# Copy and sync function in Western Digital Passport - please help



## abhijit_sur (May 8, 2007)

I have used the Western Digital Passport (120 GB External drive) to sync up my Dell Dimension 4400 hard disk (also a Western Digital). Unfortunately, as it seems now, I have used the "Sync" option to get all the data on the external hard drive. My Dell Dimension hard disk drive got corrupted, and I am not able to use it as a secondary drive as well to retrive the data, the system is not recognising it during bootup. My only option is to use the synchronized data in the external drive to retrieve the data. However, when I try to sync the data (from the external HD) into the new internal HD, I get an error message saying that the disks not match (not the same disk where I had synced the data from). Is there any way I can work around this? Would appreciate any help.

I had contacted Western Digital as well, they say that the SyncData function should not be used as a backup mechanism.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Hmm...

The first thing I did with my WD Passport drive was toss that CD. 

If you browse the Passport, can you find the files in question? My guess is they're stored there and you can use Windows Explorer to copy them back. I confess, I have no idea how the WD Sync function works, since I had no interest in trying it.


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## abhijit_sur (May 8, 2007)

Thanks John - I tried that. The most unfortunate thing is that I see all my dear files when I open the drive. What I found later is that they all seem to be encrypted and I am not able to recover them - let alone copying. I have sent my hard disc to Drive savers, and I hope they will be able to do some magic. The lesson learnt is not to use WD Sync. I am shopping for a Backup (and recovery software), and thinking of Symantec Norton Ghost 12.0 or Save and Restore ver 2.0. Any recommendations?
Thanks once again
Abhi


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Backup Applications For All Seasons:

For boot image backups, Acronis True Image, available at NewEgg for $30 downloaded, search for Acronis.

For file backups, Cobian Backup, available free from the author's site.

For synchronizing backup folders, SyncToy, available free from Microsoft.


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## jkunglax (Jul 11, 2007)

WD sync (the included sync software package [at least what was included with my 60gb drive I just fired up last week]) uses an included data encryption of unidentified (I haven't bothered trying to figure it out much) form that packs your backup archive into a single .cab file

Good if you lose your drive as your data has enough protection to stop casual snooping... bad if you need to access data directly for another reason. Your best bet may be to contact WD directly and ask if there's a way to unpack the cab file into a usable directory format so you can recover individual files as needed.


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## joewhatley (Oct 21, 2007)

I have the exact same experience with this WDSynch. I am debating whether to send the drive in to see if the files can be de-crypted somehow. All the files are there, but in the encrypted form and I can't get to them.

If you are successful getting your data recovered, please post back here.

Thanks - Joe


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## Trobber9 (Jan 23, 2008)

I have just synced my WD Passport to my home PC. When I plugged my WD Passport into my work PC for the first time, I had the option to "Copy to PC" After clicking that all my synced files from my home PC were copied onto my work PC in a location that I was able to specify. If I reformatted my home PC's hard drive, reinstalled Windows and plugged my WD Passport back into it, wouldn't WD Sync give me the same option to "Copy to PC"?


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## kingkong500 (May 20, 2008)

*I reinstalled (or crashed) my computer, can I back-up my data to the new computer?*
Yes*! 
To do so, please use the 'restore/copy' feature available from the 'Restore/Copy' menu . Then select the items you want to 'restore' to the current computer you're working on (main or visiting/host PC) .
Please note that your data are copied into a specific location . The path to that folder is displayed at the end of the 'restore/copy' process .

Check out link at http://www.dmailer.com/site/support/faq_wdsync.html#Q1_7_1


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