# External detected but can't access



## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

i have this WD external 1T HD
it appears to My Computer but if i try to enter it My Computer freezes and goes to Not Responding
also if i try to right click it it also goes to Not Responding

went to device manager - Disk Drives
i am pretty sure it is detected
WD My Passport 0748 USB Device

Portable Devices
WPD FileSystem Volume Driver

please help


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

Hey there, bunnybugs!

I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with the WD My Passport.
You mentioned you can see it in the Disk management tool, right? So can you share/take a screenshot of what's the status of the external drive there?
Also while in the device manager, I'd suggest to expand Universal Serial Bus (USB) controllers.
Right-click every device under the USB controllers and then Uninstall them one at a time.
Afterwards restart your computer. Depending on your Windows settings, the OS should install your USB drivers again automatically.
Then plug the My Passport back and see if you can access it this time.
Another thing you can try is performing some tests on the drive using WD Data LifeGuard tool, which will determine if is any damage or bad sectors to worry about:
The software: http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=810
The how-to: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/940

Keep me posted with the results. Hope this helped! 
SuperSoph_WD


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## de.das.dude (Oct 15, 2014)

make sure you dont have any phones around.. they seem fuck up communications with a couple of external hard drives.


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

@SuperSoph_WD





This image is stucked or frozen i mean it doesn't load even though i wait D:





Here's the other one

also tried uninstalling the USBs but not all of them cuz my Mouse and KB is on a USB port >.<
i can't download the software- it says An error has occured.

@de.das.dude
I don't have any phone near the External



SuperSoph_WD said:


> Hey there, bunnybugs!
> 
> I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with the WD My Passport.
> You mentioned you can see it in the Disk management tool, right? So can you share/take a screenshot of what's the status of the external drive there?
> ...



also i'm kinda having lags when i plug my External now
before it was fine but i dunno what happened >.<
It supposed to be named My Passport if plugged but now it as named H:
also Disk Management doesn't load if the External is Plugged


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## de.das.dude (Oct 15, 2014)

try reinstalling USB drivers?


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi again, @bunnybugs!

It sounds like the drive is corrupt from either power issues, or from not being safely removed.
I'd suggest to try to run a disk check from the Command prompt.
Run cmd as administrator > type chkdsk H: /r
This will hopefully fix any bad sectors and recover readable data, and get your WD Passport to respond.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee872425.aspx

Another thing that may be causing this issue is out of date firmware, so I'd recommend to update your firmware from here:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/firmware.asp?id=wdfMyPassport&os=WIN

Keep me posted. I hope this will help you!
SuperSoph_WD


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## de.das.dude (Oct 15, 2014)

are you a WD representative? if so you can get an official title added if you ask the mods around here.


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

SuperSoph_WD said:


> Hi again, @bunnybugs!
> 
> It sounds like the drive is corrupt from either power issues, or from not being safely removed.
> I'd suggest to try to run a disk check from the Command prompt.
> ...



Currently doing it
C:\Windows\system32>chkdsk H: /r
_

nothing is hapening O.O


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

de.das.dude said:


> are you a WD representative? if so you can get an official title added if you ask the mods around here.



Yes, I am. I already notified them. Thank you!


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## Aquinus (Oct 15, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> Here's the other one



Please click the "Volumes" tab and click the "Populate" button. Do reasonable values show up? I suspect there won't be any volumes listed but does it detect the partition style and capacity correctly? Also make sure that in policies that write caching is disabled. If it hangs when it attempts to populate the info, it's a sign the drive itself could be failing but the controller is a-okay. I would see if you can extract SMART attributes from the drive.

Here is an example:


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Please click the "Volumes" tab and click the "Populate" button. Do reasonable values show up? I suspect there won't be any volumes listed but does it detect the partition style and capacity correctly? Also make sure that in policies that write caching is disabled. If it hangs when it attempts to populate the info, it's a sign the drive itself could be failing but the controller is a-okay. I would see if you can extract SMART attributes from the drive.
> 
> Here is an example:
> View attachment 59677



i checked that earlier and its all Blank

Update:
the chkdsk H: /r
The type of the file system is NTFS
_


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## Aquinus (Oct 15, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> i checked that earlier and its all Blank


It's blank until you click "Populate" and wait for it to do its thing. Clicking populate was part of the instructions unless you're saying that it stays blank even after you click it.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> i checked that earlier and its all Blank
> 
> Update:
> the chkdsk H: /r
> ...


Well, in this case I'd try to populate the volume as @Aquinus suggested and see if it works.
If it doesn't, I hope you have the data on your My Passport backed up somewhere else and I'd suggest to format it. Obviously the only thing that is working on it is using the Command prompt, so I'd suggest to format it using these commands:
https://www.techhack.co.uk/2011/03/31/format-a-hard-drive-with-command-prompt/
If this doesn't help and make the drive responsive, I'd suggest you to contact WD's support either by email or phone:
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en
and eventually RMA the drive:
http://support.wdc.com/warranty/

Fingers crossed that it will work for you!
SuperSoph_WD


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> It's blank until you click "Populate" and wait for it to do its thing. Clicking populate was part of the instructions unless you're saying that it stays blank even after you click it.



Can i do it while doing the check disk?


Update:




is it already done or not yet?


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> Can i do it while doing the check disk?
> Update:
> is it already done or not yet?



No, it's not done yet! 
It seems like quite a lot of the files are corrupt and you need to allow the chkdsk to complete the task.
It should ask you to restart your computer after it's done.

Good luck!


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

SuperSoph_WD said:


> No, it's not done yet!
> It seems like quite a lot of the files are corrupt and you need to allow the chkdsk to complete the task.
> It should ask you to restart your computer after it's done.
> 
> Good luck!




Will update you after its done 
But i think it might take forever? lool
i really don't know what happened to my HD >.<


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 15, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> Will update you after its done
> But i think it might take forever? lool
> i really don't know what happened to my HD >.<


I really hope it all works out well for you.
My Passport is an external drive that incorporates a hardware encryption. If the problem persists, I really recommend to contact our tech support for further assistance.
Also if your drive is still under warranty, you can get a replacement.

Fingers crossed that either chkdsk or the populating work for you!
SuperSoph_WD


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 15, 2014)

I for one am very pleased to see a WD rep join our site! Thank-you!!


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## bunnybugs (Oct 15, 2014)

SuperSoph_WD said:


> I really hope it all works out well for you.
> My Passport is an external drive that incorporates a hardware encryption. If the problem persists, I really recommend to contact our tech support for further assistance.
> Also if your drive is still under warranty, you can get a replacement.
> 
> ...







Update:
but it didn't require/asked me to restart O.O

*Update was successful
I'm going to try Populate then


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## bunnybugs (Oct 16, 2014)

Update:





This happens after a long minute wait
-Volume Tab is not clickable and move-able
-On Portable Devices -- Yellow exclamation point appears
upon click that This device cannot start. (Code 10)


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 16, 2014)

Hi again, bunnybugs!

Unfortunately, Code 10 is indicating that the drive is probably failing.
I'd suggest to plug My Passport on another computer and see how it will react there?
Using another USB cable is also a way to test if the drive will stop lagging.
If the same error message is shown in the Device Manager of the second PC as well, the drive has failed and needs to be replaced. So I'd encourage you to contact our tech support and RMA it, you should be able to get a replacement and end the headache of troubleshooting the drive.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8
http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en
I'm truly sorry for the bad experience you've been having with the WD My Passport. 

Hope I was able to help out though!
SuperSoph_WD


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## Aquinus (Oct 16, 2014)

What I had to do with one of my WD external drives is that the actual SATA controller itself in the enclosure was failing. If you have nothing else you can do, you should be able to rip open the enclosure and plug the drive directly into the computer using a SATA cable. If it still doesn't work, the drive is toast.


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## Ahhzz (Oct 16, 2014)

rtwjunkie said:


> I for one am very pleased to see a WD rep join our site! Thank-you!!


I'll second that. I just had to send my own passport in for replacement (repeated beeping). I prefer the WD blacks for most of my uses, and usually have good luck, but it's nice to know we've got a contact here if things aren't going "according to plan"  thanks and *cheers*, Sophie.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 16, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> What I had to do with one of my WD external drives is that the actual SATA controller itself in the enclosure was failing. If you have nothing else you can do, you should be able to rip open the enclosure and plug the drive directly into the computer using a SATA cable. If it still doesn't work, the drive is toast.


This is usually a good troubleshooting option for retrieving data from external drives that are out of warranty.
However, My Passport series are external drives incorporating a hardware encryption. Getting the drive out of the enclosure will make it impossible to access or use! That's why the best thing you can do is to try resolving the issue with the drive in the enclosure. Only if nothing works, the next best thing to do is contact a data recovery company or directly our tech support for further instructions.
Otherwise, it is true! External drives without a hardware encryption can be easily accessed without the enclosure, just by using a SATA cable as @Aquinus suggested.
Unfortunately, in your case this is not a good option, especially because it will void your warranty. Sorry.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 16, 2014)

Ahhzz said:


> I'll second that. I just had to send my own passport in for replacement (repeated beeping). I prefer the WD blacks for most of my uses, and usually have good luck, but it's nice to know we've got a contact here if things are going "according to plan"  thanks and *cheers*, Sophie.



Thank you for being so welcoming, guys! 
Sorry for your Passport though, @Ahhzz
I'm glad to be here and help out with your storage solutions!

Cheers,
SuperSoph_WD


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## bunnybugs (Oct 16, 2014)

SuperSoph_WD said:


> Hi again, bunnybugs!
> 
> Unfortunately, Code 10 is indicating that the drive is probably failing.
> I'd suggest to plug My Passport on another computer and see how it will react there?
> ...



My brother tried it in his PC but he said not detected
i also tried using/plugging it in our TV which can read and which we used to watch movies
so my passport is already dead? D:

My Passport is inside a Nomad Case which was free when i bought it
i checked and found out that store warranty was only until Feb 2013
I am from the Philippines though
and i think i already lost my receipt of purchase D:


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## Aquinus (Oct 16, 2014)

SuperSoph_WD said:


> My Passport series are external drives incorporating a hardware encryption. Getting the drive out of the enclosure will make it impossible to access or use!


Is that always enabled or is it an option to enable? I personally would be disappointed if that's a permanently enabled feature as not everyone will want something like that and in cases like this, it makes data recovery next to impossible.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 16, 2014)

@SuperSoph_WD: Thanks for the explanation on the encryption. I always wondered what made a MyPassport different from say, an hdd that you place in an external enclosure.

Just one of those things I never bothered to investigate further.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 16, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> My brother tried it in his PC but he said not detected
> i also tried using/plugging it in our TV which can read and which we used to watch movies
> so my passport is already dead? D:
> 
> ...


 Ok, I have good news and bad news for you, @bunnybugs!
The good news is that there is a slight chance that your Passport might not be hardware encrypted.   This is something WD started using only recently on the My Passport series.
The bad news is that I cannot help you determine that.
However, this kind of information is available to our tech support. The best thing you can do is contact them either by phone or e-mail and let them know about your problem:
http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en
If you provide them with the model number (and/or serial number), they will be able to tell you if it is hardware encrypted or not. Also they should give you guidelines on how to proceed with your WD Passport.

I'm sorry, I couldn't be more useful! Hope I was able to help out, though! 
SuperSoph_WD


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 16, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Is that always enabled or is it an option to enable? I personally would be disappointed if that's a permanently enabled feature as not everyone will want something like that and in cases like this, it makes data recovery next to impossible.


True story, @Aquinus! It's close to impossible to retrieve data from such a drive.
Well, the only market where you can get an Unencrypted WD Passport is the Russian one, because they do not allow it.
For the rest of the world WD My Passport ships only with an incorporated encryption.
If you desire a WD portable without a hardware encryption, you can check out WD Elements. It's got almost the same specs as My Passport, but comes without the hardware and software features installed on it.

SuperSoph_WD


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## bunnybugs (Oct 17, 2014)

Is there anyway to recover the files that i have in my External? or no other choice but to just re-download it?


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## Aquinus (Oct 17, 2014)

bunnybugs said:


> Is there anyway to recover the files that i have in my External? or no other choice but to just re-download it?


If the controller on the enclosure failed, your out of luck. Even if the drive is okay, you wouldn't be able to decrypt thew data.


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## SuperSoph_WD (Oct 17, 2014)

Hi again, @bunnybugs!

Unfortunately what @Aquinus said is true.
That's why you have to check with tech support to see if your drive is encrypted or not.

Good luck!


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## McSteel (Oct 17, 2014)

I don't think it's the controller. This reeks of bad sectors that have appeared in the first few tracks of the disk, which led to partition table data corruption, and also $MFT and $Bitmap corruption.

If the enclosure's USB to SATA controller was bad, the drive wouldn't have been recognized at all by the system, much less the partition type being recognized by chkdsk and errors detected and partially fixed...


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## Aquinus (Oct 17, 2014)

McSteel said:


> I don't think it's the controller. This reeks of bad sectors that have appeared in the first few tracks of the disk, which led to partition table data corruption, and also $MFT and $Bitmap corruption.
> 
> If the enclosure's USB to SATA controller was bad, the drive wouldn't have been recognized at all by the system, much less the partition type being recognized by chkdsk and errors detected and partially fixed...


This is why I'm inclined to think it's the controller.


bunnybugs said:


> My brother tried it in his PC but he said not detected


If he was getting cyclic redundancy check errors before it stopped working, that's also a good sign that it's the controller... at least from my personal experience with external WD drives where the controller is failing but the drive has not.


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## McSteel (Oct 17, 2014)

I somehow missed the part about CRC errors... But they do sometimes crop up when there are bad sectors, if they happen to develop while the drive is being read-out.
As for the "not detected" part, that's a bit ambiguous, as sometimes a faulty partition isn't even shown as present (doesn't get assigned a drive letter until the OS knows it's size and position on the disk).

Still, if there are known problems with the controller used in those enclosures, I'm just wasting time writing this, and I apologize.


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## Aquinus (Oct 17, 2014)

McSteel said:


> I somehow missed the part about CRC errors... But they do sometimes crop up when there are bad sectors, if they happen to develop while the drive is being read-out.
> As for the "not detected" part, that's a bit ambiguous, as sometimes a faulty partition isn't even shown as present (doesn't get assigned a drive letter until the OS knows it's size and position on the disk).
> 
> Still, if there are known problems with the controller used in those enclosures, I'm just wasting time writing this, and I apologize.


You could be right, I'm just saying that the times WD external drives failed on me, it was usually the enclosure not the drive, but that is also my experience with older non-encrypted 3.5" external drives like the MyBook.


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