WD passport show 'Not Initialized' and 'unallocated'

Portable Drives My Passport
1

Hi,

a few days ago, my 1TB WD external drive was working fine, today without any reasons, it didn’t appear on file explorer. so I checked disk management and I found it shows
‘Not Initialized’ and ‘unallocated’. I tried to initialize it, rebuild MBR, create new partition and CHKDSK it. I even tried to recover my data using tools like MINITOOLS, EASUS, AOMEI…etc but none of them work.
pls help me.

3

Hello,

We would recommend you perform a diagnostic test on the drive to determine the optimal health of the drive by following the instructions mentioned in the KBA article given below:

https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13880/

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5

Whenever there is “disk unknown not initialized” issue occurs, your hard drive may show unallocated space in Disk Management, and the data on which will be inaccessible or else there is another situation: there is no disk space shown in Disk Management.

Below are the 2 different methods to resolve the issue:

Method 1. Use Disk Management to fix not initialized error on an external hard drive

  1. Connect the uninitialized external hard drive to your PC.
  2. Press Win + R keys, type: diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
  3. Find the uninitialized, unknown external hard drive with I/O device error > Right-click on it and select Initialize Disk.
  4. Then set the disk to initialize and set the disk as MBR or GPT.

After this, you may reboot your PC and keep all changes. Now, your external hard drive will be recognized and read by Windows again.

Method 2. Run CMD to repair I/O device error on not initialized external hard drive

This CMD command would erase all data on the uninitialized hard drive, which you can later restore after repairing the external hard drive not initialized, with the help of any data recovery or partition recovery software:

  1. Press Win+R > Type: diskpart and hit Enter.
  2. Type: list disk and hit Enter.
  3. Type: select disk F and hit Enter; (replace F with the drive letter of an uninitialized external hard drive) .
  4. Type: clean and hit Enter.
  5. Type: convert gpt or convert mbr and hit Enter.
  6. Type: create partition primary and hit Enter.
  7. Type: format quick fs=ntfs and hit Enter.
  8. Type: assign and hit Enter.
  9. Type: exit and hit Enter.

Hope it helps!

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What Jose2020 wrote is a lot of ■■■■ in response to the query posted. The guy posted that he wanted his drive recognised so he could use the files on it. He did not want it wiped and iniitialized. WD have created a piece of ■■■■ they call a drive. there is no help from WD cos they are ■■■■

1 Like
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Working on a friends PC, I found WD Drive Utilities had been installed previously under WD Discovery.
I ran WD Drive Utilities and entered the password to Unlock the Drive. ALL Contents of the drive now appear.
Recommend running the checks under Diagnose After Unlocking Drive.
Hope this helps someone.

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To initialize and allocate the WD Passport external hard drive, you can follow these steps:

  1. Connect the WD Passport drive to your computer using a USB cable. Ensure that the connection is secure and that the drive is receiving power.

  2. Open the Disk Management utility on your computer. You can access this utility by right-clicking on the “essayusa.com” button and selecting “Disk Management” from the context menu.

  3. In the Disk Management window, locate your WD Passport drive. It should be listed as a disk without a drive letter and labeled as “Not Initialized.”

  4. Right-click on the WD Passport disk and select “Initialize Disk.” A dialog box will appear asking you to choose between two partition styles: Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT). The choice between MBR and GPT depends on your specific requirements, such as compatibility with older systems or support for larger drives. Select the appropriate option and click “OK.”

  5. After initializing the disk, right-click on the unallocated space and select “New Simple Volume.” This will open a wizard that will guide you through the process of creating a new partition on the WD Passport drive.

  6. Follow the instructions in the wizard to specify the size of the partition, assign a drive letter, and format the partition with a file system (such as NTFS or exFAT). It is recommended to choose NTFS for compatibility with Windows systems.

  7. Once you have completed the wizard, the WD Passport drive will be initialized, allocated, and ready for use. It should now appear as a usable drive with the assigned drive letter in the Disk Management window.

It is important to note that initializing and allocating the WD Passport drive will erase all existing data on the drive. Therefore, if you have any important files or documents stored on the drive, it is crucial to back them up before proceeding with these steps.

In some cases, if the WD Passport drive still shows as “Not Initialized” and “Unallocated” after following the above steps, it may indicate a hardware issue with the drive itself. In such situations, it is recommended to contact Western Digital support or consult a professional data recovery service for further assistance.

9

Hey there! I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having with your WD external drive. It can be frustrating when something like this happens out of the blue. Don’t worry, though, we’ll try to troubleshoot and hopefully get your data back.

First, it’s good that you’ve already checked Disk Management and found it as ‘Not Initialized’ and ‘unallocated.’ That’s a step in the right direction. Here are a few more steps you can try:

  1. Initialize the Disk: Since you’ve tried this, you can skip it.

  2. Rebuild MBR: You mentioned you’ve already done this, which is good.

  3. Create a New Partition:Again, you’ve tried this as well.

  4. CHKDSK: It’s important to make sure the disk is error-free. Try running CHKDSK again, but this time, use Command Prompt with administrator privileges. Open Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and hit Enter. This will check for and attempt to fix any file system errors.

  5. Data Recovery: If you still can’t access your data, you can try using a different data recovery software. Stellar or even professional data recovery services could help. Be patient, and let the software scan thoroughly.

  6. Try on a Different PC: Sometimes, the issue might be with your computer. Try connecting the drive to another computer to see if it’s recognized there. If it is, you can copy your data to another drive.

  7. Check for Hardware Issues: If none of the above steps work, it’s possible there’s a hardware problem with the drive itself. You might want to consult a professional data recovery service at this point.

Remember to stay calm during this process. Data recovery can be a bit tricky, and it’s important not to rush through it. I hope you can recover your data successfully! If you have any more questions or run into any issues along the way, feel free to ask for further assistance.

10

I have a WD My Book 4TB. It’s worked perfectly on my primary computer. My primary computer was damaged in an electrical storm and I wish to use my WD My Book on my laptop. WD Drive Utilities - shows the back drive passing all tests. But my File Explorer will not recognize the WD My Book. Under Disk Management - the drive shows up unallocated. I downloaded Acronis true Image for WD, but the Backup/Restore tool will not see my WD My Book. I do not want to initialize as it will erase all the data. What do I need to do to recover these files?

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TestDisk is powerful for recovering lost partitions and making non-bootable disks bootable again, while PhotoRec focuses on file recovery. These are free and open-source tools. If you are still wondering if does new simple volume erase data, the answer is here https://www.hаndyrecovery.com/does-partitioning-a-drive-erase-data/. Let me know if you have any questions.

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If none of the methods provided in this guide resolve the "disk unknown uot initialized" issue, I strongly recommend seeking professional help. (or, just replace it with a new one.)

Hard drives don’t last forever. Your WD hard drive may have suffered physical damage. This could explain why data recovery software doesn’t work.

If your hard drive is physically damaged, running chkdsk could make the situation worse. DIY repairs are nearly impossible, especially without specialized tools and expertise.