J
JanBalajka
I am using Dell Latitude E7240, with Windows 7. I have two external hard drives (WD) and until recently I was using both of them without problems. Now, I can't access any of those.
I checked the obvious possible issues:
- used different cables - still don't work
- used different USB ports - no difference
- all other USB devices work without problems (mouse, USB flash drive, ...)
- using on other PC's (Win 7, Win 10, Mac) - works without problems and all the data is on the HD.
- tried running it on power, on battery, plugged directly, plugged via the docking station - all combinations - no difference
When I plug in any of the hard drives, shortly I see them appear as a drive next to C: and other drives. After a second or two, the external hard drive disappears and looks like it is not there. (the same behavior with another file managers). After this, I still see them in the 'Remove safely' option. If I remove and re-plug, the same behavior repeats.
In the device manager, I see the HD like it was there. I tried updating drivers (they were up-to-date already), uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. I also checked power settings, all looks fine. In disk management (diskmgmt.msc), I see the drives online, but without a letter. If I try to assign a letter, an error message appears.
The thing is, that both of them were working and both stopped at the same time, while they still work on other PC's. So this can't be a wrong formatting of the HD. I wonder if there is a software issue.
Any idea what could be wrong is highly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jan
For completness, I add the correspondence with WD:
I am sorry to see from your email that you are having issues accessing 2 WD drives on the same computer, even there is no access issue on other computers.
As you rightly said, based on all the testing you have already done, the issue is likely with the computer you are using and not the drives themselves.
It would be appreciated if you could provide us with a screenshot of the error you are receiving when you try to assign a drive letter via Disk Management. Does it say that the drive letter is already assigned?
Additionally, kindly please provide us with the following information:
It may be a good idea, for testing purposes to try formatting the drive, just to confirm that the issue indeed lies with the computer. As such, since the data is still accessible on other computers, please copy it to another location, and try formatting the drive via Disk Management, in the particular computer:
If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.
My response:
Here is the error message, when I click on "Change drive letter or path" in Disk Management:
Clicking on "Refresh" or restarting the PC does not change it. (the same error appears again).
To your next question - yes, there is Service Pack 1 installed.
I already updated the firmware before contacting you (but it was up-to-date already).
Here, some additional information about the drivers (I am not sure if this is relevant).
I ran the extended diagnostic test just now according to your instructions. Here the results.
From your suggestions, I tried everything except formatting the drive. I would prefer to avoid this if possible and maybe you will identify the problem already with information from this email.
Thank you very much for your support.
Follow up:
Since your drive passes the diagnostic tests, and works fine on other computers, then the issue definitely lies with the computer.
The specific error message indicates an issue with the operating system on this computer, rather than anything else.
To try and resolve the issue, please try the following:
Solution 1: Re-install the volume
Solution 2: Assign drive letter using Diskpart.exe command
If the issue is not resolved, then you may need to talk with Microsoft as well, for further assistance.
My response:
thank you for your reply and for assuring that the drive itself is fine.
I tried the procedures you suggested, unfortunately, none of them worked
1. Initially, I see three Generic volumes under storage volumes. When I plug the HD, a fourth one appears. It is called again "Generic volume".
Upon right-click, properties, there seems to be some issue with the firmware (this might give you a hint)
When I proceed according to your instructions, uninstall the volume, restart the PC, open the device manager again and scan for hardware changes,
a notification "Installing new device driver" appears, but proceeds unsuccessfully.
In the end, the drive still behaves the same (disappears a few seconds after I plug it in)
2.
Initially, I see two volumes of my PC upon typing the command "list volume". When I plug in the drive and repeatedly type "list volume" for a short time I see the drive with (correctly) assigned letter F. As usually, after 2-3 seconds, the drive is not detected anymore.
Thank you very much for your support,
If you suggest contacting Microsoft next, I will use this testing to explain my issue.
Any idea what could be wrong is highly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jan
Continue reading...
I checked the obvious possible issues:
- used different cables - still don't work
- used different USB ports - no difference
- all other USB devices work without problems (mouse, USB flash drive, ...)
- using on other PC's (Win 7, Win 10, Mac) - works without problems and all the data is on the HD.
- tried running it on power, on battery, plugged directly, plugged via the docking station - all combinations - no difference
When I plug in any of the hard drives, shortly I see them appear as a drive next to C: and other drives. After a second or two, the external hard drive disappears and looks like it is not there. (the same behavior with another file managers). After this, I still see them in the 'Remove safely' option. If I remove and re-plug, the same behavior repeats.
In the device manager, I see the HD like it was there. I tried updating drivers (they were up-to-date already), uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. I also checked power settings, all looks fine. In disk management (diskmgmt.msc), I see the drives online, but without a letter. If I try to assign a letter, an error message appears.
The thing is, that both of them were working and both stopped at the same time, while they still work on other PC's. So this can't be a wrong formatting of the HD. I wonder if there is a software issue.
Any idea what could be wrong is highly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jan
For completness, I add the correspondence with WD:
I am sorry to see from your email that you are having issues accessing 2 WD drives on the same computer, even there is no access issue on other computers.
As you rightly said, based on all the testing you have already done, the issue is likely with the computer you are using and not the drives themselves.
It would be appreciated if you could provide us with a screenshot of the error you are receiving when you try to assign a drive letter via Disk Management. Does it say that the drive letter is already assigned?
Additionally, kindly please provide us with the following information:
- Is Service Pack 1 installed on Windows in this particular computer?
- Have you run any diagnostics on the drives? If not please try running the Extended tests as per below:
https://support.wdc.com/ - Also, please try updating the firmware of the WD Drives using the WD Universal Firmware Updater for Windows:
https://support.wdc.com/
It may be a good idea, for testing purposes to try formatting the drive, just to confirm that the issue indeed lies with the computer. As such, since the data is still accessible on other computers, please copy it to another location, and try formatting the drive via Disk Management, in the particular computer:
If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and we will be happy to assist you further.
My response:
Here is the error message, when I click on "Change drive letter or path" in Disk Management:
Clicking on "Refresh" or restarting the PC does not change it. (the same error appears again).
To your next question - yes, there is Service Pack 1 installed.
I already updated the firmware before contacting you (but it was up-to-date already).
Here, some additional information about the drivers (I am not sure if this is relevant).
I ran the extended diagnostic test just now according to your instructions. Here the results.
From your suggestions, I tried everything except formatting the drive. I would prefer to avoid this if possible and maybe you will identify the problem already with information from this email.
Thank you very much for your support.
Follow up:
Since your drive passes the diagnostic tests, and works fine on other computers, then the issue definitely lies with the computer.
The specific error message indicates an issue with the operating system on this computer, rather than anything else.
To try and resolve the issue, please try the following:
Solution 1: Re-install the volume
- Open Device Manager. Press Win + R keys to open Run box where you should enter devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
- Click View menu and select “Show Hidden Devices”. Then you can find Storage Volumes in the following directory tree.
- Under Storage volumes, you can see a volume called Unknown device. Right click on it and choose “Uninstall”. If you are prompted to give confirmation, click OK.
- You may ask to restart computer, go ahead and open device manager again. Click Action from menu and choose “Scan for Hardware Changes”
Solution 2: Assign drive letter using Diskpart.exe command
- Run the command prompt. Click the Start button and enter cmd into the search box, and then right-click cmd from the result list to select “Run as administrator”.
- Enter diskpart and press Enter, and continue entering list volume and hitting Enter. View and remember the number next to the drive you want to assign a drive letter.
- Type select volume 4 (for example) and press Enter to tell diskpart which drive you want to make changes. The drive number is 4 in this example and you should replace it with the actual volume number on your computer. Then you can see a message in command prompt: Volume 4 is the selected volume.
- Input assign letter=G and press Enter. G is the drive letter and you can substitute G with other letter you want to use.
If the issue is not resolved, then you may need to talk with Microsoft as well, for further assistance.
My response:
thank you for your reply and for assuring that the drive itself is fine.
I tried the procedures you suggested, unfortunately, none of them worked
1. Initially, I see three Generic volumes under storage volumes. When I plug the HD, a fourth one appears. It is called again "Generic volume".
Upon right-click, properties, there seems to be some issue with the firmware (this might give you a hint)
When I proceed according to your instructions, uninstall the volume, restart the PC, open the device manager again and scan for hardware changes,
a notification "Installing new device driver" appears, but proceeds unsuccessfully.
In the end, the drive still behaves the same (disappears a few seconds after I plug it in)
2.
Initially, I see two volumes of my PC upon typing the command "list volume". When I plug in the drive and repeatedly type "list volume" for a short time I see the drive with (correctly) assigned letter F. As usually, after 2-3 seconds, the drive is not detected anymore.
Thank you very much for your support,
If you suggest contacting Microsoft next, I will use this testing to explain my issue.
Any idea what could be wrong is highly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jan
Continue reading...