My Passport Ultra 2tb external hard drive is not being detected through my computer or disk manager...

[Miss_Malice]

But when I plug it into my smart tv and xbox 360, I have access to my files. I need to have access on my computer as well as there are files on there that I edit etc.

Also, when I plug it into my computer, the connecting sound chimes, and it is recognized through the device manager, but not through my file explorer, diskpart, or disk management.

I have already tried uninstalling the drivers, restarting the computer and plugging the external hard drive in, as well as manually installing the drivers from the WD software website.

I'm not sure what the problem is. Any advise would be highly appreciated.

 

[Luminary]

Hello Miss_Malice,

Just a few questions to help us know a bit more about your setup:

What operating system are you using?
Do you happen to know what file system the Passport is formatted as?
Did it work previously on this computer but is now not working?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to the community, @Miss_Malice!

You have done a great job with the troubleshooting so far! Now, I'd advise you to find access to another computer and check if you would be able to see the files on the WD My Passport from there. Make sure you backup everything important somewhere else as soon as you gain access to your data. You mentioned that you have already tried uninstalling the drivers, but I'd also suggest you uninstall & re-install the WD My Passport as a device from Device Manager as well. Another thing you should check is your USB hub controller drivers from the motherboard/computer manufacturer's official website. Sometimes, Windows Updates tend to install more generic drivers, so it's highly recommended to use the ones from the hardware manufacturer.

If that doesn't help either, you should definitely try swapping the USB cable and the USB port on your computer where you connect the external HDD.

Let us know how it goes!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Miss_Malice]

Hello Miss_Malice,

Just a few questions to help us know a bit more about your setup:

What operating system are you using?
Do you happen to know what file system the Passport is formatted as?
Did it work previously on this computer but is now not working?

1- I'm using windows 10.
2- I'm not sure what file system the passport was formatted as, but it worked with my gateway laptop, my visio smart tv, my xbox 360, and my xbox one.
3- yes, it previously worked on this computer, but after a windows automatic update, it was no longer recognized by the file explorer. After I renamed the empty unallocated partition, that space was available and recognized by my laptop, but not the data I already had on the hard drive.

 

[Miss_Malice]

Welcome to the community, @Miss_Malice!

You have done a great job with the troubleshooting so far! Now, I'd advise you to find access to another computer and check if you would be able to see the files on the WD My Passport from there. Make sure you backup everything important somewhere else as soon as you gain access to your data. You mentioned that you have already tried uninstalling the drivers, but I'd also suggest you uninstall & re-install the WD My Passport as a device from Device Manager as well. Another thing you should check is your USB hub controller drivers from the motherboard/computer manufacturer's official website. Sometimes, Windows Updates tend to install more generic drivers, so it's highly recommended to use the ones from the hardware manufacturer.

If that doesn't help either, you should definitely try swapping the USB cable and the USB port on your computer where you connect the external HDD.

Let us know how it goes!
SuperSoph_WD

Thank you for the warm welcome!

A few details:
I already uninstalled the device AND the drivers from my computer, to no avail. After I renamed the unallocated partition, that space was available to use, but not the partition that had my previously saved data on it. Also, when I run "diskpart", it does not recognize any of the partitions on my passport as volumes. The only volumes that are listed in diskpart are the ones in my C: drive, not my passport. They don't even show up.

I have some data on my passport backed up on other devices, but I really don't want to lose what I have on it. And I want to be able to use my passport because I just recently bought it (a little over 2 years ago so the warranty is no longer valid, but not long enough to already be having issues with it), and I don't want to feel I wasted my money.

Any advice you can give would be highly appreciated.

 

[Miss_Malice]

Here is a screenshot of what I'm seeing, if that's any help.
As you can see, the blue volume (where my data is located) is not able to be accessed at all. And my system is not recognizing any of my external hard drive space (disk 1 and disk 2) in diskpart.
So any thoughts on the matter would be extremely helpful.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @Miss _Malice!

From what I can see is that you have 2 internal hard drives in your system, is that right? (Disk 1 and Disk 2)
According to your Disk Management, you basically have access to just 259,79 GB of your ovarall capacity because all the black bars on the other volumes indicate that the space is Unallocated - which means that it's not partitioned and cannot be accessed. If you wish to use more space on your computer, you should definitely consider allocating the space. Here's an article from MS that explains How to extend a basic volume and here's a tutorial from our KB that can guide through the process of Partitioning & formatting your drives.

Keep in mind that backing up your data somewhere else beforehand is ESSENTIAL when configuring your storage. Since your My Passport is currently inaccessible, try using another backup device or cloud storage.

In the mean time, you could also try:
- Reverting those Windows 10 updates and going back to a previous state of the OS when the WD My Passport was working properly.
- You should also make sure you have the latest USB hub controller drivers from your motherboard/computer manufacturer's official website.
- Make sure that the external is working properly on another computer

When you scroll down the Disk Management, can you see a Disk 3 or any removable media devices?

SuperSoph_WD

 

[Miss_Malice]

Hey there again, @Miss _Malice!

From what I can see is that you have 2 internal hard drives in your system, is that right? (Disk 1 and Disk 2)
According to your Disk Management, you basically have access to just 259,79 GB of your ovarall capacity because all the black bars on the other volumes indicate that the space is Unallocated - which means that it's not partitioned and cannot be accessed. If you wish to use more space on your computer, you should definitely consider allocating the space. Here's an article from MS that explains How to extend a basic volume and here's a tutorial from our KB that can guide through the process of Partitioning & formatting your drives.

Keep in mind that backing up your data somewhere else beforehand is ESSENTIAL when configuring your storage. Since your My Passport is currently inaccessible, try using another backup device or cloud storage.

In the mean time, you could also try:
- Reverting those Windows 10 updates and going back to a previous state of the OS when the WD My Passport was working properly.
- You should also make sure you have the latest USB hub controller drivers from your motherboard/computer manufacturer's official website.
- Make sure that the external is working properly on another computer

When you scroll down the Disk Management, can you see a Disk 3 or any removable media devices?

SuperSoph_WD

I only have 1 internal hard dive on my system (disk 0) which wasn't shown in my screen shot. Disk 1 and Disk 2 are my external hard drives that I'm attempting to get running again.
I've attempted several different ways to extend the basic volume of Disk 1, but when I try, these prompts pop up:

And when I click "yes":

I've tried extending the basic volume this way as well as with diskpart, but neither works.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

I'd suggest you try right-clicking the My Passport volume and see what options you are given, @Miss _Malice.
You should try Changing the drive letter assignment on the WD My Passport. Follow the hyperlink to our knowledge base article that explains this procedure in details.
Make sure you select the WD Passport, doing this on an internal HDD could erase all the data.

If you manage to access your files then, make sure you back them somewhere else as well immediately.

Let me know how it goes.
SuperSoph_WD