iFixit - Answers With Device "External Storage"

Western Digital My Passport: drive won't show up and making clicking sound

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 03:34:14 -0700

off of a sudden my 2tb WD External stopped showing up and is making a clicking sound. is this thing toast?

⟐ Commented 一月 30, 2026 at 3:34 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: My passport fails initializing

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 05:20:17 -0700

My passport 1TB ran for more than a year under windows 7,8 and actually 8.1, but suddenly stopped. it loads the drivers but doesn't appear in the explorer. when I start the disk management it indicates that the second disk (my passport) must initialize. but it fails.

it appears in the device windows , just doesn't start (or initialize). I even tried the refrigerator trick, nothing

I've also tried several data recover progs, recuva , testdisk, easyus, wondershare WAC, etc, they all fail to see the external drive.

there must be a program that can go through , any ideas?

thanks, Jim

⟐ Answer accepted 十月 09, 2018 at 5:20 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: Repair my external hard drive?

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:03:40 -0700

I accidently dropped my hard drive and now it just makes a screeching sound and is not recognized by CPU. Can the data be recovered?

⟐ Answered 三月 12, 2026 at 4:03 GMT-7

Western Digital External storage: Hard drive is not showing up on my computer

Tue, 18 May 2021 05:53:24 -0700

My Western Digital 1 TB external hard drive is not showing in my computer.

The drive light is on & I can hear the drive. But its not showing up on my desktop. Can anyone help me to backup the data from my hard drive. I have some very important data on it.

⟐ Answer deleted 五月 18, 2021 at 5:53 GMT-7

Seagate FreeAgent Go Portable Drive: I can't add files to my Seagate FreeAgent external hard drive.

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 15:29:56 -0700

I just got a new portable hard drive, a Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB. I plugged it into my mac, and it says it can not be modified. Do I need to format it somehow before I can use it? Thanks!

⟐ Commented 九月 20, 2020 at 15:29 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport Ultra: Hard disk not getting "detected"?

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 23:38:53 -0700

hi i have a WD my passport ultra 1 TB hard drive. it was working completely fine, until one day it stopped getting detected

1) i tried putting other cables , NOT HELPED

2) also tried in other laptops , NOT HELPED

3) recently tried with a Macbook Pro 13", it showed for a second, but hanged my laptop

after restarting it, it didnt show evev once, althought IT IS BEING SHOWN in the disk utility, it is NOT getting repaired, but teliing to format it

4) there is NO CLICKING sound or any sound coming from inside it

HELP ME please. as very valuable file is inside it

⟐ Commented 十月 06, 2020 at 23:38 GMT-7

Western Digital External Storage: How to transfer data from a damaged external hard drive?

Sat, 18 Jan 2020 05:57:38 -0700

My WD 2tb external hard drive accidentally fell last week so I bought a new external hard drive and transfer the files from the old to the new. But now when I connect this hard drive (old one) in my Mac, the icon doesn’t show up on the it usually does and I cannot open the hard drive at all.

I tried to recover data by using Yodot Mac Data Recovery but it said there was no volume in the file. Can anybody please give me some advice to recover my data?

⟐ Answer edited 一月 18, 2020 at 5:57 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: Why is my password not working only flashing the light

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 05:14:45 -0700

my password not working only flashing the light why

my id is SAADBAIG267@GMAIL.COM

FB NAME :SAADBAIG

⟐ Commented 八月 04, 2022 at 5:14 GMT-7

Western Digital Essentials HD: Any one know how to fix clicking noise?

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 02:09:08 -0700

When I plug it in to my laptop or any computer it no longer gets recognized. On top of that I hear a slight clicking noise inside when it is powered on. Anyone know how I can fix this or get my data back? A lot of important stuff on there.

⟐ Answer edited 九月 27, 2024 at 2:09 GMT-7

External Storage: How to format memory card after attacked by virus?

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 04:15:23 -0700

my memory card is attacked by virus,and four days before the full data is erased and formatting can't be performed even in a computer.so,is there any alternative to get it formatted and be used again?

⟐ Commented 九月 11, 2019 at 4:15 GMT-7

WD My Passport Ultra 2TB: WD my passport ultra 2TB is not showing up on explorer.

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 10:40:29 -0700

Hi, everyone. My WD Passport Ultra 2TB external hard drive is not showing up in explorer when I plug it into the USB port in a "normal way". I have to connect it through a "bizarre way" to make it show up in explorer. I realizes there were threads related to the same issue, but it's not what I am looking for.

Let me explain the "normal way":

I have another 1TB WD (same model as my 2TB WD) which behaves in a "normal way". Just plug and play. Nothing weird! Once I connect it, the LED blinks for a few times for successful connection. Done. I can find it in explorer

Let me explain the "bizarre way:

The 2TB WD behaves in a "bizarre way". If I connect it in the "normal way", it will not show up in explorer, Diskpart, or Disk management no matter how long I wait. In order to make the 2TB WD to show, I have to process the following steps every time I connect this 2TB external hard drive: First, plug in the USB cable halfway through any one of my desktop computer's USB ports. Then, wait for the drive to show up in explorer. Finally, I can push the USB completely into the USB port. The difference is that the successful connection of the 2TB WD happens when the USB cable is half way into the USB port.

Troubleshoots:

————— USB Port Test —————

That particular 2TB WD behaves in the "bizarre way" on all usb ports of my Win 8.1 desktop and my Win 10 Surface Pro 3.

—————— Cable Test ——————

Since my 1TB WD is working properly, I try to switch the USB cables between them. The 2TB WD still behaves in the "bizarre way". Thus, I can tell it's not a USB cable issue.

———— Partition Table Test ————

Also, I have tried to reformat the 2TB WD based on GPT or MBR partition tables. It still acts in the "bizarre way”.

==========================================

Last edited: 08-06-2020

Temporary Solution: Halfway-in-USB trick

For Windows machines, first push USB half way through a USB port just tight enough for successful connection (you’ll hear the classic Windows sound effect), then push it down completely. The solution may not work for you depending on your situations (For example, different Operating Systems). As some visitors commented it worked, you are welcome to try. If this “Halfway-in-USB“ trick is for you, backup your data after you have access to the hard drive. I am not sure how long the method will last.

For future visitors: Looks like the post had helped some people having the same issue. I just leave it at that. Please read other comments as well because you may find the surprised solution just for you. Thanks everybody for participating in discussion.

⟐ Commented 十月 30, 2022 at 10:40 GMT-7

Western Digital External Storage: Hard drive is not showing up on my computer

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 11:27:32 -0700

I'm using Mac OSx Yosemite Version 10.10.2 and the last time i conntected my WD External Hard Drive was just 5 days ago and I disconnected correctly etc. So it wasn't till today that I reconnected it to my laptop and it doesn't show on my desktop. The light blinks on the hard drive and I hear it spinning but doesn't show on my desktop. I have important files in this drive. What can I do?

⟐ Answer edited 七月 02, 2021 at 11:27 GMT-7

Seagate external storage: Why is the drive not detected?

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:31:01 -0700

When I plug in the computer USB port the drive is not detected; the green led blinks and I can hear weak continuous beeps. It is a Seagate 750GB external hard drive.

⟐ Commented 八月 12, 2019 at 20:31 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: How do I get data off?

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:36:22 -0700

The drive shows up on my computer, I can access it, but when I try to pull it off it goes EXTREMELY slow and I get an error. I need help.

⟐ Answered 四月 09, 2026 at 4:36 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport Ultra: Dropped portable hard drive

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:53:46 -0700

I dropped my portable external hard drive. Can I still recover all the files inside my external hard drive?

⟐ Answered 十月 31, 2024 at 8:53 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport Ultra: Data Transfer very slow

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 22:24:34 -0700

My External hard drive takes time to be discovered when plugged in and once discovered data is transferred extremely slow. e.g 10MB Can take 3 hours. it transfers @ a rate of 52KB/ps or less.

⟐ Commented 十月 24, 2023 at 22:24 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: My USB doesn't work?

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 01:46:26 -0700

My USB MyPassport 2TB stopped working when I plugged it in the computer.

⟐ Commented 三月 06, 2025 at 1:46 GMT-7

External Storage: Why can't I add files to my Toshiba external hard drive?

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 03:36:12 -0700

I plug in my 1.5 TB Toshiba external hard drive on a Mac, and I can view my files and copy & paste them to my desktop. But I cannot add any files to the hard drive. A "cancellation" sign appears when I try to drag and drop any type of file. I have over 1 TB of files on the drive with 500 GB of free space left. I would transfer files to another device then attempt reformatting it, but I don't have the time or money to do this. Any help or suggestions? Thanks.

⟐ Answer edited 十一月 28, 2024 at 3:36 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: My usb port got broken

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 02:49:55 -0700

I have a WD my passport, where the usb port is broken and i asked in service centre, everyone said nothin can be done. it has to be throwed and my very important files are there in it. pls help me out guys.

⟐ Commented 十一月 04, 2024 at 2:49 GMT-7

Western Digital My Passport: Why my device is very slow and beeb while working?

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 05:16:11 -0700

My device has been stop working then it works but it becomes very slow, I cant explore r copy any thing from it and there is a strange sound like beebing wile working ?????

⟐ Answered 九月 13, 2019 at 5:16 GMT-7