Western Digital external drive not recognized

[ixthatguyxi93]

ok, so i have a 640GB WESTERN DIGITAL EXTERNAL ELEMENTS HARD DRIVE, the computer (running 32-bit windows 7 home premium) recognises it with the "du-du" sound when it is plugged in, BUT. wond tecognise it in "My computer" it shows up in the "device management list" but i cannot Manualy change the drive letter, the option isnt even there. i want the data off of it, it is not under warranty. anybody have any ideas for me to try?

 

[Leeky]

Was it previously recognised, but won't now?

Some more information about how it happened would be handy, as that will help diagnose any problems.

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

not sure how it happened, it worked ealier before, as i have data on the hard drive, but all of a sudden wont recognise it? im usually pretty good with computers, but this has set me back a little n i have absolutely no idea wat do do, ive even tried taking it out of the case and pluging it straight into the motherboard with a SATA cable, n if i do that, it dosent even recognise it in the device manager.

 

[Leeky]

Did you remove the USB cable while it was transfering data?

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

nope, i make sure i use the :remove device safely" method and make sure any program that is usin it is closed down first.

 

[Leeky]

I would say either the partition (with the data is corrupt), or its suffering with a mechanical failure of some kind, especially if the problem is the same when physically plugged into the SATA port of your computer.

I'd rather not speculate though, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who'll be able to offer more assistance than I have.

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

hmm yer, i wasnt to sure after it culdnt readf it after direct input through a SATA cable, thanks anyways

 

[Archean]

Download TestDisk, and run it to see whether it can fix the issue (provided it is related to partition being damaged).

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

the test disk dosent find the drive either?
thats a bit strange

 

[Archean]

If you directly attach the drive with a SATA connector on motherboard's port, does it get recognized in the BIOS?

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

nope. it dosent

 

[Archean]

If you have another PC try attaching it to that (just to make sure that it really is dead) and see whether it get recognized or not. Also ensure that data/power cables are correctly seated. Regards

 

[ixthatguyxi93]

it dsnt work in any other computers. all cables are in properly

 

[Archean]

I'm afraid then you need to RMA it, if its still in warranty.

 

[timbo]

I have the same problem with a WD elements... hard drive connects, light comes on but it does not show in my computer or explorer, on occasions it shows up in device manager, but it says it is not initialised, if I try and initialise it it errors and says incorrect function.
I have reinstalled the USB drivers, checked cables, tried in other computer (get exactly the same problem).

Have had problems with the hard drive for a little over a month, but it never completely died until now...When I connected in the past sometimes it would reconnect and disconnect itself continuosly and tell me it needed formatting... instead of formatting I turned it off, took out all of the cables and left the computer off for 30 mins before rebooting and plugging the hd back in, error fixed and it worked perfectly for the next three weeks until now...

I'd say I wasted my money on this hardrive....unless anyone has other solutions?

 

[Archean]

I don't know it applies to your situation or not, I've been using WD Passport drives for a while now, without much issues. Well except one, few months ago whenever I'd attach the drive to PC it would disappear in few minutes or wouldn't get recognized, anyway, the long and the short of it ...... it turned out that the connector in the HDD itself was causing it, as it has somehow become 'loose' and won't let data cable sit properly, as you can imagine getting that connector replaced wasn't an easily solution ......... so I came up with a simple plan, i.e. I glued a small piece of tissue paper on the cable connector before shoving it in HDD, problem solved, though there is a downside to it, and that is now I have the data cable attached permanently so I don't have go through this hassle again ...... that is a lazy man's fix I'd say

Anyway, I forgot to share it earlier but just in case may be even its a one in a million chance if it is the same for you.