Western Digital and Windows 10: Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard...

badapple Loc: Twin Lake, Michigan

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

Do you have the latest firmware/software updates for your drive and drivers for Win10? Might want to check that our before re-formatting...

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you tried different cables and different computer ports? I have several old drives, mostly WD and they work just fine on W10, either as internal disks or USB attach, no difference from W7.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

All of mine are working fine and some are 7 years old. Maybe you were using an older format system. Check WD's site for info and firmware/driver updates.
I have seen a post where someone used a second drive and saved everything from the old drive in a more modern format that worked with Win 8.1 so it should work with Win 10. The old drive had been used with XP and 98 second edition computers.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Is the drive recognized in File Explorer? If not, turn off the drive, disconnect from PC, turn off PC, reboot then reconnect the drive. If that does not work, go to Disk Management (right click Start) and see if you can initialize it. This link may help: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754936.aspx
Mark

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Can you attach the drive to another PC? What does it see? If the other PC sees the drive, you could back up the contents.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If the drive is not recognizable on the Win 10 machine, you won't be able to re-format it on that machine.

As has been suggested, disconnect the drive, then shut down and restart your PC. Then, plug the drive into a different USB port, preferably one directly on the PC (as opposed to a USB hub).

If this fails, talk to WD, or start at this link. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/windows-10-does-not-recognize-western-digital-my/07fd8a58-cd3c-4c6c-8d8a-4ab9b1bc982e

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

markngolf wrote:

Is the drive recognized in File Explorer? If not, turn off the drive, disconnect from PC, turn off PC, reboot then reconnect the drive. If that does not work, go to Disk Management (right click Start) and see if you can initialize it. This link may help: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754936.aspx
Mark

Exactly. No need to reformat the drive - the file system hasn't changed.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

markngolf wrote:

Is the drive recognized in File Explorer? If not, turn off the drive, disconnect from PC, turn off PC, reboot then reconnect the drive. If that does not work, go to Disk Management (right click Start) and see if you can initialize it. This link may help: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754936.aspx
Mark

Excellent tip, just follow the advice in this link and that should should the trick.
Before using this method try using any other USB cable you have, I did this recently with an old WD hard drive which my PC would not recognise.
I tested all my USB cables and marked them as working with that External HDD.
There are two ways I can tell if my drives have been recognised, one is a ping noise, the other is in "Show Hidden Icons" click on the USB icon and you hard drive will show up if it has been recognised.
Another tip is to put the drive next to your ear and you hear it spinning.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

badapple wrote:

Since switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have been unable to access my "WD My Passport" external hard drive. I think or heard that older WD hard drives were not compatible with Windows 10. I've considered re-formatting to see if I could start over but hate to lose all the information. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Any hard drive should be findable. Some suggestions -

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/external-drive-not-recognized-this-is-how-to-fix-it-in-windows/
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/22251/find-your-missing-usb-drive-in-windows-7-vista/
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/external-hard-drive-not-recognized/

Graham1949 Loc: Nottingham, England.

I had the same issue as you. I contacted WD and they pointed me in the right direction.
Get on to them they'll help you out, I see the links are already provide by other hoggers.
Good luck and don't despair. Good luck.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

jerryc41 wrote:

Any hard drive should be findable. Some suggestions -

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/external-drive-not-recognized-this-is-how-to-fix-it-in-windows/
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/22251/find-your-missing-usb-drive-in-windows-7-vista/
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/external-hard-drive-not-recognized/

I have one that is findable, it just won't format, but I think I know how to fix it, and I know where my 3lb lump hammer is!