How To Fix WD My Passport Hard Drive Not Detected?

Summary: You may encounter the ‘WD My Passport hard drive not detected’ error due to various reasons. In this post, we will discuss some effective workarounds that can help you troubleshoot this issue. If the hard drive is physically damaged, you need to contact a professional data recovery provider to recover the data. Recent Blog

Table of Contents:

1. What is WD My Passport Hard Drive?
2. Common Issues
3. How to Fix WD My Passport Not Detected?
4. Case Study: Recover Data From WD That Is Not Showing
5. If Nothing Works for You
6. In a Nutshell
7. FAQs 

What is Western Digital My Passport Hard Drive?

Western Digital My Passport is one of the most popular choices when it comes to hard drives. Not as expensive as LaCie but with almost the same ruggedness it has been a best seller for several years.

Its appeal lies in:

• WD HDD is a trusted brand and among the top hard drive manufacturers.
• Offers great value for money when compared to SSD.
• Storage from 1 TB to 5 TB.
• The enclosure is made from premium ABS plastic.
• Compact and lightweight.
• Offers backup, password protection, and 256-bit AES encryption.

Western Digital My Passport also offers USB 3.0 connectivity and a built-in WD Backup™ software that facilitates local and cloud backup functionality.

In a nutshell, the WD My Passport external hard drive is an all-in-one portable HDD with all the features and functionalities you seek.

Common Issues

Here are some common reasons why a WD My Passport might not be detected:

1. USB Connection Problems: A faulty or loose USB cable or port can prevent your drive from being recognized. Try using a different cable or port to see if the issue resolves.
2. Driver Conflicts: Outdated or corrupt drivers can interfere with your drive’s detection. Make sure to update or reinstall the necessary drivers.
3. Insufficient Power: The USB port might not provide enough power for the drive. Using a powered USB hub or another port may solve this issue.
4. Physical Damage: Any physical damage to the drive can lead to detection issues. In such cases, you may need to seek professional data recovery services.
5. Compatibility Issues: The drive may not be compatible with the current system setup or OS version. Checking compatibility and ensuring all necessary updates are installed is important.

Now that we’ve covered what the WD My Passport Hard Disk is and its common causes of issues, let’s delve into solutions for fixing the problem of WD My Passport not being detected.

How to Fix WD My Passport Not Detected?

Let’s take a look at some effective methods to resolve this issue.

Methods	Steps
Show All Hidden Devices	Go to search bar > Type devmgmt.msc >
Change the USB Cable/Port	Try different USB cable or USB port >
Change the Drive Letter	Go to search bar > Type “Disk Management” >
Uninstall Drivers	Go to search bar > Type devmgmt.msc >
Change USB Suspend	Go to search bar > Type Control panel

1) Show All Hidden Devices

When you connect the WD My Passport in your computer system and it’s not detected, it might be hidden. To verify it, make all the devices unhidden.

Follow the below steps to unhide the devices on your computer system:

• Type  devmgmt.msc  in the Search bar and hit  Enter .
• In the Device Manager window, navigate to the  View  tab.
• Expand it and select  Show hidden devices .

• Reboot your computer system or restart your computer and check whether the system is detecting your WD My Passport hard drive.

2) Change the USB Cable/Port

You may face the issue if the USB cable is damaged or is not compatible with the respective USB port.

Use a new USB cable to connect WD My Passport. The system might be able to detect it.

Also, try changing the USB port. A laptop typically has at least four ports, and a desktop has six. Though WD My Passport HDD is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 it is better to connect it with USB 3.0 ports. To differentiate from USB 2.0 these are blue in colour.

Also in the case of a desktop, the front and back ports offer a different speed. Connect to a port at the back.

3) Change the Drive Letter

Windows assigns a drive letter to all connected volumes. Changing the drive letter could be a solution to your WD My Passport hard disk not detected.

Follow the below steps to change the drive letter of the WD My Passport hard drive:

• Type  Disk Management  in the search bar and hit  Enter . You can also right-click on Start and select  Disk Management .
• In the Disk Management window, navigate to your connected WD drive, and right-click on it.
• Select  Change Drive Letter and Paths .

Source: www.handyrecovery.com

• Assign a new letter to your WD external drive to show and save the changes.
• Reboot the device.
• Now, check whether it is being detected by the operating system.

4) Uninstall Drivers

There are chances that the WD my passport driver is not updated or has some issues. It could cause the problem WD My Passport hard drive is not detected.

So, to troubleshoot the WD hard disk not detected issue, uninstall the USB drivers. Follow the below steps:

• Type  devmgmt.msc  in the search bar and hit  Enter .
•  Device Manager  will open.
• Navigate to  Disk Drives  and expand it.
• Right-click on WD My Passport. It might be named differently such as USB 3.0 Flash Storage Device or similar.
• Click on  Properties .
• Select  Driver  tab.
• Click  Update Driver .
• In the box that pops up select  Search automatically for drivers .
• If Windows cannot find a driver then go back to the Driver tab and  Uninstall Device .
• Shutdown the device.
• Remove WD My Passport.
• Start the device driver.
• Connect WD My Passport via USB 3.0 cable to a proper USB port.

It might resolve the problem you had, in WD external hard disk.

5) Disable USB Selective Suspend

This feature of Windows works only for laptops. It shuts off power to some ports when the battery is low. This allows essential USB hardware like a mouse to operate but might shut down the mic.

You need to disable this feature to resolve the error in WD external hard drive.

1. Type  Control Panel  in Start bar.

2. Click  Hardware and Sound .

3. Click Recover  Power Options .

4. Change Plan Settings.

5. Select  Advanced Power Settings .

6. Scroll down to  USB settings .

7. There are two types: On Battery and Plugged In disable both

Let’s explore a successful case study where Stellar Data Recovery successfully retrieved data from a WD drive that was not being detected.

Case Study: Recover Data From WD That Is Not Showing

Client: Business Entity

Client City: Delhi

Goal: Recover data from HDD Western Digital that is Not Showing

Method: Recovered Data with the help of Stellar Data Recovery Delhi from Client WD Drive.

Challenges faced by Client :

• The client was having issues accessing any of the data on his WD Hard Drive because of data access issues.
• It was a WD10EXEX-21WN4A
• The client was analyzing bad sectors drive or WD Hard Drive.

Process of Stellar Data Recovery:

• The results of Stellar Data Recovery’s initial research revealed that the WD Hard Drive’s bad sectors were to blame for the data loss.
• The copying is then completed successfully by Stellar Data Recovery by avoiding the problematic WD Hard Drive sector. Then they used Data Recovery Software expertise to scan the copy.
• In order to allow the customer to effectively analyze or check the recovered data, regardless of any potential issues with the file structures or formats, we then granted the client access to the data on a new drive in line with the client’s instructions.

Client Feedback on Our Services: The client was pleased with his vital data and with our data recovery services. Our top-notch services and outstanding quality made this feasible.

Now that we’ve discussed the successful case study, let’s see what you should do if the fixes still don’t resolve your issue with your WD hard disk.

If Nothing Works for You:

If none of the above workarounds work, it indicates that the hard drive is physically damaged. In such a case, seek the help of a professional data recovery services provider for hard drive recovery. If you have a problem with the WD My Passport 1TB hard drive or the WD Passport 2TB hard drive driver being unavailable, these experts can help retrieve your data with 100% safety and integrity.

Choose a data recovery service provider who can examine the WD Hard Drive in the controlled environment of a Class 100 Clean Room lab. Their team will carefully diagnose the issue and, if necessary, replace any faulty components.

In a Nutshell

I hope this blog has helped resolve the issues you were facing with your WD HDD. My advice is to always back up your important data so that if you encounter any errors with your drive in the future, you will have your important data saved on another drive.

If you have a WD My Passport Ultra hard drive and are facing any errors with it, you can read this blog to solve your error: WD My Passport Ultra Not Showing Up in Windows 11

If you would like us to cover specific error fixes in our next topic, let me know in the comments section.

FAQs 

1. How is data recovery possible?

Data recovery is possible by utilizing proprietary algorithms and extensive experience to reconstruct data from remaining fragments, effectively creating a new drive identical to the original. Deleted files may not be erased entirely; instead, their location logs are deleted, allowing skilled engineers to piece together the remaining data.

2. What causes data loss on WD My Passport drives?

Data loss on WD My Passport drives may result from accidental deletion, formatting errors, malware infections, or hardware issues such as disk failure or damage. Regular backups and cautious handling can mitigate these risks.

3. Can I check the health of WD My Passport?

You can use Western Digital drive testing utility from their site. You can also use a third-party app. All of them check for SMART attributes stored inside the disk.

These are self-test measurements that the hard disk does to report its heath. If you take good care of your WD My Passport and do not drop it, there is no reason why it should not last five years.

4. How can I prevent data loss on my WD My Passport drive?

To prevent data loss on your WD My Passport drive, regularly back up your files to another storage device or cloud service, and handle the drive carefully to avoid physical damage or corruption.

5. How quickly can data recovery work?

In case of logically lost data (accidental file deletion or reformatting), the process can take an entire night to work through the whole disk. If only a few essential GBs need to be extracted, it can happen faster.

Hard drive recovery in a lab might take time depending on the issue. Something fundamental such as firmware corruption can be fixed soon, but fixing the access arm might take a while.

6. How much does data recovery cost?

Data recovery costs vary depending on the complexity of the issue and the extent of damage. For instance, resolving issues like a damaged WD My Passport not showing up on a Mac might require a team of engineers spending a week, while simpler problems could be resolved in a day. A preliminary examination is necessary to determine the exact cost.

7. How will the recovered data be sent to me?

Recovered data will be sent to you via a USB pen drive or an external disk. Alternatively, you can provide the device driver, or purchase one if needed, for data transfer.