Repairing Guides

how to repair western digital external hard drive

by Ms. Shannon Smitham DDS Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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How do I reformat my Western Digital hard drive?

Steps to format 1TB Western Digital FAT32 in Windows

  1. Connect the 1TB WD drive to your computer and make sure it is detected by Windows. ...
  2. Right click the WD external drive and select Format Partition.
  3. In the prompt page, specify partition information. This is the place where you select FAT32 File System, edit Partition Label, and choose Cluster Size. ...
  4. Preview the result. ...

How to fix a dead Western Digital hard drive?

Procedure to Restore Data from Dead WD External Hard Disk:

  • First connect dead Western Digital hard disk to a Mac system
  • After that, install Yodot Mac Data Recovery software on Mac machine and run it
  • Main window of this utility will pop up two options such as “Volume Recovery” and “Formatted / Reformatted Recovery”
  • Select first option to restore data from dead WD external hard disk

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How to recover files from Western Digital external hard drive?

How to recover (please connect WD external hard drive before recovery):

  • Select Logical Drives from the main window.
  • Select the target partition on WD hard drive and click on the Scan button to detect deleted/lost files/folders.
  • Check all the needed files during or at the end of the scan and click on the Save button to set a new storage place for them.

How good are Western Digital hard drives?

  • When it comes to Western Digital, they make excellent external storage solutions.
  • WD is a great brand to get for external hard drives, this one is no different. ...
  • It’s ready to use so just plug in and start transferring files.
  • In my opinion, Western Digital drives are far better than other brands.

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How do I repair my Western Digital external hard drive?

Quick fix WD external hard drive not showing up/unrecognized/responding errorClick Start > Type: devmgmt. ... Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.Right-click on the USB Root Hub > Select Properties.Go to Power Management and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

Why is my Western Digital external hard drive not working?

This problem may occur if you are using the wrong USB controller driver or it's out of date. So you should update your USB controller driver to see if it fixes your problem. If you don't have the time, patience or skills to update the driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.

How do I recover data from a broken Western Digital external hard drive?

2. How to Perform Western Digital Disk RecoverySelect "External Devices Recovery" ... Connect Western Elements hard drive. ... Choose the connected WD Elements drive. ... Scan the Western Digital hard drive. ... Deep scan the external hard drive. ... Recover files from Western Digital Elements external hard drive.

Can a damaged external hard drive be fixed?

Generally speaking, the external hard drive errors can be repaired using CMD. What you should note is that regarding "chkdsk f: /f ", the first f should be replaced with the drive letter of the external hard drive.

Can a WD hard drive be repaired?

The bad sectors cause physical damage to the disk and cannot be repaired. However, hard disk logical damage caused by other reasons, such as the corrupted file system, can be fixed. Here are the three solutions to repair corrupted WD HDD.

What does blinking light on WD external hard drive mean?

If the light blinks when you insert the WD external hard drive into the computer, that means it can be detected by the PC but it is hidden. To fix this problem, you can unhide all hidden devices.

How do I revive a dead hard drive?

0:543:00Revive a dead hard disk - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd keep it there overnight the theory is that by freezing the drive the metal will shrink justMoreAnd keep it there overnight the theory is that by freezing the drive the metal will shrink just enough for the parts to start working again in the morning take the hard drive out of the freezer.

How do I recover an unreadable external hard drive?

Steps to Recover Data from a Corrupted or Crashed Hard DriveDownload and Install Disk Drill for Windows or Mac OS X.Launch Disk Drill recovery software, select the crashed hard disk and click: ... Preview the files you found with Quick or Deep Scan. ... Click Recover to recover your lost data.

Why did my external hard drive suddenly stopped working?

External hard drives are especially prone to failure due to frequent improper use, outdated drivers, bundling with incompatible software on different operating systems, frequent connection and disconnection to different devices, and, in the case of portable or USB hard drives, unsafe ejection.

How do I know if my external hard drive is damaged?

Common symptoms of external hard drive failure include:Failure to Mount or Recognize.Excessively Loud Operation.Clicking, Whirring or Grinding Sounds.Disappearing Files or Folders.File Corruption Error Messages.Extremely Slow Drive Access Times.

Why is my Western Digital Passport not showing up?

If the "WD passport not showing up Windows 10" problem persists, you can try changing your USB despite changing the port. Sometimes, the USB cables become a fault, and your PC denies detecting it. After changing your USB, you need to try if your PC detects the WD my passport.

How do I fix hard drive not detected?

Sometimes tightening the hard disk connections or replacing the SATA/ATA power lead will fix the issue, especially when you see the internal hard drive not showing up on the computer operating system disk management tool. To test this, open up the computer case, locate the storage device, and check the data cable.

1. How do I fix my WD external hard drive not showing up on my computer?

When your WD external hard drive is not showing up on your computer, you need to check the connections first. You can plug the drive into the other...

2. Why is my WD hard drive not working?

The reasons vary from person to person. The common causes are file system incompatibility or corruption, connection issues, system errors, outdated...

3. How to fix WD external hard drive lights on but not working?

You can open Disk Management to change the drive letter or reformat the drive. Or, go to Device Manager to update or uninstall the disk driver.

What to do if playback doesn't begin?

If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.

Can you format a hard drive with diskpart?

The truth: formatting with diskpart could repair a lot of logical errors on hard drives. We strongly recommend you try formatting your wd disk if it cannot be fixed by other ways.

Can diskpart fix WD hard drive?

Diskpart is able to fix damaged file system on WD hard disks. You may simply use the diskpart format option to get a new file system for your disk. Here are the steps.

Can a logical error be repaired?

Mostly logical errors could be repaired by reformatting it and here is a free tool that you need to download it on Windows computer even when your wd external hard drive or internal wd disk partition cannot be formatted due to unknown errors.

How to fix WD external hard drive not recognized?

Fix WD external hard drive not recognized error 1 Go to Setting > Update & security. 2 Tab on Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart now. 3 PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen. 4 Press F4 to initiate PC reboot into Safe Mode. 5 Then check whether the WD external hard disk can be detected or not.

What would block my WD external hard drive from working?

Corrupted system files or bad sectors on WD external hard drive or other storage devices would block your device from working or responding in Windows PC.

How to change the path of an external hard drive?

Go Disk Management > Find your external hard drive and right click it by choosing Change Drive Letter and Path...

How to get my computer to work on USB?

1. Click Start > Type: devmgmt.msc in the Search box and hit Enter.#N#2. Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.#N#3. Right-click on the USB Root Hub > Select Properties.#N#4. Go to Power Management and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

How to reboot PC in safe mode?

Press F4 to initiate PC reboot into Safe Mode.

How to connect WD external hard drive to PC?

Step 2: If the flashlight off or the WD external hard drive is not spinning , reconnect it to the other PC.

Why is my WD external hard drive not recognized?

The WD external hard drive not recognized issue on your computer is just as an illness on your body , which also with symptoms. An unrecognized WD external hard drive may not show up in File Explorer, Disk Management, or Device Manager. Or even worse, your computer becomes slow for this issue. This post will make your WD external hard drive ...

How to uninstall WD drive?

Right-click the WD hard drive and click Uninstall. Then reboot the PC to check if it shows up in File Explorer.

How to fix disk driver issues?

Usually, you can try to fix the disk driver issues with the functions in Device Manager. Right-click This Computer and select Disk Management. Then, choose Device Manager to open the panel.

What is Western Digital SSD Dashboard?

Western Digital SSD Dashboard is used to keep the SSDs in a good performance. It can also analyze the SSD and update the firmware of SSD.

What is BIOS in UEFI?

BIOS (a former of UEFI) is an Input/Output System in your PC. You can check the BIOS settings if the WD drive enables the USB port or not. If not, reset the settings.

Why is my WD drive labeled unknown?

It is caused by the file system of the WD hard drive can't be recognized or supported by the Windows. You can try the ways below: Update the OS to match the WD hard drives or change a suitable hard drive.

How to recover data from external hard drive?

Since you're going to recover data from an external hard drive, you need to correctly connect the drive to your Windows computer. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the exact external drive where you lost data. Click Scan.

How to format an external drive?

Right-click the external drive or USB you intend to format and choose "Format".

How to uninstall USB drive?

Click on "Disk drives", right-click on your hard drive that is not showing up in Windows, and choose "Uninstall device". (Make sure you have selected the correct USB device).

How to check if external hard drive is g?

Type chkdsk g:/f (if the external hard drive is drive g) and press Enter.

Why is my hard drive not opening?

Missing or corrupted system files are responsible for a hard drive with unusual symptoms. It usually occurs when there is a problem during the file save process. So when your hard drive seems to be damaged and you cannot open it, maybe you need to repair the crashed system files at first.

How to make your computer not slow?

Remove junk files, useless and extremely large files, and system/browser cache files that occupy precious disk space to avoid the risk of the computer becoming slow. Use simple disk cleanup to boost hard drive performance.

How to open disk management in Windows 10?

Or, use an alternative way to open Disk Management in Windows 10/8.1/8/7: Press Windows + R keys, type diskmgmt.msc in the Run box, and hit Enter.

How to get a 30 day money back guarantee?

But with the Pro version it takes just 2 steps (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee): 1) Download and install Driver Easy. 2) Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers .

Does Driver Easy recognize my computer?

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running , you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.

How to fix Western Digital hard drive?

In order to fix a system Western Digital hard drive, you might need to create a Windows PE (Pre-installation Environment) device, which contains a system program allowing you to enter a disk management utility to fix the disk.

When need to repair Western Digital MBR?

It is created on the first partition when you install Windows for the first time. When being turned on, a computer would seek the hard drive that contains an operating system and then loads its MBR of that hard drive.

How to repair MBR?

Once the computer starts up, you will see the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant, and right-click the Western Digital disk that you need to repair MBR. And select “ Rebuild MBR”. 2. In the pop- up windows, set the type of MBR for the current OS according to your operating system. And click “OK”. 3.

What happens if MBR is corrupted?

Thus, if the MBR on your Western Digital or other disk is corrupted, the system would be not allowed to access your disk. The disk may become “ Unknown and Not Initialized ”. And if it is the system disk, you would meet the following booting errors when you boot system:

How to install Windows 7 on a CD?

2. Wait for the message “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD” to show on the screen, press any key to boot from the CD/DVD. 3. Choose “language” and “keyboard layout”, then click “Next”. 4.

Can you upgrade to Professional Edition?

If you upgrade to Professional edition, you can unlock more features, for example, you can also zero-fill the hard drive to fix bad sectors, you can convert system disk between MBR and GPT partition styles.

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