# WD My Passport 1TB not accessible



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi!
I have a WD My Passport 1TB which I bought two months ago. Just a week ago, it got broken for no apparent reason, never dropped, never unsafely removed, never soaked in water, etc. I couldn’t access the drive anymore. A drive letter will appear in My Computer. When I click it however, it just keeps loading for a very long time then a message will appear saying, “G:/ is not accessible. The parameter is incorrect”. The hard drive keeps on blinking and you can hear some kind of a rotating sound. I have some precious files around 400gb that I really need to retrieve. Can anyone please help me? I’ve tried the following to no avail:

a. Used other cable wires but still doesn’t work.
b. Run checkdisk (i.e. chkdsk /f /r /x G: ) but it doesn’t work and an error message appears saying “The type of file system is NTFS, Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid”.
c. Changed the drive letter but it still won’t open.
d. Run testdisk and try to recover my file. When I try to open my drive after it shows up in the program, it keeps loading forever and I can’t access the various recovery and diagnostics menu of the program. 
e. Tried the external hard drive to other computers but still won’t work. 
f. I checked Device Manager and I can see my drive and is saying that the hardware is functioning properly. Sometimes however it will show, “Code 1: The device is not configured” or “Code 10: The device failed/cannot start”. 
g. I tried using other laptops and other operating systems (XP, Windows 7, Windows 8) but the drive still won’t allow me access. When I try it on XP or Windows 8, a message saying, “Device/IO failed” or “The device is not formatted. Would you like to format it now?” sometimes appears.
h. When I was able to check it in Disk Management, it says the drive is ‘Raw’.
i. I also tried opening it through Linux system using a LiveUSB but the driver didn’t show up.
j. Tried updating the driver but still doesn’t work.

I actually have the following remaining last options in mind:
a. Reformat the drive and use testdisk’s Undelete tool so I can retrieve my files. (Will I still be able to keep my folders and file names using this method?)
b. Send it to a data recovery shop (although that will cost me a lot)
c. Send it to WD Service Center (will they be able to recover my files though? If possible, I would not like to try this option because of the possibility that I will lose my files)

I really don’t understand how the drive malfunctioned when I’ve taken so much care for it. Does anyone know what else I could possibly do aside from the three last options above? I would greatly appreciate your help! Thank you!!


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> you can hear some kind of a rotating sound.


All _Precious_ files should be kept on more the one HDD in case of disaster. 
Any abnormal sound from a HDD means the HDD has failed or is about to fail. 
In your case, it sounds more like the USB controller inside the Enclosure has failed. With other drive manufacturers you can remove the HDD from the enclosure and attach it to a USB Adapter or put it into another *USB enclosure* with a power adapter. However, *WD* has proprietary pin outs and firmware, so you can only use this drive in their enclosure. 
The Error message you are getting when running *Check Disk *is not an error message at all. Check Disk must _Unmount _the drive first before running Check Disk. Running the */R* switch will take a very long time especially if the drive is failing. So, be patient. 
TestDisk should work for you to recover your files. If this fails, you can make an Image file of the drive using TestDisk and try to recover your files from the_ Image _file. I have had the best luck with GetDataBack. With either program, you need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to. You can make and image file with this program too. 
Formatting with TestDisk will make it harder to recover your files. 
If the software recovery tools do not work for you, then your other option is to send it off to the very, very expensive Data Recovery shop, where they will open the case in a _Clean Room_ to access the data. 
Since you bought the drive 2 months ago. *WD* will replace it for free, but they will not recover your files for you.


----------



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi spunk.funk!

Thank you for the reply. With regards to Check Disk, after the message appears, it returns back to the command prompt, so I assume that Check Disk does nothing after that. I even left it out at night but Check Disk didn't process the drive when I woke up the following morning.

I'm actually having problems with TestDisk and other software recovery tools. I can see the drive but when I try to open it to get to the menus, it just keeps loading, I even left it out overnight. I'll try to make an image file however as you suggested. I'll update you as soon as possible.

By the way, if ever I do reformat the drive and use the Undelete feature of a data recovery software such as testdisk, will I still be able to keep the file names and the way they were stored in folders? 

Thanks so much!


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

*Undelete *is a part of the program that tries to recover _Deleted _files. If you *Format *the drive, you *Erase* it. This makes it much harder to recover files once they have been erased. You will not be able to keep the file names, because you would have *formatted* (erased) the HDD. 
*Check Disk* should start scanning the drive, the fact that it does not start, suggests that the HDD has failed. 
Try GetDataBack If it does not start to scan, then the HDD has failed. Put your ear next to the drive, do you hear it spinning? (eg) humming, vibrating? Or is it cold? If the latter or if the drive is clicking, grinding etc, then the drive has failed and needs to be replaced. Your only other option is to send it off to the very, very expensive Data Recovery


----------



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks for the info!

I can hear the hard drive spinning/vibrating/humming...it actually gets hot after I leave it out overnight.

Well then, in the worst case scenario that the image file option doesn't work, I guess I'll have to choose between 1) reformatting and painstakingly organize my files after recovery with the risk that I won't be able to recover all of it, or 2) wait for a long while 'til I have enough money to send it to a data recovery shop....

This is sad, and after I just went through the same ordeal two months ago...good thing I was able to recover my files through testdisk that time...just didn't expect the WD Passport to be broken so fast...

Maybe I should also start investing in Cloud storage...


----------



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi! I was finally able to access my hard drive using testdisk..I clicked on Analyse but then it says there is no bootable drive, so I did a quick search and a partition appeared, I set it as primary bootable, and then I don't know what I should do next....the drive still doesn't seem to work.


----------



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

I also accessed the Boot Menu and both the boot sector and backup boot sector are ok. The sectors are identical. However when I try to list the files, it says, Can't open file system. File system seems damaged. What does it mean? What do I have to do next?

Thanks so much!


----------



## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> Can't open file system. File system seems damaged. What does it mean?


 What does it mean?? It means the file system is damaged and you cannot access the data. 
If TestDisk doesn't work, then Try  GetDataBack If it does not start to scan, or if it can't access any of the files then the HDD has failed, and it needs to be replaced. Your only other option will be to send it off to the very, very Expensive Data Recovery Specialists.


----------



## Karafer (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi spunk.funk!

I'll try GetDataBack when I get home from work. Will update you immediately the results. Hope it works!

Thanks for the help as always!


----------

