On this page, 4 WD My Passport repair tools - Disk Management, CHKDSK, CHKDSK Alternative, and Windows troubleshooter will help you effectively fix cannot access my passport external hard drive error in Windows 10/8/7. If you lost data after repairing inaccessible WD My passport device, download and let EaseUS data recovery software help.
WD My Passport Can't Access
'When I connected my 1TB WD My Passport external hard drive to my desktop, Windows 10 prompts me with an error message saying you need to format the disk before you can use it. I wouldn't do that because data is still there. I tried to eject the drive and reconnected it for the second time, but the error is still there. It seems that I can't access the WD external hard drive nor my data without formatting, can anyone help?'
If you're one of the Western Digital hard drive customers and happen to use the My Passport type, you must be interested in this post. A commonly seen issue with Western Digital My Passport hard drives is that sometimes, you cannot access the drive's data. The typical symptoms are, the power LED is on but the drive is not accessible. Meanwhile, you'll receive error messages like:
- You need to format the disk before you can use it.
- Drive X: is not accessible. Access is denied.
The WD DLG shows the total capacity of the drive, not the remaining free one so this doesn't mean the data is gone. Could you please navigate to Disk Management and see how the drive is seen there. If you post a screenshot of it it would be even more helpful. Can you see the drive on another computer? Find Disk Utility by opening Spotlight (cmd+Space-bar) and start typing Disk Utility, press enter to open the program. Look in the column on the left to see if the hard drive appears there. Open the Start menu, type 'Device Manager,' and press Enter when the option appears. Expand the Disk Drives menu and the Universal Serial Bus menu to see if your external drive appears in either.
Besides the exact error messages, when you check the drive's status, you may see other different signs. For example:
- In Disk Management, The disk 0 or disk 1 shows as unknown, not initialized, or the type of file system is RAW.
- In the drive's properties, the hard drive shows 0 bytes used and 0 bytes free.
How to Access, View or Recover Data from Inaccessible WD External HDD
When WD My Passport shows you an error and you can't access the data, don't worry, as the files can be easily rescued. Just download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover the data from a corrupted or inaccessible drive. It's the top-ranking hard drive recovery software that reduces the worry and risk of losing your data when disk storage devices, such as WD drives, cannot be accessed or opened.
Step 1. Choose the WD hard drive to scan.
Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, locate the Western Digital hard drive and click 'Scan'. Let this program fully scan the WD hard drive and don't stop it in midway.
Step 2. Preview lost files in WD hard drive from the scan result.
You can choose to preview files like pictures, documents, videos or audio files from the scan result in 'Deleted Files', 'Lost Files'. Filter or Search also works to help you find lost WD hard drive files via file types, names and even extensions.
'When I connected my 1TB WD My Passport external hard drive to my desktop, Windows 10 prompts me with an error message saying you need to format the disk before you can use it. I wouldn't do that because data is still there. I tried to eject the drive and reconnected it for the second time, but the error is still there. It seems that I can't access the WD external hard drive nor my data without formatting, can anyone help?'
If you're one of the Western Digital hard drive customers and happen to use the My Passport type, you must be interested in this post. A commonly seen issue with Western Digital My Passport hard drives is that sometimes, you cannot access the drive's data. The typical symptoms are, the power LED is on but the drive is not accessible. Meanwhile, you'll receive error messages like:
- You need to format the disk before you can use it.
- Drive X: is not accessible. Access is denied.
The WD DLG shows the total capacity of the drive, not the remaining free one so this doesn't mean the data is gone. Could you please navigate to Disk Management and see how the drive is seen there. If you post a screenshot of it it would be even more helpful. Can you see the drive on another computer? Find Disk Utility by opening Spotlight (cmd+Space-bar) and start typing Disk Utility, press enter to open the program. Look in the column on the left to see if the hard drive appears there. Open the Start menu, type 'Device Manager,' and press Enter when the option appears. Expand the Disk Drives menu and the Universal Serial Bus menu to see if your external drive appears in either.
Besides the exact error messages, when you check the drive's status, you may see other different signs. For example:
- In Disk Management, The disk 0 or disk 1 shows as unknown, not initialized, or the type of file system is RAW.
- In the drive's properties, the hard drive shows 0 bytes used and 0 bytes free.
How to Access, View or Recover Data from Inaccessible WD External HDD
When WD My Passport shows you an error and you can't access the data, don't worry, as the files can be easily rescued. Just download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover the data from a corrupted or inaccessible drive. It's the top-ranking hard drive recovery software that reduces the worry and risk of losing your data when disk storage devices, such as WD drives, cannot be accessed or opened.
Step 1. Choose the WD hard drive to scan.
Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, locate the Western Digital hard drive and click 'Scan'. Let this program fully scan the WD hard drive and don't stop it in midway.
Step 2. Preview lost files in WD hard drive from the scan result.
You can choose to preview files like pictures, documents, videos or audio files from the scan result in 'Deleted Files', 'Lost Files'. Filter or Search also works to help you find lost WD hard drive files via file types, names and even extensions.
Step 3. Select and restore found WD hard drive files.
Choose the wanted files you'd like to restore and click 'Recover' them. Do not save the data to the original WD drive in case of further data overwriting.
How to Repair Not Accessible WD My Passport External Hard Drive
As explained, you cannot access an external hard drive for many reasons, for most of the time, the consequence results from either a hard drive connection problem or hard drive self corruption.
So, when you cannot open a connected drive as usual in Windows 10/8.1/8/7, first look over the data cable, is it loose? Data cables can degrade over time from bending and flexing. The connectors can get bent or the internal pins may corrode from contact with contaminates. To check the data cable, you can:
- Use a different data port
- Use a different data cable
- Use a different computer, if possible
Next, proceed with WD My Passport repair tools as recommended here if the data cable is perfectly intact.
What are the WD My Passport repair tools?
You can feel free to use many Windows inbuilt programs as perfect WD My Passport repair tools, including Windows Disk Management, Windows CHKDSK Comand Prompt, and Windows Troubleshooter. They are all supposed to tackle hardware device problems of not recognizing, not detecting, not working or not reading, etc. Make sure that you've extracted the data from the inaccessible drive with the help of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard before the repair process. This is the most guaranteed way to protect data from permanently gone.
1. Windows Disk Management
It's for performing a quick format, to solve most of the hard drive corruption problems, such as the file system is RAW. When a hard drive turns to RAW, it's not seen in the File Explorer, and it's a good idea to check if it's showing in the Disk Management. Otherwise, you need to convert the RAW external hard drive to NTFS or FAT32 so that Windows can read your WD My Passport normally.
Step 1: In Windows 10/8.1/8/7, press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box, type diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
Step 2: Right-click on the WD My Passport external hard drive, you'll see a context menu of many options, among which choose 'Format'.
Step 3: Follow the onscreen wizard. Choose a proper file system and complete the process of fixing a not accessible WD My Passport external hard drive with Disk Management.
If the issue persists, try changing the drive letter by following the steps below and check again.
Step 1: Choose 'Change Drive Letter and Paths..' this time.
Wd External Hard Drive Troubleshooting
Step 2: Among 'Add, Change, and Remove', click the 'Change' button, and then select a drive letter from the list. Click 'OK' to assign a new drive letter to the WD My Passport.
2. Windows CHKDSK Command Prompt
When hard drive becomes inaccessible and access denied, it's because bad sectors grew. To check and repair bad sectors that prevent users from accessing hard drive data, the CHKDSK command is a good choice. If you want to check for errors or repair the hard drive, always try the below command.
Step 1: In Windows 10/8.1/8/7, press Windows + X keys to bring up a context menu, and choose Command Prompt (Admin).
Step 2: Type chkdsk H: /f /r and hit enter.
H represents the drive letter of your WD My Passport external hard drive. Replace it with the correct drive letter of your own drive.
If you don't have any technical know-how and want to minimize data risks, using third-party software could be a better choice. The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.
EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.
To fix file system error or disk error:
Step 1: DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for Free and install it.
Step 2: Open the software and select the 'File showing' option.
Step 3: Choose the drive and wait for repairing. After the operation completes, click the 'View' button to check the drive.
3. Windows Troubleshooter
This troubleshooter checks for common issues and makes sure that any new device or hardware attached to your computer was installed correctly.
Step 1: In Windows 10/8.1/8/7, press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box, and type control and hit Enter to open the Control Panel.
Step 2: Find Troubleshooting and click in.
Step 3: Click 'View all' on the left pane.
Step 4: Find and run 'Hardware and Devices'. Follow the onscreen instruction to til the end.
Many users complained that their external hard drives are connected but not showing on computer or File Explorer the Windows 10/8/7. Some reported that the USB or external hard drive is not showing up on My Computer or File Explorer but showing in Disk Management. Others said that external hard drive shows in device manager but not disk management. To fix these external hard drive issues, this troubleshooting post will be helpful for you.
Case 1: External hard drive shows up in disk management but not file explorer
You may experience that your USB or external drive has been connected to the computer, but it is not showing in File Explorer or My Computer, but shows in Disk Management instead. Under this situation, it will be regarded as an unknown disk and shows the capacity to be 2048 GB in the Disk Management. To fix the problem, please try following methods.
Tip: If your external hard drive shows in device manager but not disk management, you can directly move to the case 2.
1. Assign a Drive Letter to the USB/Hard Drive
Sometimes, the drive might not have been assigned a drive letter by Windows so that USB or external hard drive cannot show on File Explorer but in Disk Management. In this case, you can try to assign a drive letter to the USB or external hard drive in Disk Management.
STEP 1. Navigate to 'Control Panel'> 'System and Security'> 'Administrative Tools'.
STEP 2. Choose 'Computer Management'. Provide an administrative passcode, if asked.
STEP 3. In Disk Management, find out the unlabeled hard drive and right-click on it to choose 'Change drive letter and paths..' Telecharger pubg pc gratuit windows 7.
STEP 4. Click 'Add'> 'OK' to pick out the available drive letter.
STEP 5. If the drive letter does not show on the drive, check if the drive is offline. If it is, right-click the disk number and select Online. And then, follow the instructions again.
NOTE:
If you can't finish the operation in Disk Management, you are able to run 'cmd' to change or assign the drive letter.
Open Command Prompt. (CMD) and type 'diskpart'.
At the DISKPART prompt, enter 'list volume'. ( mark down the number of the simple volume whose drive letter you want to assign)
At the DISKPART prompt, enter 'select volume n[volume's number]' (Select the volume whose drive letter you want to assign)
At the DISKPART prompt, enter 'assign letter=N' (N stands for the drive letter you want to assign)
2. Make sure that the hard drive is enabled and online
Make sure the hard drive is enabled
If the drive has been disabled, the disk will be invisible in File Explorer. When the disk is disabled, follow the steps below to Enable it:
STEP 1. Press 'Windows'+ 'R' on the keyboard to activate run box.
STEP 2. Type 'devmgmt.msc' on the run box to open 'Device Manager'.
STEP 3. If a drive is disabled, the disk drive will be marked with a down arrow. Locate the hard drive you want to enable.
STEP 4. Right-click on it and choose 'Properties'> 'View'tab.
STEP 5. Click on 'Enable Device' button > 'OK'.
STEP 6. After that, check if the down arrow is still there.
Make sure that the drive is online
Sometimes, an external hard drive connected but not showing because the drive is offline. To be detected by Windows, you can follow steps below to check the current status of the disk.
Go to 'Control Panel'> 'System and Security'> 'Administrative Tools'.
Choose 'Computer Management', and locate your disk in 'Disk Management'.
Right-click on it and select 'Online'.
Wd External Drive Fix
3. Update drivers for USB or external hard drive
When your USB/external drive does not show on file explorer on Windows 10/8/7, you can try to update its driver in Device Manager. As we know, an update is created to fix some glitches for the previous version so as to make USB or external drive showing on My computer again.
STEP 1. Press 'Windows'key + 'R'and enter 'devmgmt.msc' on the run box.
Wd External Hard Drive Fix
STEP 2. Open 'Device Manager'> Click the 'Scan for hardware changes' icon on the menu.
STEP 3. Right-click on the inaccessible USB/external hard drive and choose 'Update Driver Software..'.
STEP 4. After the update is finished, restart your PC and check if the device is accessible.
4. Recover data from hard drive that is not showing
When external hard drive issue occurs, an external hard drive is not showing files though they still exist. If any important data is in the USB/external hard drive when external hard drive shows up in Disk Management but not File Explorer, you can employ data recovery to retrieve your data before formatting it. Here we highly recommend you FonePaw Data Recovery which is capable of recovering data from USB/ external hard drive, supporting Window 10/8/7. To recover data from hard drive, you just need few simple steps.
Download
STEP 1. Run FonePaw Data Recovery, and then, select the file types you need.
STEP 2. Next, click on 'Scan' button after selecting your USB/external drive.
STEP 3. Select out the files you want to recover.
STEP 4. Finally, click on 'Recover' button to finish data recovery.
STEP 5. After that, you can keep on formatting your inaccessible USB/external hard drive.
Case 2: External hard drive shows up in Device Manager but not Disk Management or File Explorer
Unlike case 1, USB or external hard drive sometimes is invisible in File Explorer or Disk Management, but it can be detected in Device Manager, for example, an external HDD won't show up in explorer, but it shows in Device Manager. To fix the issue, several methods can be listed below.
1. Make sure the USB or external hard drive is available. If it is not showing up in Disk Management or File Explorer, you can try to plug it into other USB port of your computer. What's more, you can connect your external drive to other computers to check if it works.
2. Partition and format the external hard drive.
Go to 'Computer Management'. > Right-click on black bar of the invisible drive to choose 'New Partition..'> Follow the instruction to finish the Partition.
Right-click on the drive and select 'Format'.
3. Disable and re-enable the USB controller.
Navigate to 'Device Manager'. > Find 'Unknown USB Device' and right-click on it. > Choose 'Uninstall'.
After restarting your PC, enable the USB controller again.
Now, your issue - external hard drive not showing Windows 10/8/7 has been resolved. To manage the data on USB/external hard drive, read here:
