Fix WD My Passport Hard Drive Not Detected, But LED is Blinking

Summary: You may encounter the ‘WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking’ error due to various reasons. In this post, we will discuss some effective workarounds that can help you troubleshoot this issue. If the hard drive is physically damaged, you need to contact a professional data recovery provider to recover the data.

Western Digital My Passport is one of the more popular choices when it comes to external hard drives. Not as expensive as LaCie but with almost the same ruggedness it has been a best seller for several years.

Its appeal lies in:

• WD is a trusted brand and among top hard drive manufacturers.
• Offers great value for money when compared to SSD.
• Storage from 1 TB to 5 TB.
• Enclosure made from premium ABS plastic.
• Compact and lightweight.
• Offers backup, password protection and 256-bit AES encryption.

Western Digital My Passport also offers USB 3.0 connectivity and a built-in WD Backup™ software that facilitates local and cloud backup functionality.

In a nutshell, the WD My Passport external hard drive is an all-in-one portable HDD with all the features and functionalities you seek.

However, WD external HDD is also prone to damage and other issues, like the WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking. This error indicates that the system doesn’t recognize your WD My Passport external hard drive.

Nevertheless, you can try a few workarounds to fix the error, WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking.

Using another USB port, changing the USB cable, connecting the hard drive to another computer system, etc are often what does the magic. But, in most cases, the HDD not detected issue occurs due to physical damage. To know more about My Passport Hard Drive Recovery read on.

Additional Reading: How to Recover Data from WD External Hard Drive During Warranty

How to Fix WD My Passport Not Detected but LED Blinking?

Let’s take a look at some effective methods to resolve this issue.

 

Methods	Steps
Show All Hidden Devices	Go to search bar > Type devmgmt.msc >
Change the USB Cable/Port	Try different USB cable or USB port >
Change the Drive Letter	Go to search bar > Type “Disk Management” >
Uninstall Drivers	Go to search bar > Type devmgmt.msc >
Change USB Suspend	Go to search bar > Type Control panel

1) Show All Hidden Devices

When you connect the WD My Passport in your computer system and it’s not detected, it might be hidden. To verify it, make all the devices unhidden.

Follow the below steps to unhide the devices on your computer system.

• Type “devmgmt.msc” in the Search bar and hit Enter.
• In the Device Manager window, navigate to the “View” tab.
• Expand it and select “Show hidden devices”.

• Reboot your computer system and check whether the system is detecting your WD My Passport hard drive.

2) Change the USB Cable/Port

You may face the issue if the USB cable is damaged or is not compatible with the respective USB port.

Use a new USB cable to connect WD My Passport. The system might be able to detect it.

Also change the USB port. A laptop has at least four and a desktop six. Though WD My Passport is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 it is better to connect it with USB 3.0 ports. To differentiate with USB 2.0 these are blue in colour.

Also in case of a desktop the front and back ports offer a different speed. Connect to a port at the back.

3) Change the Drive Letter

Windows assigns a drive letter to all connected volumes. Changing the drive letter could be a solution to your WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking.

Follow the below steps to change the drive letter of the WD My Passport hard drive:

• Type “Disk Management” in the search bar and hit Enter. You can also right click on Start and select Disk Management.
• In the Disk Management window, navigate to your connected WD drive, and right-click on it.
• Select “Change Drive Letter and Paths”.

Source: www.handyrecovery.com

• Assign a new letter to your WD external drive and save the changes.
• Reboot the device.
• Now, check whether it is being detected by the operating system.

4) Uninstall Drivers

There are chances that the drivers are not updated or have some issues. It could cause the problem WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking.

So, to troubleshoot the non-detected WD My Passport issue, uninstall the USB drivers. Follow the below steps:

• Type “devmgmt.msc” in the search bar and hit Enter.
• Device Manager will open.
• Navigate to “Disk Drives” and expand it.
• Right-click on WD My Passport. It might be named differently such as USB 3.0 Flash Storage Device or similar.
• Click on Properties.
• Select Driver tab.
• Click Update Driver.
• In the box that pops up select Search automatically for drivers.
• If Windows cannot find a driver then go back to the Driver tab and Uninstall Device.
• Shutdown the device.
• Remove WD My Passport.
• Start the device.
• Connect WD My Passport via USB 3.0 cable to a proper USB port.

It might resolve the problem you had, WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking.

5) Disable USB Selective Suspend

This feature of Windows works only for laptops. It shuts off power to some ports when the battery is low. This allows essential USB hardware like a mouse to operate but might shut down the mic.

You need to disable this feature to resolve the error WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking.

1. Type Control Panel in Start bar

2. Click Hardware and Sound

3. Click Power Options

4. Change Plan Settings

5. Select Advanced Power Settings

6. Scroll down to USB settings

7. There are two types: On Battery and Plugged In disable both

FAQs

1. How is data recovery possible?

When data or file is deleted, the data might not be erased. The log of its location is deleted.

Using proprietary algorithms and with years of experience, Stellar Data Recovery engineers know exactly how to piece together the remaining data and create a brand new drive that is the same as the old one.

2. Can I check the health of WD My Passport? 

You can use Western Digital drive testing utility from their site. You can also use a third party app. All of them check for SMART attributes stored inside the disk.

These are self test measurements that the hard disk does to report its heath. If you take good care of your WD My Passport and do not drop it, there is no reason why it should not last five years.

3. How quickly can Stellar Data Recovery work?

If there is a logical data loss (accidental file deletion or reformatting) Stellar Data Recovery can take an entire night to work through the whole disk. If you want to extract a few GB that is essential it can happen faster.

Hard Drive Recovery in a lab might take time. It depends on what is wrong with the external drive. Something fundamental such as firmware corruption can be fixed soon but fixing the access arm might take a while.

Additional Reading: Complete Working of Stellar Data Recovery Professional Explained

4. How much does data recovery cost?

The price of Stellar Data Recovery varies depending on the version and type of licence. Please visit the website to know the updated price and avail of offers.

In lab data recovery cost varies with the project. You might need the help of a team of engineers and they have to spend a week on the damaged WD My Passport. Otherwise it might be a simple problem that requires a day.

Only after we do a preliminary examination can we provide all the information.

Additional Reading: How Much Does Data Recovery Cost In India

5. How will recovered data be sent to me? 

We shall send the data from My Passport Hard Drive Recovery in a USB pen drive or an external hard drive. You can send us the device or buy one from us.

Seek Help of Third-Party WD My Passport Data Recovery Services

If none of the above workarounds works, it indicates that the hard drive is physically damaged. In such a case, seek the help of a professional data recovery services provider, such as Stellar Data Recovery for hard drive recovery . If you have the problem WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking then they can help get the data back with 100% safety and integrity.

Stellar Data Recovery is known for its adept services and transparent communication with the client. The data care experts at Stellar follow a specific process to retrieve data from HDD. The process involves the following:

• The WD My Passport hard drive is examined in the controlled environment of the Class 100 Cleanroom lab.
• The lab team detects the cause and treats it carefully. If needed a component is changed.
• Then, the HDD is cloned and the data is retrieved using proprietary software.

In a Nutshell

The ‘WD My Passport hard drive not detected, but the LED is blinking’ error indicates that your system does not recognize the HDD. There could be different reasons behind this error. You can try troubleshooting this error by changing the USB port or cable, uninstalling the drivers, changing the drive letter, etc. But, these are simply workarounds and might not solve the problem.

Unfortunately, if the WD My Passport external hard drive does not respond, you need to contact a professional data recovery services provider, such as Stellar Data Recovery. They are certified and trusted with remarkable experience in recovering data from physically damaged WD hard drives.

Additional Reading: How to Recover Data from Western Digital My Book Live NAS Drive?