Western Digital 500gb external drive problem

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lewisma9

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
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Hello:
I'm having trouble with an older external hard drive. My laptop doesn't show it in File Manager when it is plugged in, so I can't do any back-ups. I've run the WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics tool, which gives it an initial PASS, but then when I try to run the diagnostics, it stops right away and says, "Cable Test::Read diagnostics sector error!" and then "Cable test failed! Please check the cables."
I can't find anything wrong with the cable, unplugged and plugged both ends in several times using different ports on my laptop. Does this really mean I need to get a new cable, though nothing appears to be wrong? Thank you.
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Welcome, lewisma9!

I'd advise you to run both the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from WD's Data LifeGuard again on your new computer just to check up on your WD external HDD's health and SMART status. Make sure you click on 'View SMART data' after the extended test. If you have any files on it, re-initializing it would erase everything! I'd recommend you to refer to our knowledge base on how to initialize and then how to partition & format your HDD.

If you wish to retrieve any data from the external hard drive, you should consider contacting one of our data recovery partners.

Hope this was helpful. Keep us posted!
SuperSoph_WD :)
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lewisma9

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Mar 7, 2016
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lewisma9

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
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I just plugged it into my new computer (setting it up now - it runs Win10) and it appears in Device Manager but not in File Explorer. In Device Manager, it says it is "Not Initialized." How do I initialize it? Thank you.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Welcome, lewisma9!

I'd advise you to run both the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from WD's Data LifeGuard again on your new computer just to check up on your WD external HDD's health and SMART status. Make sure you click on 'View SMART data' after the extended test. If you have any files on it, re-initializing it would erase everything! I'd recommend you to refer to our knowledge base on how to initialize and then how to partition & format your HDD.

If you wish to retrieve any data from the external hard drive, you should consider contacting one of our data recovery partners.

Hope this was helpful. Keep us posted!
SuperSoph_WD :)
 
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Solution
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lewisma9

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
6
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1,510


 
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lewisma9

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
6
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1,510
Thank you SuperSoph_WD,
This external drive only has some old backups, so no problem with overwriting everything. I'll do y best with those knowledge base articles and let you know how it works!
 
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lewisma9

Commendable
Mar 7, 2016
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1,510
I tried to Initialize the WD external drive, but got this error message from Virtual Disk Manager: "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error." Is there something else I can do?
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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This seems pretty unfortunate, lewisma9! :( I'd recommend you to try booting Windows in Safe Mode and attempt to initialize and then partition & format the external WD drive from there. Another thing that might be causing this is an antivirus software, so if you have any, make sure you disable it. What did the SMART results show about the drive after running the Quick and Extended tests from the Data LifeGuard Utility?

I'd also recommend you to check the warranty status of your WD drive. If it's still covered, you should be able to send an RMA request and get a replacement, once you contact our Customer Support..

Hope this was helpful. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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