I was in the middle of saving files to my external drive, but the save failed and the drive disappeared from Windows Explorer and Device Manager. I cannot get it to reconnect.
it’s a 1 TB drive, a couple years old.
Sounds like either a power surge or a power failure. Can you feel the drive spinning at when you connect it?
Bill,
Yes, I can feel it spinning. The light is on (solidly, not blinking) and I can hear it ‘clicking’.
Joe
If it’s a loud, regular, consistent clicking, then the drive most likely failed. What kind of external drive is it? Also, have you tried it on another pc, or used another cable to connect it to you pc, etc.?
If it’s in warranty, still, you can get it replaced. However, if you don’t have a backup of the data on the drive, then you’re looking at sending it to data recovery if you need the data.
It’s a MyPassport. It isn’t clicking loudly – just the very faint sound a drive makes when it’s accessing/trying to access data.
I have not tried it on another PC or with another cable. I’ll do that. But yes, I need the data – it’s my complete backup.
Joe
Hay friend thankyou so much to make me already join here
Please keep in mind that a backup is not a backup until it’s a copy of data you have elsewhere. You must have at least two copies of your data for it to be backed up.
Bill, I’ve finally had more time to play with the drive to try to troubleshoot. According to the device manager, under “WD Drive Management devices”, the device is working properly and the drivers are up to date. I just can’t get it to show up as a drive.
I’m on driver 1.1.0.0 (10/9/2015). Is that actually the latest? Should I try disabling the drive or uninstalling and reinstalling the driver?
Just trying to figure out stuff to attempt… Appreciate your advice.
No, that’s not it. I would check to see if it shows up in Disk Management, not Device Management (they’re both in Computer Management). If it does show up, then it’s probable that when your data transfer failed you may have corrupted the file structure. You can try looking online for data recovery software that will restore the file structure. Then I would pull the data off the drive and then use our WD Drive Utilities software to see if the drive is still good.
I would make sure that your cable is good and that it’s not longer than 18inches. I would also not connect the drive to a hub. Connect it directly to the pc.
I have the same problem. The PC does not see the drive (My book Essential) or sees the drive and does not see the contents (files). The LED shines continuously, once blinking. I hear the drive is working but it kind of knocking. The same symptoms on two laptops (windows 7 and windows 10) and two cables. WD smart ware hangs.
Please help.
Hard drive was dead that tou had to send it to DR company for help
