Ext hard disk suddenly not detected, shows up in devices and printers


  1. armaan8014
    Posts : 2
    window 10
       New #1

    Ext hard disk suddenly not detected, shows up in devices and printers


    Hello
    My WD external hard disk is not showing up in My Computer, its light is continuously on (not blinking) but it shows up in the control panel -> Devices and printers.
    At one point the led light had begun to blink normally, and that is when it showed up in devices and printers with the proper icon. Prior to that it had a default icon.
    Here's an image of how it looks on the disk management and the control panel http://imgur.com/a/KzRAa
    In disk management it says unknown, not initialized. The I have tried using this in multiple laptops and it isn't getting recognized anywhere. It isn't being recognized by recovery softwares either
    I had plugged this hard drive into a sound bar to play a movie off of, after which I plugged it into a TV for the same purpose, as the sound bar wouldn't recognize it. I'm suspecting this may have caused the issue. I didn't drop the hard disk.
    The data on it is very important, so I really need to recover it.
    Thanks for the help!
      My Computer
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  3. Samuria
    Posts : 8,108
    windows 10
       New #2

    Welcome to the forum. It can be faulty usb on the pc, faulty usb on th enclosure or usb cable or the drive could have died. Have you got another pc and cable you can try it on?
      My Computer
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  4. armaan8014
    Posts : 2
    window 10
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Samuria said:
    Welcome to the forum. It can be faulty usb on the pc, faulty usb on th enclosure or usb cable or the drive could have died. Have you got another pc and cable you can try it on?
    Yes, I have also tried using a different cable, and tried plugging it into different laptops.
    Also, the hard disk is not making any clicking sounds. It sounds like it is spinning normally.
      My Computer
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  6. jumanji
    Posts : 11,627
    Windows11 Home 64bit v:23H2 b:22631.3374
       New #4

    "My WD external hard disk" . I only get to know the manufacturer. Model Number? Model Name: like My Book/Elements/Passport/ Passport ultra ? Capacity??? Please provide all information.

    " It isn't being recognized by recovery softwares either" What softwares have you tried?

    Which TV did you connect it to? A smart TV ? LG ? Samsung ? Have you played it on this TV before? Did you try to record anything or just tried to play?

    All this info may be necessary for the folks here to understand the problem first and suggest a feasible solution.

    Screenshots : Post it to Ten Forum servers.

    Take Screenshot in Windows 10

    How to Upload and Post Screenshots and Files at Ten Forums

    Disk Management - How to Post a Screenshot of

    Now go ahead and post a screenshot of Windows Disk Management.

    Also download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard Free v 9.1 from here http://www.filehorse.com/download-pa.../old-versions/ ( Uninstall v10/v10.1/v 10.2.1 that wouldn't help Partition Recovery Free)

    Post a screenshot of the first screen that appears when you launch it showing your drives.
    Last edited by jumanji; 11 Jun 2017 at 09:21.
      My Computer
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  7. spunk
    Posts : 4,793
    Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit 22H2
       New #5

    As suggested, in Disk Management, in the lower pane, is your WD drive showing? Does it say the file system is Unallocated Space? Or does it say on the Disk# (ie) Disk1, Disk2 etc the drive is Not Initialized?
    If the former, then the drives Table of Contents are missing. You can use the Free TestDisk program to recover your files. I have had the best luck with GetDataBack. You will need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to..
      My Computer
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