WD 500GB External Hard Drive Not Recognized
Tysha'
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Hello everyone,
I'm going to try to describe the problem I'm having with my WD My Book 500GB external hard drive as best as I can...
It has always worked well for several months (when I was on my old PC with XP Media Center), storing music, photos, images, movies... basically everything!
About a month ago, I bought a new PC unit (so with Vista...), and the drive didn't show any particular problems at first...
Except that about 2-3 weeks ago, something strange happened!!
It took a long time to access my files, sometimes it wouldn't respond at all... Then I noticed that some of my photos had become unreadable (at least half of them)... and for the music, it was even worse!! For example, I played an R&B track, but a reggae one was playing instead... (an indexing problem, according to a friend...) so I resigned myself to copying all my data to my internal drive to avoid further file corruption...
I then formatted my WD (switching from FAT32 to NTFS) and put some files back on it to free up space on the internal drive (photos, images, and a few movies)... everything worked well for a few days... but then my PC had trouble detecting it, so I would unplug and replug it or restart, and then it would work again!
After that, my drive was no longer present in "This PC"... but visible in the disk management tool as RAW format.... I barely had time to research this format when the drive was no longer visible in RAW but detected only as an unknown uninitialized disk... So of course, I didn't have time, or even the ability, to recover my data...
I also want to mention that when I plug/unplug my hard drive, I can hear the sound that Windows makes when it recognizes hardware! And the hard drive light comes on!
I also noticed that my hard drive was either freezing or seriously slowing down my PC during startup... (not all the time...)
Desperate, I resigned myself to opening my hard drive to connect it directly to my tower (via SATA) and still it wasn't recognized... Second solution.. a friend lent me his hard drive reader (which connects via USB), and again the same problem... the drive appears in disk management as an unknown uninitialized disk... and when I right-click to initialize, I get this message "incorrect function"
Third solution.. I tested the hard drive on my laptop (also running Vista) and on a friend's PC (running XP) and the problem remains the same!!
Fourth solution.. I downloaded the software from the WD website to analyze the hard drive... and it immediately displayed the following message:
Capacity: 0.00 GB
SMART Status: Not Available
Test Result: FAIL
Test Error Code: 11-Cable Test::Read diagnostics sector error!
I checked the cables... and I connected it directly to my tower... so I have to admit that I am lost and don’t really know what to do...
If anyone has a solution.. I'm all ears!!! I just want to recover my data... the drive, whatever!! I'd rather buy another one...
Thanks in advance
I'm going to try to describe the problem I'm having with my WD My Book 500GB external hard drive as best as I can...
It has always worked well for several months (when I was on my old PC with XP Media Center), storing music, photos, images, movies... basically everything!
About a month ago, I bought a new PC unit (so with Vista...), and the drive didn't show any particular problems at first...
Except that about 2-3 weeks ago, something strange happened!!
It took a long time to access my files, sometimes it wouldn't respond at all... Then I noticed that some of my photos had become unreadable (at least half of them)... and for the music, it was even worse!! For example, I played an R&B track, but a reggae one was playing instead... (an indexing problem, according to a friend...) so I resigned myself to copying all my data to my internal drive to avoid further file corruption...
I then formatted my WD (switching from FAT32 to NTFS) and put some files back on it to free up space on the internal drive (photos, images, and a few movies)... everything worked well for a few days... but then my PC had trouble detecting it, so I would unplug and replug it or restart, and then it would work again!
After that, my drive was no longer present in "This PC"... but visible in the disk management tool as RAW format.... I barely had time to research this format when the drive was no longer visible in RAW but detected only as an unknown uninitialized disk... So of course, I didn't have time, or even the ability, to recover my data...
I also want to mention that when I plug/unplug my hard drive, I can hear the sound that Windows makes when it recognizes hardware! And the hard drive light comes on!
I also noticed that my hard drive was either freezing or seriously slowing down my PC during startup... (not all the time...)
Desperate, I resigned myself to opening my hard drive to connect it directly to my tower (via SATA) and still it wasn't recognized... Second solution.. a friend lent me his hard drive reader (which connects via USB), and again the same problem... the drive appears in disk management as an unknown uninitialized disk... and when I right-click to initialize, I get this message "incorrect function"
Third solution.. I tested the hard drive on my laptop (also running Vista) and on a friend's PC (running XP) and the problem remains the same!!
Fourth solution.. I downloaded the software from the WD website to analyze the hard drive... and it immediately displayed the following message:
Capacity: 0.00 GB
SMART Status: Not Available
Test Result: FAIL
Test Error Code: 11-Cable Test::Read diagnostics sector error!
I checked the cables... and I connected it directly to my tower... so I have to admit that I am lost and don’t really know what to do...
If anyone has a solution.. I'm all ears!!! I just want to recover my data... the drive, whatever!! I'd rather buy another one...
Thanks in advance
Configuration: Windows Vista Internet Explorer 7.0
13 answers
I searched for several hours before I was able to "install" my new external hard drive on my PC running Vista (2009).
I had no USB connectivity issues or outdated software problems. It's simply that I'm a "dummy" or that the path for initialization/formatting isn't completely intuitive. So I want to share this with others.
Go to Control Panel (click) / System and Maintenance (click) / Administrative Tools (click) (Windows asks if you want to continue) / Computer Management (double click) / Storage / Disk Management (click)
The connected disks will appear. Of course, there is the main hard drive (as Disk 0); the external HDD appears as Disk 'N' (for me, it's Disk '6'). Right-click on the disk name, then click on Initialize. Two choices are offered (I accepted the suggested one). Then right-click on the window to the right of the title and choose New Simple Volume and follow the initialization instructions (you still have to choose a letter and later a name for the external HDD).
I had no USB connectivity issues or outdated software problems. It's simply that I'm a "dummy" or that the path for initialization/formatting isn't completely intuitive. So I want to share this with others.
Go to Control Panel (click) / System and Maintenance (click) / Administrative Tools (click) (Windows asks if you want to continue) / Computer Management (double click) / Storage / Disk Management (click)
The connected disks will appear. Of course, there is the main hard drive (as Disk 0); the external HDD appears as Disk 'N' (for me, it's Disk '6'). Right-click on the disk name, then click on Initialize. Two choices are offered (I accepted the suggested one). Then right-click on the window to the right of the title and choose New Simple Volume and follow the initialization instructions (you still have to choose a letter and later a name for the external HDD).
Hello,
I have exactly the same problem as you with the same external WD My Book 500 Go... I can no longer use my hard drive. I can't see it anywhere except in Disk Management. It's labeled Disk 5
Unknown
Not initialized
When I try to initialize it: Incorrect Function.
Has anyone managed to resolve the issue?
Can someone help me?
I have exactly the same problem as you with the same external WD My Book 500 Go... I can no longer use my hard drive. I can't see it anywhere except in Disk Management. It's labeled Disk 5
Unknown
Not initialized
When I try to initialize it: Incorrect Function.
Has anyone managed to resolve the issue?
Can someone help me?
Hello everyone,
I'm reaching out to you today because of my Western Digital Elements 500GB external hard drive.
I have all my data on it that I would like to recover.
The problem is as follows:
I plug it in, and it is immediately recognized in the taskbar, in the device manager, and the BIOS as well.
However, it does not appear in either the file explorer or the disk management.
Its size is now 2047.99GB which is impossible since it is 500GB.
I don't understand anything.
I've tried many things: chkdsk, gparted, spinrite, easy recovery, test disk, photorec, linux, get data back, etc...nothing works, it's recognized for the most part but always as unallocated - unknown, and every time I try something, I get an error message.
I don't have a drive letter for the HDD; it is recognized as "wd elements 1023 USB Device."
The hard drive makes no noise except that it seems to have a hard time spinning.
When I plug it in, the light is on steady and after about 10 seconds it is recognized and the light blinks.
Do you have any idea, please?
I'm asking for your help because I have photos from the day my daughter was born until she is 4 years old and it is very stressful to know I might lose them.
I have of course inquired with professionals, but the prices often hover around 800 euros and I'm not rich.
Thank you in advance for all the advice you can give me..
Best, Philippe
I'm reaching out to you today because of my Western Digital Elements 500GB external hard drive.
I have all my data on it that I would like to recover.
The problem is as follows:
I plug it in, and it is immediately recognized in the taskbar, in the device manager, and the BIOS as well.
However, it does not appear in either the file explorer or the disk management.
Its size is now 2047.99GB which is impossible since it is 500GB.
I don't understand anything.
I've tried many things: chkdsk, gparted, spinrite, easy recovery, test disk, photorec, linux, get data back, etc...nothing works, it's recognized for the most part but always as unallocated - unknown, and every time I try something, I get an error message.
I don't have a drive letter for the HDD; it is recognized as "wd elements 1023 USB Device."
The hard drive makes no noise except that it seems to have a hard time spinning.
When I plug it in, the light is on steady and after about 10 seconds it is recognized and the light blinks.
Do you have any idea, please?
I'm asking for your help because I have photos from the day my daughter was born until she is 4 years old and it is very stressful to know I might lose them.
I have of course inquired with professionals, but the prices often hover around 800 euros and I'm not rich.
Thank you in advance for all the advice you can give me..
Best, Philippe
Hello,
I have a 500GB WD My Book External Drive that is no longer working.
I opened it after doing several tests. Now, the INITIO driver (the card that connects to the drive to convert SATA connections to USB) works when I disconnect it from the drive, but when I reconnect it, I hear the Windows sound when something is disconnected. Then, I hear the Windows sound when something is connected and it says that the drivers are being installed. The USB Mass Storage Device driver is installed correctly, but the drive's driver is not installing.
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/5142/installationwd.png
What should I do?
I have a 500GB WD My Book External Drive that is no longer working.
I opened it after doing several tests. Now, the INITIO driver (the card that connects to the drive to convert SATA connections to USB) works when I disconnect it from the drive, but when I reconnect it, I hear the Windows sound when something is disconnected. Then, I hear the Windows sound when something is connected and it says that the drivers are being installed. The USB Mass Storage Device driver is installed correctly, but the drive's driver is not installing.
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/5142/installationwd.png
What should I do?
By turning my DDE upside down, the driver successfully installed but my disk doesn't appear with the other drives. Moreover, when the driver installed, it was named WD g€CÕ°ªì External USB Device. However, if I click on the icon in the taskbar to safely disconnect a USB, the name is My Book.
What should I do to improve the situation?
What should I do to improve the situation?
Hello,
I have exactly the same problem :s
My hard drive appears as an unknown disk and uninitialized in the Windows disk manager, and when I try to initialize it, it tells me "the drive cannot find the requested sector".
On the WD program, the same result as you.
What is troubling is that for me too, it is on a 500GB Western Digital My Book external hard drive...
Have you found a solution for your problem?
Or does anyone else have a solution to propose?
Please, I had quite important backups on this hard drive... :s
Thank you in advance.
I have exactly the same problem :s
My hard drive appears as an unknown disk and uninitialized in the Windows disk manager, and when I try to initialize it, it tells me "the drive cannot find the requested sector".
On the WD program, the same result as you.
What is troubling is that for me too, it is on a 500GB Western Digital My Book external hard drive...
Have you found a solution for your problem?
Or does anyone else have a solution to propose?
Please, I had quite important backups on this hard drive... :s
Thank you in advance.
It seems that your HDD has a logical issue rather than a hardware one (indexing problem?).
Try downloading "PC Inspector File Recovery 4.0" or "DataRecovery v6.1," which should help you refine the analysis of your disk and possibly recover some data. Since what you will find online are demo versions, you won't be able to recover everything, but it will give you a better idea of the state of your disk.
Sasufix
Try downloading "PC Inspector File Recovery 4.0" or "DataRecovery v6.1," which should help you refine the analysis of your disk and possibly recover some data. Since what you will find online are demo versions, you won't be able to recover everything, but it will give you a better idea of the state of your disk.
Sasufix
Lucky, unlucky, for me, it's a 1TB WD that no longer works... on one computer. I tried it on another computer and was able to recover all my data. I wrote to WD telling them that Norton suggested a "low format," and they replied that it was Norton preventing me from using my drive (of course, I had given them the perfect excuse: they were able to shift their incompetence onto another). They told me to remove Norton and that the drive would work. However, on the second computer where I managed to recover my data, there was also Norton.
Last night, I ran the Western Digital tests (11 hours).
On the detection page, the WD program indicates "not available," but it runs the tests and the drive passes the tests... how can a non-detected drive pass such tests for all those hours? The access ports are not the same for all programs...
There must be an incompatibility between Microsoft and WD logics... and they are unable to agree or determine what the incompatibility is.
Another strange thing is that the disk management service also detects the faulty drive, but the defragmentation service does not detect it??? The management indicates that it's a basic disk: disk 3, 931.51 GB, healthy, active.
I'm not throwing away my 1TB drive. However, my 500GB drive still works well on both computers... but I use it as little as possible.
I'm waiting for a little genius to find the solution, hoping it will be me!!!
Thank you.
Last night, I ran the Western Digital tests (11 hours).
On the detection page, the WD program indicates "not available," but it runs the tests and the drive passes the tests... how can a non-detected drive pass such tests for all those hours? The access ports are not the same for all programs...
There must be an incompatibility between Microsoft and WD logics... and they are unable to agree or determine what the incompatibility is.
Another strange thing is that the disk management service also detects the faulty drive, but the defragmentation service does not detect it??? The management indicates that it's a basic disk: disk 3, 931.51 GB, healthy, active.
I'm not throwing away my 1TB drive. However, my 500GB drive still works well on both computers... but I use it as little as possible.
I'm waiting for a little genius to find the solution, hoping it will be me!!!
Thank you.
It seems that the indexing of your disk or the partitioning has experienced an issue, but it's easily fixable.
A.
A.
After initializing my hard drive with Canal Sat, it no longer appears in My Computer. I’ve gone through all the steps in Disk Management, but I don't have the option to initialize or format. What can I do?
Hello
I have the same problem with the same type of hard drive, but mine is not visible anywhere, neither in devices nor in disk management, and it doesn’t even make a sound when I plug it in, but the LED lights up.
Thank you in advance.
I have the same problem with the same type of hard drive, but mine is not visible anywhere, neither in devices nor in disk management, and it doesn’t even make a sound when I plug it in, but the LED lights up.
Thank you in advance.
I have a client with the same problem as many of you; it's a WD Element, not recognized by Windows, no letters assigned to it, and in the disk manager, it's detected as unknown and uninitialized, and of course, initialization doesn't work. I've tried several programs like TestDisk, Power Data Recovery, Get Data Back, etc., but not a single one detects the drive. I've also tested with several power supplies and cables, but nothing works. I imagine that WD is aware of these malfunctions and I would have liked serious follow-up from them, but nothing. I find that big hard drive manufacturers are increasingly resting on their laurels these days... If anyone has solved the problem or has a solution to offer, I am obviously interested.
I had the same issue (disk not initialized; when I click on initialize, I get the error message (cannot complete the request due to an I/O device error)
I initialized the disk with GPT
- the first time I got the error message (cyclic redundancy check problem)
- the second time the initialization worked
my hard drive: WD 5000BEV
I initialized the disk with GPT
- the first time I got the error message (cyclic redundancy check problem)
- the second time the initialization worked
my hard drive: WD 5000BEV
well done
and thank you
I reached the disk initialization step and it throws me an error message "Media is write-protected." So I can't go any further. Any idea to avoid this error?
I was stuck with my 500GB WD hard drive that had been used for 2 years as a hard drive for my Csat decoder.
However, this hard drive was not "visible" at all (in Computer or My Computer) on Win Vista, so formatting it was impossible..
Thanks to your method, I was finally able to access it, and I was able to easily format it to NFTS, it is now fully recognized under Windows, and I can enjoy my 500GB!!!
Thanks again!!!