My Book Essential 3TB wont stay available on W7

WD External and Portable SSD External SSD for Windows
1

Hi All,

I would appreciate some help, this has been going on since new.

Using W7, once I do manage to get the drive to be available, on re-start etc the drive disappears, no longer available. Can scan for hardware changes, no joy.

Why wont this thing stay installed ??

Appreciate to hear if anybody else has had the same problem, and how can it be fixed.

Thanks,

Paul

2

It sounds like a cabling or power issue.

Have you tried the usual suggestions like:

  • try a different USB port
  • try a different USB cable
  • plug the power adaptor directly into the wall instead of into a power strip
3

I have he same problem. Whenever my computer restarts there is no WD drive recognized. I have tried different ports ( I have 2 USB 3.0 ports - makes no difference. I have to power off the drive, unplug the USB cable,  power up the drive plug in the USB cable and the drive gets recognized. It sounds like a bad implementation of USB3.0 on the WD drive.(or a bad SES driver)

By the way - this is a BRAND NEW COMPUTER and A BRAND NEW WD 1TB  “MY BOOK ESSENTIAL”

                      The Smartware [Deleted]. I purchased NovaBackupPro - it at least backs up your entire system (system state files)!

I have an older WD external drive running Firewire, I have NEVER had 1 problem with it!

4

Hi RoofingGuy thanks for the reply.

I unplugged, and used a different USB3 port, disconnected power, gave it a wall socket too…no difference in the issue.

I have yet to buy/try a new USB3 lead, would you agree this is unlikely given that it is new, never moved etc.

I will try it but.

Updated the WD Smartware too, it says it is the latest version.

5

Well, stranger things have happened… it could have just shipped with a bad cable.

I was just going through the usual tests, since it sounds like the signal path is getting interrupted.  Once all the obvious culprits are eliminated, it makes finding and dealing with the problem easier.

And if the problem ends up being the drive itself, Tech Support is pretty much going to ask you to try all those first, so you might as well get them out of the way now. :wink:  Then you would be able to tell them “I’ve done this and this and this and this and this…”

6

I’ve spent over 20 Hours fricking around with the drive! I’ve worked with computers and all sorts of relate peripherals for around 35 years; so I some idea of what to look for/test.

I’ve reformatted the drive, used different USB3 ports, updated the SES(USB3) driver, reinstalled the SES driver. Removed the SmartWare software (which, when loaded, constantly monitors the drive). The FIRST time you power on and connect the USB3 cable the system recognizes it. The  WIN 7 Disk manager recognizes a USB drive but fails to assign a Drive letter; susbsequently no sofware can “see” it. I manually assigned a drive letter and it worked UNTIL THE NEXT REBOOT/RESTART!!!  You have to go through the whole process again!

  1. Smart ware **bleep**!; bigtime.

  2. The WDC implementation of USB3.0 is flawed/buggy. (Made in Thailand?)

  3. I have an older WDC Passport running on Firewire - for 10 years I have had NOT A SINGLE PROBLEM (made in USA).

  4. There is an obvious design flaw in the “My Book Essential” series.

  5. SOLUTION:  I have returned the unit to the seller for a refund. It’s a piece [Deleted]

7

I’m starting to wonder if all the USB 3.0, 3 TB MyBooks have problems.  Mine will only work as a USB 2.0 device, despite being plugged in a USB 3.0 port. 

Initially, I suspected my USB 3.0 card wasn’t working.  Having now read several reports of various problems with the USB 3.0 MyBook Essential, I’m not so sure it’s my USB 3.0 ports that are faulty.

I have more USB 3.0 gear on the way, including a spare cable, so I should find out soon where the problem truly lies.

update:
I put the 3 TB drive in a new USB 3.0/eSATA enclosure.  Guess what, it works as a USB 3.0 device now.  Apparently, there was some problem with the MyBook enclosure, or possibly the USB 3.0 cable included with it.