Everything is gone. Again. All files vanished for no reason whatsoever

WD External and Portable SSD Portable SSD
1

So here’s a neat story.

I spent a ton of my hard-earned money on this 3TB WD “My Passport Ultra” external hard drive. Because I had such important files I needed to ensure were safe, I figured it was a worthy investment. Makes sense, right?

About three months ago I tried to play some of the video/music files I’d saved on the passport in Windows Media Player. They didn’t work, as if they didn’t exist. I figured it was just Windows Media Player being stupid, so I looked in my video folder on my external hard drive to check on them. They weren’t there. The entire music folder was empty. I’d spent years collecting music, only for it to vanish in an instant. I can’t begin to tell you how devastated I was. I spent weeks trying to restore my music file data, but it was as if it never even existed. “Show all files” options, restore programs, system backups, looking deep within the bowels of windows programs, you name it. Nothing worked.

I resolved that it was just a fluke, that Windows Media Player was to blame, and moved on. Tried to rebuild the folder again and re-find all my lost music. But I’d never get that music again. Some of that music doesn’t even exist now. They’re literally gone forever. I should’ve known right then and there that it was the storage device. That the storage device was compromised - defective - and I should’ve chucked it in the garbage. Instead, I blamed Windows Media Player and kept using it. Kept storing documents and files on it that were incredibly important to me. Like a fool trusting that such an expensive device couldn’t possibly just randomly delete data like that.

Now, today, it happened again. Only this time, it took everything.

Every folder is missing. Every document is gone. Every file erased from history. The entire passport is wiped clean.

Showing all files didn’t work. System restore/backup didn’t work. Multiple file recovery programs didn’t work. Restarting the computer didn’t work. The best part? It leaves me with the dim hope that the files are still on there somewhere, because the storage space is still at half, where I left it. (1.06 TB free of 1.81 TB). Doing more digging, apparently I’m not the only one having this problem.

Please, for the love of humanity, tell me the WD community - the manufacturers, the distributors, tech support, anyone - has a solution at best, answers at the very least. I’m really trying to compose myself right now, but this is simply unacceptable. You’ve no idea how important those documents were to me. Losing them because of a corrupted device I spent a fortune on is ridiculous.

Running on Windows 10 OS, 64-bit

2

HI,

Did you try changing the USB cable? Or try on another computer? There is a download on MicroSoft [MS] which will troubleshoot the USB hardware and drivers. Search on MS for “USB troubleshooting”.

How did you save the music in the first place? Are you using WD Smartware? WD Smartware copies the files it finds on the computer. If they are deleted from the computer, they are also deleted on the Passport.

Cliff

3

Cliff,

Thanks for replying, and so soon!

Something weird happened after I made my post last night. After I disconnected and reconnected the passport for the third time, all my files returned - well, aside from the giant assortment of music files I’d lost the first time around. I immediately transferred the returned files to another device, but left the original files on the passport. I have no idea what happened, and I’m so glad I got my files back this time, but I still want to figure out this problem because I never want to experience this again.

The passport is in great condition, well taken care of, and the cord/plugs seem secure. I previously reviewed all the drivers (mainly USB controllers) in device manager and couldn’t find a problem. I’m not sure about the USB cable. I haven’t tried changing it. I also haven’t tested the device on another computer. I downloaded the MicroSoft diagnose/repair tool you mentioned, and there was a problem found - it said the USB cannot be disconnected. It said it fixed this problem. Thanks so much for that info.

As for the music files, I saved them using Video Downloader Ultimate software. I have no idea what WD Smartwave is, but I saved the downloaded videos directly to the passport - didn’t transfer them from anywhere in windows or anywhere on the main hard drive. The same with all other files I had - mainly word documents, though also some pictures. I organized everything in folders. I also didn’t delete anything recently on my main hard drive or anywhere anyway, so I don’t think that’s the issue.

Anyway, after downloading the program and fixing the problem, I looked to disconnect the passport through the “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media” icon, but it wasn’t listed there, so I figured the program already disconnected it. I unplugged the passport, waited a bit, came back and plugged it back in. The files are still there and everything seems happy. However, something odd is happening now. Every time I plug in my passport, I have two “My Passport (E:)” icons. One is under “This PC”, and one is on its own beside “This PC”. Like there’s two separate devices I can save stuff to. That wasn’t happening before. Is this normal/ok?

I’m very confused, and still shaken, and seriously paranoid to ever use this device again. But I definitely appreciate the help.

4

Mona, I guess,

Glad to have been a bit of help and that you recovered some of your files.

I’m not familiar with downloader software. I only use my Passport to backup my computer files because with a previous computer the C drive failed and I lost a lot of good files. I had spent hours doing genealogy research and I lost it all, although I do have some paper copies. So now I backup to the Passport using WD Backup which is replacing WD Smartware that came with the Passport.

Do you use the Video Downloader to check the files on the Passport? Is there a possible fault in there? Can you contact someone there?

I’m trying to figure out how you get two icons for the Passport. Where do you see “This PC”; and the Icons? I don’t think there are two devices. I wouldn’t bother about it.

Cliff