External Drive in Disk Management, but not in My Computer

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hoidean_13

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Sep 30, 2016
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Hey guys, need your help!
My WD Elements drive was working with my laptop without an issue. Then I plugged it into a TV to watch some files, but it didn't work. But now the drive won't show up in My Computer. It's in disk management with a healthy partition, but I can't assign a letter to it and a right click only says to delete the volume, but I don't want to lose the data.
Please help!
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Hey, @Dean!

I see. Well, you could try using some third-party data recovery tools at your own risk or a Ubuntu Live CD as I already mentioned in my previous post, to recover the partitions & access your files. However, I'm not sure how successful that would be. Either way, you could still give it a try. I'm also not sure if you have already tried plugging the WD Elements to another computer to see if you would be able to access your files from there.
Another thing that comes to mind is to try uninstalling & reinstalling the external HDD as device from Device Manager.
You could also try assigning a drive letter to the WD elements through DiskPart (Run CMD as administrator).

Hope these work. Let me know how it...
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Welcome to the community, @hoidean_13!

I'm really sorry to hear about your issues with the WD Elements external drive! :( It sounds like plugging the HDD to the TV might have corrupted the file system. Can you please share a screenshot of the Disk management? I'd also recommend you attempt to access your files from another computer, if you have access to one. Maybe you will be able to assign a drive letter in Disk Management from there. It might also be a good idea to plug it in different USB ports on your laptop and also swap the USB cable itself.
It's highly recommended to keep at least one more copy of your files stored on a different storage location as a backup. Not having duplicates usually leads to data loss, unfortunately! :(
You could attempt to retrieve the data using some third-party recovery tools or a Ubuntu Live CD at your own risk. However, I'd advise you to run the QUICK and EXTENDED diagnostic tests from the Data LifeGuard Diagnostic tool FIRST! It will help us determine the health and SMART status of your WD Elements.

Keep me posted with the troubleshooting & make sure you backup your files as soon as you can access them!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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hoidean_13

Commendable
Sep 30, 2016
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1,510


 
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hoidean_13

Commendable
Sep 30, 2016
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Thanks for your reply Soph, and sorry for the delay.

Well I ran the diagnostics tests and they both came back with passes. I tried a different computer, but it wouldn't show. However I didn't have administrator access, so I couldn't try to assign a letter. Is there any way to do that apart from diskpart in the command prompt?

Well I'd send you a screenshot, but I can't figure out how to attach photos to these posts. But the drive is written as Disk 2, it is in 3 partitions, and all partitions say Healthy (Primary Partition). There in no unallocated space.
I really feel like it isn't corrupted, the drive seems fine in every way possible except not showing up!
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there again, @hoidean_13!

You should be able to assign a drive letter through Disk management as well. What are your options when you right-click on the WD Elements in Disk management? You should also be able to do that through Command Prompt's DiskPart but you need to make sure you Run it as Administrator first.
Either way, I'd still strongly recommend backing up all your data somewhere else as well, once you gain access to it. This would avoid any potential data loss headaches.

Let me know how it goes! :)
Cheers,
SuperSoph_WD
 
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hoidean_13

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Sep 30, 2016
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Hi Soph,

When I right click on the partition, it only says Delete Volume and Help, the other options are greyed out. When I right click on the disk itself, it gives the options Convert to Dynamic Disk, Properties and Help.

Well let me clarify my situation. I do have backups of my drive at home, so data recovery is not the prime objective. But I am overseas and won't have access to my backups for a long time. It's more that I need the data now and I can't wait till I get home. Anything else I can do?

Regards,

Dean.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
6,758
3
45,960
Hey, @Dean!

I see. Well, you could try using some third-party data recovery tools at your own risk or a Ubuntu Live CD as I already mentioned in my previous post, to recover the partitions & access your files. However, I'm not sure how successful that would be. Either way, you could still give it a try. I'm also not sure if you have already tried plugging the WD Elements to another computer to see if you would be able to access your files from there.
Another thing that comes to mind is to try uninstalling & reinstalling the external HDD as device from Device Manager.
You could also try assigning a drive letter to the WD elements through DiskPart (Run CMD as administrator).

Hope these work. Let me know how it goes!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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