# WD Passport external hard drive



## Peter23 (Sep 22, 2007)

hi i'm new here... is anyone familiar with external drives.?
i'm having a problem with the WD 160 gb passport...
it shows up on my laptop and i hear it running ... but 
it's not showing up on any of the drives...

it usually would show up on drive F, but no more...

can someone tell me how to fix it?

thanks


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## 07clarkm (Jul 24, 2007)

OK check all connections first.

Power, USB the lot.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Start, run, diskmgmt.msc

Do you see the drive there?


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## Peter23 (Sep 22, 2007)

I checked connections on all usb ports.. the WD passport is powered I see the blue light...
it just doesn't register in the drives..

I did a Start Run of > diskmgmt.msc but no luck...

what could i try next? 

thanks


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What do you mean, "no luck"? What shows up in Disk Management?


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## Peter23 (Sep 22, 2007)

It doesn't show up on disk management...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

In that case, the hardware is not being recognized. When you plug it in, what appears in Device Manager?


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## 07clarkm (Jul 24, 2007)

Wait! Did any drivers come with your external hard drive? I have seen a few now with drivers! :O


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The WD Passport does not require any drivers.


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## 07clarkm (Jul 24, 2007)

Ok.


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## Xyzek (Oct 5, 2007)

For future troubleshooting, I had this issue and fixed it by reassigning the drive letter in Diskmgmt.msc (in my case to Z. I suggest trying this if the Disk Manager displays the USB drive, making sure you don't use a drive letter previously used by any other device.


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## Alejandro_estrad (Nov 6, 2007)

did you fixed you WD Passport? I have the same issue. I really need to recover my data!


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## Bronto (Aug 12, 2007)

I have this problem also, same 160 WD drive. I was in a hurry and pulled it from a Mac without properly ejecting it. I'm thinking that Peter23 did something similar. After that I can't see it anywhere, but when I (uninstall a whole gang of drivers then) plug it in, it powers up, makes the bonk bonk noise, XP installs drivers and recognizes hardware, alerts that "new hardware found and ready to use", but the thing is still INVISIBLE. Note that the disk or drive letter cannot be seen in Disk Management, but the Device Manager lists WD under Disk Drives. It has no properties. Weird. And, it shows as WD in the Safely Remove Hardware app in the system tray.

I have tried to find it using some of the disk management tools found on UBCD (such as trying to find or repair the MBR) but have had no luck. I would format it if I could see it somewhere. The only clue is the "WD" Device Driver. 

It's the invisible haunted Passport.


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## rapid44 (Nov 12, 2007)

I'm trying to use a WD Passport 250GB and is visible in Device Manager but is NOT in Computer Management and can not use it. I have been looking in WD support but the web site is not good and not helpful. Any ideas?


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## Bronto (Aug 12, 2007)

rapid44 said:


> I'm trying to use a WD Passport 250GB and is visible in Device Manager but is NOT in Computer Management and can not use it. I have been looking in WD support but the web site is not good and not helpful. Any ideas?


So, the 250's do this too, eh?


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## lodidad (May 30, 2003)

I have a similar problem. I purchased a Passport 160 gb drive to back up everything on my Dell Dimension 4400. When I plugged it in, the blue light came on but that's all. There were supposed to be some drive utilities installed automatically, but apparently that didn't happen. The drive did not show up in "My Computer" and wasn't listed in Windows Explorer, so there was no way I could get to it. However, in Disk Management the drive was listed as "Disk 2" - I have two internal hard drives (0 & 1). It was one FAT 32 partition which I then proceeded to change to 4 NTFS partitions. In Device Manager, it shows up as "Mass Storage Device". Western Digital suggested that my computer might not be putting enough power to the USB ports as the drive requires just over 1,000mA and some computers only provide about 500mA. I bought a power booster cable that has two Type A connectors and one Type B mini connector so in theory you can draw power from two USB ports. That didn't solve the problem. I plugged the Passport drive into another computer and it worked fine, so the drive and the cables are OK. WD also said that I should be sure to have the latest BIOS and driver updates. Any comments?


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## rapid44 (Nov 12, 2007)

Everything shows that is an old BIOS problem. Anyone knows where can I get an update for mine? American Megatrends Inc Ver 07.00T 4/2/2001


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## stoney84 (Nov 20, 2007)

Hi guys,

Try plugging it in different USB port...might help...
In my workstation, I have 2 USB ports at the front and 2 more at the back, if I plug in my WD passport @ the front, the driver won't install by itself. However, when I plugged it into the USB port @ the back...it works.

I'm no IT wiz, hope that helps.


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## Shiun (Oct 2, 2007)

I have an older 60 gig and it does the same too. Anyone come up with another solution? However mine is found and keeps reinstalling, Even then i still can't access it. and just for info, I keep hearing a little clicky noise when it's plugged in (Not that I think this is important but...hey never know.)


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## Shiun (Oct 2, 2007)

It shows up on Disk Management saying area 0 but I can't access anything!!!
All the tabs (except for settings and the first) disappear when I move onto it!


HELP!!! I REALLY REALLY REALLY NEED THAT DATA!!!


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

This thread was started by *Peter23*. Others who are having problems should start their own threads. Posting in someone else's thread only confuses the issues involved.


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## Elrinz (Dec 5, 2007)

i also had similar problems... and its only a day old.went back and changed for a new 160gig WD.brought it home and it was working fine till i format it to NTFS.im not sure weather it was a NTFS or FAT earlier.but my IT guy said i had to get a better casing for it so that the power is stronger.basicly i think its the usb problem.not enough power.when plugged in once.The hardrive will go nuts due to the power supply and the hardrive will not be usable anymore if plugged into other com with better usb power.


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## JeromeL (Sep 10, 2008)

Here's how I fixed it:

Plugged in my passport to my Mac.

Opened Disk Utility and Formatted the Passport as a FAT (MS-DOS) Disk.

Plugged it back into my notebook.

Vista Home Premium (Yes, I know.) Recognized it and is viewable in My Computer.

Hope this helps.

Jerome
www.onelovephotography.net


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## firehousejames (Oct 21, 2008)

Thank you Peter23 for your post on reassigning a drive letter. It worked immediately!!!!!


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