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External USB Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer

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takeoutmenu Posts 2 Registration date Monday April 13, 2015 Status Member Last seen April 14, 2015 - Apr 13, 2015 at 09:49 PM
R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   - Apr 15, 2015 at 02:18 AM
Hello,
Yesterday, my external HDD was working fine, but when I plug it in to any computer now it won't show up in my File Explorer. My computer makes the spacial plug in sound that you would hear when plugging in any peripheral, and it is also showing up in my Device Manager. However, I don't know where to go from here to make it so where I can manage the files on the drive.

If you know how to fix this, please help me as soon as possible. I have a good amount of important files on my external HDD and I need to get back to them as soon as possible. Thanks!
  • EDIT* It won't show up in the Finder for my Macbook Air either; I haven't tried it with any other computers with Windows installed.


External HDD name: "WD My Passport 0830 USB Device"
OS: Win 8.1
Related:

1 response

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R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   155
Apr 14, 2015 at 02:40 AM
Hi takeoutmenu,

Could you enter in Disk Management and check if the drive is visible there? Does it have a proper drive letter and a file format? Enter Device Manager and uninstall your external, restart the PC and plug the device back in. Windows should reinstall those drivers. Try using another USB cable. If you have valuable data on the drive, try using a Linux Live CD. It might grant you enough access to save your information.
I would recommend you to keep at least two copies of your important data on different devices just to be safe.

Hope this helps

WD Representative
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takeoutmenu Posts 2 Registration date Monday April 13, 2015 Status Member Last seen April 14, 2015
Apr 14, 2015 at 03:59 PM
Hi R2D2_WD,

Like I said, the drive is visible in the disk manager, but when I try to assign a drive letter it does not show up in the terminal. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the disk via the Device Manager and as well as reinstall the drivers but neither has helped. I have also tried using a different USB cable, but it hasn't worked. I'm afraid none of your given solutions have helped.

Thank you anyway.
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R2D2_WD Posts 3606 Registration date Monday September 1, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 20, 2017   155 > takeoutmenu Posts 2 Registration date Monday April 13, 2015 Status Member Last seen April 14, 2015
Apr 15, 2015 at 02:18 AM
Sadly, there is a chance that the drive have failed. Do you see the LED turning on when you connect the device and can you feel the drive spinning? Have you tried using a Linux Live CD in order to save your data? If you try to assign a drive letter through Disk Management, try using the Diskpart command from the Command Prompt. It should look like:
Diskpart
List disk
Select disk N (where N is the number of the drive)
Assign letter =L (or whatever letter you like and is not in use)
https://ccm.net/faq/34271-windows-the-diskpart-command - Some details about the diskpart command.

If you manage to get your data back and your drive has some warranty left, contact the reseller. If the drive has failed, you should get a replacement.
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