Uh Oh, looks like my WD Passport has died.

[giddyup]

Tried to add some files to My Passport but it doesn't show up on my PC, no matter which USB port I use. How am I going to recover files?

[rvaviator]

You have tried the obvious - Different USB port ?  Different computer.  Does it spin up or make no sound ?

[stubuzz]

How old is it?

[giddyup]

28 minutes ago, rvaviator said:

You have tried the obvious - Different USB port ?  Different computer.  Does it spin up or make no sound ?

it does make some noise when first plugged in, but then stops.

[giddyup]

16 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

How old is it?

A few years, why will that help fix it?

[rvaviator]

5 minutes ago, giddyup said:

it does make some noise when first plugged in, but then stops.

A long shot ... maybe your USB port 5V is not good .. problem with the USB computer power source to the drive ...  Try a different computer if you can .. Is it used with a laptop or desktop ?

[stubuzz]

4 minutes ago, giddyup said:

A few years, why will that help fix it?

Hard drives have a life span, so It gives a good indication of its condition. I believe the WD passport has a 3 year limited warranty.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Try to find it using this:

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/22251/find-your-missing-usb-drive-in-windows-7-vista/

[recom273]

I know you aren’t going to like this .. get a Synology NAS, along with 3 drives and you will never look back.
I know you like to download TV and movies, they integrate with your TV, no more time wasted moving files to USB, no more time stressing over when a mobile HDD that <deleted> out in the humidity.
 

Have you tried wrapping the HDD in plastic and putting it in the freezer, worked for me. Sometimes it’s worth cracking the case open and using a SATA to usb connector, this has never worked for me.

[giddyup]

12 hours ago, rvaviator said:

A long shot ... maybe your USB port 5V is not good .. problem with the USB computer power source to the drive ...  Try a different computer if you can .. Is it used with a laptop or desktop ?

Tried different ports plus doesn't work plugged into TV either.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 Options:

a) Disk defect

b) Electronic (box), cable, etc. defect

 

If a) then it gets difficult to expensive to impossible to get your data back

If b) put the disk in a new case or ask a shop to do that. It's easy.

Here is a sample:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/external-hard-drive-case-enclosure-transparent-25-inch-sata-to-usb-30-hard-drive-ssd-enclosure-hdd-case-support-max-2tb-tool-free-design-with-free-usb-30-cable-i434302920-s812638814.html

 

 

 

 

[MJKT2014]

14 hours ago, giddyup said:

How am I going to recover files?

From your back up copy?

[Eindhoven]

1 hour ago, recom273 said:

I know you aren’t going to like this .. get a Synology NAS, along with 3 drives and you will never look back.
I know you like to download TV and movies, they integrate with your TV, no more time wasted moving files to USB, no more time stressing over when a mobile HDD that <deleted> out in the humidity.
 

Have you tried wrapping the HDD in plastic and putting it in the freezer, worked for me. Sometimes it’s worth cracking the case open and using a SATA to usb connector, this has never worked for me.

 

You won't even need an NAS if you have a SeedBox. Stream directly from most devices without the need for hard drive storage at all.

Of course if you are there for the long term, having a RAID array can have it's uses.

 

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, MJKT2014 said:

From your back up copy?

A backup of a backup?

[giddyup]

37 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

2 Options:

a) Disk defect

b) Electronic (box), cable, etc. defect

 

If a) then it gets difficult to expensive to impossible to get your data back

If b) put the disk in a new case or ask a shop to do that. It's easy.

Here is a sample:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/external-hard-drive-case-enclosure-transparent-25-inch-sata-to-usb-30-hard-drive-ssd-enclosure-hdd-case-support-max-2tb-tool-free-design-with-free-usb-30-cable-i434302920-s812638814.html

 

 

 

What does putting into a new case accomplish? I really don't know.

[johng]

I think the Western digital MyPassport drives  use a proprietary  SATA to USB connector  but its still worth taking the enclosure apart to check  on the slim chance they went back to using regular SATA  then the enclosure suggested above could work...but then there is another possible problem in that the original enclosure  was doing "encryption on the fly"

wd Mybook encryption 1002.pdf

 

[MJKT2014]

13 minutes ago, giddyup said:

What does putting into a new case accomplish?

Different hardware? I had a WD passport stop on me like you a while back. I pried open the case and put the disk in another adapter to USB port and it still didn't work. I then put the disk in a bay on a computer directly connected to the PC motherboard, and the drive worked again. I recovered all the data and as the disc was already over 3 years old I trashed it.

[maxpower]

32 minutes ago, giddyup said:

A backup of a backup?

If your failed drive was a backup then buy a new drive and make a new backup from the originals.

 

A backup of a backup = three copies.

[maxpower]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

put the disk in a new case or ask a shop to do that. It's easy.

Unfortunately most WD Passport drives have the USB interface built onto the drive controller board. A specialist data recovery procedure can bypass failed interface components and access the SATA interface directly. 

[4evermaat]

10 minutes ago, MJKT2014 said:

From your back up copy?

You mean from the backup that everyone should have but usually do not have?

 

--

 

Failed hard drives are expensive to recover from, with little guarantee of successful recovery.   The best you can hope for is that you buy a new hard drive and keep trying to get old one to connect (different sata to USB3 connector and/or different computer).

 

Once the old one connects successfully, you have the new one (or space on the computer hard drive) to copy the contents.    DO NOT disconnect the old drive until you have copied all of the contents over.

[Daffy D]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

2 Options:

a) Disk defect

b) Electronic (box), cable, etc. defect

 

If a) then it gets difficult to expensive to impossible to get your data back

If b) put the disk in a new case or ask a shop to do that. It's easy.

Here is a sample:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/external-hard-drive-case-enclosure-transparent-25-inch-sata-to-usb-30-hard-drive-ssd-enclosure-hdd-case-support-max-2tb-tool-free-design-with-free-usb-30-cable-i434302920-s812638814.html

 

 

 

 

I bought a couple of those, not for any recovery just as an easy swap for drives. 

 

Tried them with 3 different SSD, didn't work for me.  

[tomazbodner]

Possibly your USB port doesn't provide enough power. It's possible to get a Y cable that adds additional power socket so power comes from 2 sources but data only goes to one port. Symptom is when it powers up, the light blinks and you hear "clicking sound" like it's trying to start motor but keeps stopping and parking the head.

If it's not that, it may be hard. To run any kind of recovery at home you must at least be able to get the disk powered up and mount.

Alternative is to get professional recovery company to recover data from platters. But note that costs an arm and a leg, which is generally only done by companies that are willing to fork out to recover data that is priceless. Not sure you'd want to go that way unless you're millionaire.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, giddyup said:

What does putting into a new case accomplish? I really don't know.

For many external drives there are two parts. The disk drive like it is used internally in computers. And another part with electronics for the USB connection.

 

It is possible that the actual drive is ok but the electronic (in the case) has a problem or maybe a cable is broken. In that case if you put the disk into another case then you can use it again.

 

I did this with several external disks successfully. I don't know if this is possible with all or only some WD models.

[tomazbodner]

Actually on recovery... I did this before but it was just sheer luck that it worked...

 

Formatter plate on hard disk (3.5" one) died and I bought identical drive and swapped the formatters. Now note that companies revise designs constantly so getting one that is identical might be tough especially as it's enclosed in plastic case and a few years old - buying new one now would nearly certainly be differently designed. Maybe buying second hand one if you think issue is with platter.

 

It's still quite a delicate procedure, depending on how platter attaches to the head/motor.

 

There may be shops (or at least used to be in Pantip plaza in Bangkok) that could do recovery. Never used them though.

[tomazbodner]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

For many external drives there are two parts. The disk drive like it is used internally in computers. And another part with electronics for the USB connection.

 

It is possible that the actual drive is ok but the electronic (in the case) has a problem or maybe a cable is broken. In that case if you put the disk into another case then you can use it again.

 

I did this with several external disks successfully. I don't know if this is possible with all or only some WD models.

Most of USB drives from WD of the last 10 years are not IDE/SATA drives with adapter to USB. They have USB port directly on the formatter so you can NOT put them into an enclosure like that SATA to USB anyway as there's no SATA port on them, Agree, that's likely not going to be of any use and would only waste OP's money.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, tomazbodner said:

Actually on recovery... I did this before but it was just sheer luck that it worked...

 

Formatter plate on hard disk (3.5" one) died and I bought identical drive and swapped the formatters. Now note that companies revise designs constantly so getting one that is identical might be tough especially as it's enclosed in plastic case and a few years old - buying new one now would nearly certainly be differently designed. Maybe buying second hand one if you think issue is with platter.

 

It's still quite a delicate procedure, depending on how platter attaches to the head/motor.

 

There may be shops (or at least used to be in Pantip plaza in Bangkok) that could do recovery. Never used them though.

That is specialist work and if a non-professional tries it then there is a good chance that he f$#$#s it up completely and then there is no chance of recovery anymore.

[tomazbodner]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

That is specialist work and if a non-professional tries it then there is a good chance that he f$#$#s it up completely and then there is no chance of recovery anymore.

Absolutely agree. In fact stated that there are many things that can go wrong, and that this is a very delicate procedure. In this regard Seagate which assembles like Legos is much easier. Micro soldering is not fun unless you have robot steady hands and vision of an eagle (or very good magnifying glass with illumination).

[transam]

Download this tester....Seatools for Windows, checks out the hard drive(s) for problems.

[Daffy D]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Download this tester....Seatools for Windows, checks out the hard drive(s) for problems.

Don't think it will help if the drive is not recognized  

[transam]

1 minute ago, Daffy D said:

Don't think it will help if the drive is not recognized  

I have different make drives, it recognises and even prints its name on screen....