External Drive is being impossible

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Avivius - Apr 17, 2015 at 10:57 AM
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 - Apr 18, 2015 at 01:41 PM
Hello,
My external drive (a 500 GB WD My Passport) recently started acting up. It freezes anything I seem to click or try to use and it won't unfreeze until I unplug the HD (tested this while letting the PC try to unfreeze overnight). Whenever I plug the HD it does not show up in My Computer, but I can see in the Device Manager that it does recognize my HD is plugged in because it pops up a USB Mass Storage Device on the list.

Another thing is that whenever I unplug the HD windows pops a message saying my HD needs to be formatted and even includes the hard drive letter it used to assign my drive (in this case, H:). All of these symptoms appear on my laptop as well. I have tried other storage devices I own with both my PC and laptop - works perfectly fine.

I don't mind wiping the HD clean but I'd like to avoid it if possible. Does anyone here have a possible solution for me?

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1 response

xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824
Apr 17, 2015 at 01:03 PM
My best guess is that your hard disk has failed. Some WD external drives can be be replaced by either laptop or desktop drives. It's worth a try to pry open the case and see if the drive simply plugs into the USB electronics.

Good luck
I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand. Do mean I should remove the plastic cover and plug it like a small flash drive?I can't do that since my PC does not have USB 3.0 ports.
If that's not what you meant, would you mean elaborating?
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824 > Avivius
Apr 17, 2015 at 02:46 PM
An external hard drive has two main components:
1. a USB interface (either USB 2 or USB 3)
2. a physical hard drive

I think your physical hard drive has failed.
Some older WD external drives have hard drives that can be unplugged and replace with a standard 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 inch hard drive. The newer WD drives may have the drive soldered to the USB interface.
Then what do you suggest I do? Can I send my HD to be fixed or is it rendered useless now?
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824 > Avivius
Apr 18, 2015 at 01:41 PM
I suggest you buy a new drive.

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