I did what was suggested by G_Rayn, above, but unfortunately the results were the same as before. Here is the problem in more detail, including what I’ve already done:
The computer (HP Pavilion Elite e9280t, 16 GB RAM, Windows 10 64-bit system) was backed up using WD Backup. I first followed the instructions that came with the My Passport drive - downloading WD Backup from the link provided by the WD Discovery software that came with the drive. During the backup, I saw a message saying “preparing backup.” That message stayed on the screen for about 15 or 20 minutes, then was replaced by a message indicating the time of the last backup and the size of the backup, about 35 GB. No error message appeared on the screen at any time during the process, so I am not able to send you any screen shots of error messages.
However, when I tried to find the files, or any sign that a backup occurred, I could not find any files on the WD drive by looking at the contents of the WD drive in file explorer. I checked the WD drive through the Windows Settings menus, and found that it still indicated the space available was the same amount of space available before the backup. In addition, when I tried to open the “Restore” process to see if the files saved to the WD drive could be locate that way, no files appeared in the field where the files to be restored are supposed to appear. Clearly, there were no files to restore - no files had been saved to the WD drive by the backup process.
Tonight, I deleted the WD Backup software, went to the WD Support site, and downloaded the Windows drivers and the WD Backup version available on the WD site. I tried the backup again. The result was the same as the first attempt. There are no files visible or available or recognizable or discernible on the WD drive after backing up my files, yet the WD Backup software tells me that 35 GB have been backed up. That doesn’t make any sense, and if I can’t use the drive to restore files to my computer, I can’t use it at all.
For now, I have been forced to copy the files to the WD Passport drive by using file explorer and dragging and dropping them to the WD drive. However, I can see that, when I open the “Restore” window, those files I’ve saved to the WD drive do not appear in the field for files that can be restored - so as of now, WD Backup is useless to me. I need to know the following:
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Are the backed up files on the WD drive but invisible to me and invisible to my computer system?
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If the files are on the drive but invisible, where are they and how do I access them for the purpose of restoring them to my computer if necessary?
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If they don’t appear in the “Files to be Restored” field in the Restore function, how can I restore them?
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How will I ever know if a backup is successful if there is no way to see whether the files are on the WD drive? Just because the Backup software says a backup was completed doesn’t mean the files are on the WD drive and are intact and available for restoring.
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Do I have to have a new computer with current Windows 10 drivers from Microsoft in order to use the WD Backup software? Windows does not have drivers for Windows 10 that are specifically made for my eight-year-old computer. Is that the problem?
