# my WD 1TB External 3.0 Hard Drive will not recognize by my Computer



## Dev in need (Mar 17, 2011)

Hello I’m using Windows 8.1 pro and my WD 1TB External 3.0 Hard Drive will not recognize by my Computer. The light comes on but it does should the (G letter anymore all my other hard drives work. I tried using devise manager and updating the External storage media then I tried uninstalling them and it did reinstall any of the drivers I remove once plugged back in. What should I do?

Also the light on the drive doesn't blink it just stays on.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

There are no drivers required for a USB Mass Storage drive. They are supplied automatically from Windows. 
With the drive attached go to Search and type *diskmgmt.msc* Right click the *diskmgmt* results and* Run As Administrator*. In the Elevated *Disk Management *window is your drive listed here? Is the file system listed as *Unallocated Space* or is the Disk listed as *RAW*? 
You can try to recover your files by using the free TestDisk program. I have had the best luck with GetDataBack. You will need another drive of the same size or larger to restore your files to.


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## Dev in need (Mar 17, 2011)

It still doesnt show with either program what should I do?


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> With the drive attached go to Search and type *diskmgmt.msc* Right click the *diskmgmt* results and* Run As Administrator*. In the Elevated *Disk Management *window is your drive listed here?


If your drive is not listed in* Disk Management* or the recovery programs, the drive has failed. If you have had it for less then one year, you can return it to *W*estern *D*igital for a replacement.


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## Dev in need (Mar 17, 2011)

I got my data back. Hard drive now shuts off after a amount of time and doesn’t work once again. I’m thinking it’s a hardware issue with the drive it’s self, but it’s so new Seagate has never did this to me WD is the first to. Looking like I’m never buying WD hard drives again.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

If it's new and you were able to restore your data to a different drive, then return it to WD for a free replacement.


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