This article helps you perform WD My Passport data recovery. Check the 2 step-by-step methods here to recover files from WD external hard drives easily.
I deleted a folder from my WD passport without remembering that it had sub folders with my pictures, and subsequently deleted the files from my recycle bin. Is there any way to recover these files?
- Question from TechSupport Forum
Western Digital has manufactured a series of portable external hard disks. Regarding My Passport, there are six series of devices: Essential, Essential SE, Elite, Essential for Mac, Studio, and Essential SE for Mac.
But the storage device, as delicate machine, needs to be treated with care and is prone to be physically damaged, which causes severe data loss. Many anxious people seek solutions to perform WD My Passport data recovery after discovering WD My Passport files disappeared or were deleted.
Luckily, this article aims to give feasible and practicable solutions to retrieve files from WD Passport.
Now follow the methods below to recover data from WD external hard drives.
When you need to perform WD My Passport hard drive recovery, using professional data recovery software is one of the best ways to help you.
Here, we first recommend a simple data recovery software called MyRecover. It is a user-friendly tool for anyone who doesn't know much about computers. No matter how your WD My Cloud drive data was lost, MyRecover can help you recover it easily.
π₯ Bonus: It alllows you to recover 500MB of data for free. Follow the steps to recover deleted files from WD My Passport effortlessly.
Step 1. Connect your Western Digital storage device to the PC > Hover the mouse over the external hard drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.
Step 2. Detected files could be sorted and searched by Type, Size, Path, etc.
Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original location if you can still recall > choose files to restore > click Recover x files. If failed in locating your files, please go to Other missing files and select the files you need, e.g., Images.
To deal with an external hard drive, common methods like Previous Versions, File History, etc., cannot work as well as they were, because they could only apply to a local drive. Also, after you have deleted items from external storage devices, you would find deleted files are not in Recycle Bin. All data removed from a portable disk will be permanently wiped.
Given this, you might as well utilize Windows File Recovery. It is an official tool designed by Microsoft. Using recovery modes and switches, it scans healthy/corrupted/formatted hard disks for deleted or missing files.
Step 1. Connect the Western Digital My Passport to your PC properly > This PC > right-click the connected drive > Properties. Check the File System.
Step 2. Different recovery modes apply to different File Systems and data loss scenarios.
| File system | Scenarios | mode |
| NTFS | Deleted recently | Regular |
| NTFS | Deleted for a while | Extensive |
| NTFS | Formatted disk | Extensive |
| NTFS | corrupted disk | Extensive |
| FAT and exFAT | Any | Extensive |
Step 3. Switches are parameters to filter and target the files you need.
| Switches | Meaning | Supported mode(s) |
| /n | Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc. | All |
| /y: | Recovers specific extension groups. | Signature |
| /k | Recovers system files. | NTFS Segmentβββββ |
| /segment | Segment mode; recovers files under NTFS drives using file record segments. | Segment |
| /signature | Signature mode; recovers files under all file system types using file headers. | Signature |
| /u | Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin. | NTFS Segment |
Step 4. Access the Microsoft Store > search for Windows File Recovery > click Get.
Step 5. A command is required to scan the drive.
Command format: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
E.g., winfr F: D: /extensive /n *.jpg
Press “y” to continue and get all lost jpg files back from the source f: drive to the destination drive.
The command must be correct to execute. Refer to the Windows File Recovery tutorial if you need help correcting the command syntax.
Let’s walk through the causes of WD My Passport data loss . Usually, file loss on external hard disk results from these factors.
β File/partition deletion. If you have mistakenly deleted partition from the WD drive, the data in it will be lost right away, so as deleting files.
βPhysical damage. Clicking sounds and freezing/lagging may signal physical damage to the disk, head assembly, or other delicate elements, causing info loss.
β Virus intrusion. Infected by ransom viruses, your files might get deleted, modified, hidden, or encrypted.
β Disk formatting. Whether you do a quick format or a complete format, formatting a drive will erase everything on the external hard disks. Refer to the tutorial to recover data from formatted hard drives.
β System crash. An abrupt shutdown might disrupt the data writing process, resulting in data loss.
Among these reasons, physical damage is the most severe and tricky oneand usually could not be settled by an ordinary user. Please send the WD My Passport drive to a professional in-lab data recovery service ASAP.
Practicable WD My Passport data recovery solutions are stated in this post. Windows File Recovery is pretty comprehensive that can meet lots of data loss situations. But without an intuitive user interface, it is difficult for users to handle this tool.
Instead, users need a much easier and more efficient Windows data recovery tool that facilitates users to recover data from healthy/formatted external storage media in just a few simple steps. MyRecover is undoubtedly a good choice.
More related questions are prepared with answers in case you need them.
1. Can I recover data from a WD My Passport that is not detected?
If your WD My Passport drive not showing up at all in Disk Management, you can't recover data using software. But if it appears there, even though it's not showing in File Explorer or Finder, you can still use recovery software.
2. How to protect WD My Passport data?
3. How to restore WD My Passport to factory settings?
There’s no real "factory reset" option for most drives unless it’s a special model like My Passport Wireless. You can restore it by doing a full format. Make sure you choose the "full" format, not the "quick" one, to completely erase the data. A quick format only marks the data as deleted, which means it can still be recovered.
4. Is it possible to recover data from a formatted WD My Passport?
Yes, you can undo quick format, but not after a full format where the data is permanently erased. If you've only done a quick format and haven't used the drive much, you can try recovery tools like MyRecover to get back your files.
5. Why is my WD hard drive not showing on the computer?
This indicates that the WD hard drive is not detectable by the computer. Please try using another USB cable/port. Update the driver. Back up the data in it ASAP using reliable backup software for Windows, then format it to bring it back to normal. If no data is accessible, send it to a data recovery service nearby.
6. How do I format my WD My Book for Windows 10?
Right click the WD My Book hard drive in This PC > click Format > choose a preferred File System > choose Quick Format (according to your need) > Start.
