external I went into Costco to look for a new one. To my suprise they had the passport on sale… well I stayed, talked and shared this forum thread with other customers for at least an hour on my I-phone. Then I went into Staples to compare prices on the seagate products and did the same thing until they asked me to leave. I actually felt a little vindicated, so I think I will do it again next weekend.

85

As an answer to mr. or mrs. PhotoGene47, who succeeded in getting back his or her files: congratulations!

Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. In disk manager I saw an extra drive appear at the bottom, when I connected the WD external. But without properties.Under the disknumber appeared: ‘standard’ and ’ online’. When I right clicked on the disk, the properties of the WD appeared, but it showed zero MB. So the computer regognizes the WD but I still cannot reach my files.

I would like to have some feed-back from a WD expert. They make these things, don’t they?

86

WOW! I read all of the complaints, nand then went to WD FAQs about the problem. The first suggestion was that the Power supply may have failed. I doubted this, but went ahead anyway and used my wife’s newer WD Power Supply.

Imagine my delight when my computer now recognized the WD Hard drive, and all of my data was still there!

Replace the Power supply, and try again. You will be amazed!

87

Heldijk wrote:

As an answer to mr. or mrs. PhotoGene47, who succeeded in getting back his or her files: congratulations!

Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. In disk manager I saw an extra drive appear at the bottom, when I connected the WD external. But without properties.Under the disknumber appeared: ‘standard’ and ’ online’. When I right clicked on the disk, the properties of the WD appeared, but it showed zero MB. So the computer regognizes the WD but I still cannot reach my files.

 

I would like to have some feed-back from a WD expert. They make these things, don’t they?

The WD Community was created for Users, such as yourself, to help one another, and to share your experiences and ideas with one another. As Moderators, we are here simply to facilitate and oversee the community. If you have a question relating the what’s going on in the community, we will be happy to respond. However, if you are looking for technical support from WD, you will need to contact them directly.

To Contact WD for Technical Support
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en

88

HELP!!!

IM HAVING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. (I own a WD Elements 1.5 TB and Im using Windows Vista)

It was working great for months, I have filled it about 50%. But then Today my laptop froze. Now my compter wont recognize that drive. When I plug it in the white light  comes on, I can hear the disc spinning, but nothing after that. My computer does not see it at all. When I go to disk management it is not there.

I have tried another SimpleTech 1.0 TB external that works great (and its OLDER than my WD also!!) and all my USB memory sticks work great.

WHY IS THE WD EXERNAL HARD DRIVE NOT RECOGNIZED?!?!?!

I HAVE READ ALL THESE POSTS. THERE IS NO FIRMWARE UPDATE OFR MY DRIVE. I HAVE REBOOTED EVERYTHING 10 TIMES. THERE IS NO TRACE OF IT IN DISK MANAGEMENT.

AM I SCREWED? HONESTLY, I SEE WAYY TO MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM.

WHY EVEN BUY THIS PRODUCT IF IT FAILS IN ITS PRIMARY FUNCTION, TO PROVIDE SAFE DATA STORAGE.

89

I ran the USB Device Viewer and this is what I got: (Can anyone make sense of this? It looks like Chinese to me.)

—===>Device Information<===—
English product name: "External HDD    "

ConnectionStatus:                 
Current Config Value:              0x01  → Device Bus Speed: High
Device Address:                    0x01
Open Pipes:                           2

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Device Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x12
bDescriptorType:                   0x01
bcdUSB:                          0x0200
bDeviceClass:                      0x00  → This is an Interface Class Defined Device
bDeviceSubClass:                   0x00
bDeviceProtocol:                   0x00
bMaxPacketSize0:                   0x40 = (64) Bytes
idVendor:                        0x1058 = Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
idProduct:                       0x1003
bcdDevice:                       0x0175
iManufacturer:                     0x01
     English (United States)  "Western Digital "
iProduct:                          0x02
     English (United States)  "External HDD    "
iSerialNumber:                     0x03
     English (United States)  “202020202020202020202020202020”
bNumConfigurations:                0x01

          ===>Configuration Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x09
bDescriptorType:                   0x02
wTotalLength:                    0x0020  → Validated
bNumInterfaces:                    0x01
bConfigurationValue:               0x01
iConfiguration:                    0x00
bmAttributes:                      0xC0  → Bus Powered
MaxPower:                          0x01 =   2 mA

          ===>Interface Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x09
bDescriptorType:                   0x04
bInterfaceNumber:                  0x00
bAlternateSetting:                 0x00
bNumEndpoints:                     0x02
bInterfaceClass:                   0x08  → This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface Class
bInterfaceSubClass:                0x06
bInterfaceProtocol:                0x50
iInterface:                        0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

90

Inside the enclosure is a little USB-SATA bridge board that sits between the USB port and the drive. The USB Device Viewer is detecting the bridge board correctly. However, it appears that the problem is in the drive itself.

You could remove the drive and connect it directly to your computer’s motherboard. However, this will probably void your warranty, unless WD gives you permission to try it.

91

I just started having this problem last night after a few weeks of perfect usage. I have never taken My Passport SE outside, it only goes back and forth from my Bedroom Desktop to my Living Room Notebook. 

I have a lot of data on here and I need it! I’m trying restarting my Notebook and I’ll plug it in again but I’m VERY worried because when it spins at all, it does a “Werrrrr-Click Werrr-Click” then the LED starts to blink. 

I got just completely [delete] by SeaGate in the past so I’ve relied upon Western Digital for reliable products but this is ridiculous! 

92

I had the same problem, and it was driving me crazy. I finally read in the WD FAQ’s that the first step in diagnosis is to check out the power supply. Since the blue light was on, I thought the power supply was okay. At some point I plugged the WD MyBook into my wife’s laptop, in a different room. I used her power supply, and her computer regognized the Drive…

Then I brought her power supply back to my room, and plugged MyBook in using her power supply. It was recognized by my computer. I immediately bought a new power supply ($19.99) from the WD online store. It arrived today, and I just plugged it in. As expected. my computer now recognizes WD MyBook.

Try this fiox, even though the blue light circle is lit with the old power supply. You will be happily surprised.

93

Hello guys,

I’ve bought an external hd that is not recognised in my pc. Although the power light is working, Windows 7 doesnt show me anything when plugging. i have tested it to 3 pcs and it works perfectly in all of them.

my pnp is enabled

i have changed in disk management drive letters

no fix…

2-3 times, my external hd was beeping for some seconds. One of those times, this happened 5-10 minites after my shut down of pc.

94

Hi all…

I have a similar problem.

I have a WD2500ME.It worked well earlier but once after i formatted it,it started to disconnect a lot.

And now it does not work at all.When i connect it,the small light near the port in the HDD lights up and i hear a spinning sound without any clicking sound.After 5-10 seconds,the spinning sound stops but the light is still on.It is not yet recongnized by the computer.I cant find anything in the device manager.I am using Windows XP SP3.

I need suggestions…

Thanks

95

shadowcure wrote:

Hello guys,

I’ve bought an external hd that is not recognised in my pc. Although the power light is working, Windows 7 doesnt show me anything when plugging. i have tested it to 3 pcs and it works perfectly in all of them.

 

my pnp is enabled

i have changed in disk management drive letters

no fix…

 

2-3 times, my external hd was beeping for some seconds. One of those times, this happened 5-10 minites after my shut down of pc.

Is this a Passport hard drive?  If so, then you may not be getting enough power from that one pc.  You may need to contact tech support or the online store to purchase a  power booster cable.

96

 —===>Device Information<===—
English product name: "External HDD    "

ConnectionStatus:                 
Current Config Value:              0x01  → Device Bus Speed: High
Device Address:                    0x05
Open Pipes:                           2

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Device Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x12
bDescriptorType:                   0x01
bcdUSB:                          0x0200
bDeviceClass:                      0x00  → This is an Interface Class Defined Device
bDeviceSubClass:                   0x00
bDeviceProtocol:                   0x00
bMaxPacketSize0:                   0x40 = (64) Bytes
idVendor:                        0x1058 = Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
idProduct:                       0x0702
bcdDevice:                       0x0104
iManufacturer:                     0x01
     English (United States)  "Western Digital "
iProduct:                          0x02
     English (United States)  "External HDD    "
iSerialNumber:                     0x03
     English (United States)  “202020202020202020202020”
bNumConfigurations:                0x01

          ===>Configuration Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x09
bDescriptorType:                   0x02
wTotalLength:                    0x0020  → Validated
bNumInterfaces:                    0x01
bConfigurationValue:               0x01
iConfiguration:                    0x00
bmAttributes:                      0xC0  → Bus Powered
MaxPower:                          0x01 =   2 mA

          ===>Interface Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x09
bDescriptorType:                   0x04
bInterfaceNumber:                  0x00
bAlternateSetting:                 0x00
bNumEndpoints:                     0x02
bInterfaceClass:                   0x08  → This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface Class
bInterfaceSubClass:                0x06
bInterfaceProtocol:                0x50
iInterface:                        0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x81  → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===
bLength:                           0x07
bDescriptorType:                   0x05
bEndpointAddress:                  0x02  → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2
bmAttributes:                      0x02  → Bulk Transfer Type
wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes
bInterval:                         0x00

97

Like everyone else here I have a  WD 1.5 TB that bought 2 months ago that  my computer no longer recognizes.My question is has anyone tried  to get a replacement and how was their response.

98

same on this end my wd160 has been great till i formatted it.and now it’s not showing up any where.when i connect it to the PC it knows a usb has been installed and starts to search for drivers.No luck.

           You can look in your BIOS and at your post.It should be there.If so call support.Try running lifeguard first it should also find it even if it’s dead.

          I was hoping some one could tell me if my pass port has drivers pre instail?

        Best of luck to all me262

99

Same issue as everyone else, it seems:

Passport 300GB external hard drive that has worked flawlessly for oh, 8-10 months, light is solid blue until I unlock it with password but then the Light flashes quickly and disc does not show up in My Computer.  I’m running XP.

I can see it in Device Manager and in Disk Management, but cannot see any of the files.  Disk management seems to indicate that the drive is healthy, but empty.  Sometimes I get a “would you like to format the drive” message, but I see nothing of the 60+ GB of data that exists on the drive.  Did the drive get magically reformatted somehow?  

This report looks okay, based on the comparisons I’ve seen in the thread so far:

     —===>Device Information<===—

English product name: “My Passport 070A”

ConnectionStatus:                  

Current Config Value:              0x01   → Device Bus Speed: High

Device Address:                    0x01

Open Pipes:                           2

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x07

bDescriptorType:                   0x05

bEndpointAddress:                  0x81   → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1

bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer Type

wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes

bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x07

bDescriptorType:                   0x05

bEndpointAddress:                  0x02   → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2

bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer Type

wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes

bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Device Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x12

bDescriptorType:                   0x01

bcdUSB:                          0x0200

bDeviceClass:                      0x00   → This is an Interface Class Defined Device

bDeviceSubClass:                   0x00

bDeviceProtocol:                   0x00

bMaxPacketSize0:                   0x40 = (64) Bytes

idVendor:                        0x1058 = Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

idProduct:                       0x070A

bcdDevice:                       0x1032

iManufacturer:                     0x01

     English (United States)  “Western Digital”

iProduct:                          0x02

     English (United States)  “My Passport 070A”

iSerialNumber:                     0x03

     English (United States)  “575836304142395539353536”

bNumConfigurations:                0x01

          ===>Configuration Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x09

bDescriptorType:                   0x02

wTotalLength:                    0x0020   → Validated

bNumInterfaces:                    0x01

bConfigurationValue:               0x01

iConfiguration:                    0x00

bmAttributes:                      0x80   → Bus Powered

MaxPower:                          0xFA = 500 mA

          ===>Interface Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x09

bDescriptorType:                   0x04

bInterfaceNumber:                  0x00

bAlternateSetting:                 0x00

bNumEndpoints:                     0x02

bInterfaceClass:                   0x08   → This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface Class

bInterfaceSubClass:                0x06

bInterfaceProtocol:                0x50

iInterface:                        0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x07

bDescriptorType:                   0x05

bEndpointAddress:                  0x81   → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1

bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer Type

wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes

bInterval:                         0x00

          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===

bLength:                           0x07

bDescriptorType:                   0x05

bEndpointAddress:                  0x02   → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2

bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer Type

wMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytes

bInterval:                         0x00

     —===>Device Information<===—English product name: “My Passport 070A”
ConnectionStatus:                  Current Config Value:              0x01   → Device Bus Speed: HighDevice Address:                    0x01Open Pipes:                           2
          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x07bDescriptorType:                   0x05bEndpointAddress:                  0x81   → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer TypewMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytesbInterval:                         0x00
          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x07bDescriptorType:                   0x05bEndpointAddress:                  0x02   → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer TypewMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytesbInterval:                         0x00
          ===>Device Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x12bDescriptorType:                   0x01bcdUSB:                          0x0200bDeviceClass:                      0x00   → This is an Interface Class Defined DevicebDeviceSubClass:                   0x00bDeviceProtocol:                   0x00bMaxPacketSize0:                   0x40 = (64) BytesidVendor:                        0x1058 = Western Digital Technologies, Inc.idProduct:                       0x070AbcdDevice:                       0x1032iManufacturer:                     0x01     English (United States)  "Western Digital"iProduct:                          0x02     English (United States)  "My Passport 070A"iSerialNumber:                     0x03     English (United States)  "575836304142395539353536"bNumConfigurations:                0x01
          ===>Configuration Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x09bDescriptorType:                   0x02wTotalLength:                    0x0020   → ValidatedbNumInterfaces:                    0x01bConfigurationValue:               0x01iConfiguration:                    0x00bmAttributes:                      0x80   → Bus PoweredMaxPower:                          0xFA = 500 mA
          ===>Interface Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x09bDescriptorType:                   0x04bInterfaceNumber:                  0x00bAlternateSetting:                 0x00bNumEndpoints:                     0x02bInterfaceClass:                   0x08   → This is a Mass Storage USB Device Interface ClassbInterfaceSubClass:                0x06bInterfaceProtocol:                0x50iInterface:                        0x00
          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x07bDescriptorType:                   0x05bEndpointAddress:                  0x81   → Direction: IN - EndpointID: 1bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer TypewMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytesbInterval:                         0x00
          ===>Endpoint Descriptor<===bLength:                           0x07bDescriptorType:                   0x05bEndpointAddress:                  0x02   → Direction: OUT - EndpointID: 2bmAttributes:                      0x02   → Bulk Transfer TypewMaxPacketSize:                  0x0200 = 0x200 max bytesbInterval:                         0x00

So, any thoughts?  I’d be surprised if it’s power supply since we’ve been using it for so long without a problem.  Seems like it just up and kicked the bucket.  

100

from my own hard drive, it seems that the USB connection is dodgy and since it is a built-in USb thingy, it can’t be fixed. Unless… somebody tells me how to rid that integrated USB port.