Fix My Passport Not Working/Recognized/Detected: 5 Solutions

Why is My Passport Not Working?

External hard drives like WD's My Passport are reliable storage solutions. However, sometimes they also come with problems like My Passport not working, not recognized, or not showing up in File Explorer, which could be stressful. There are several reasons your WD My Passport external hard drive might stop working properly. Some of the most common causes include:

• Faulty USB cables or ports
• Power issues, especially on USB hubs
• Physical damage or internal component failure
• Corrupted or outdated drivers
• No assigned drive letter
• Unrecognized or unsupported file system
• Disk errors or bad sectors

Simple Way to Clone My Passport for Backup/Replacement

Data loss is the biggest risk when an external hard disk starts to fail. To protect all the data stored on the hard drive, cloning the disk is the most effective way. Professional disk cloning tools like AOMEI Cloner ensure that you create an exact replica of My Passport on another hard drive before attempting a dangerous repair. This is also a great solution that helps you replace your hard drive quickly and easily without data loss.

This professional WD SSD migration tool makes data transfer, including operating system, installed programs, and files, from one disk to another easy for everyone. Its key features include:

Download and install AOMEI Cloner on your computer, then go to Clone > Disk Clone to migrate everything from your My Passport to a new disk with ease!

Part 1. Fix My Passport Not Recognized/Detected/Showing up in Windows 10/11

Sometimes, your My Passport might be physically connected but invisible to Windows. This is often a recognition issue rather than hardware failure. Here are a few ways to resolve it:

Way 1. Check Disk Connections

A loose or defective connection is one of the most overlooked causes when the My Passport external drive not recognized or cannot be detected WD My Passport problem occurs. You can check it with the following steps:

• Disconnect the drive and inspect the USB cable for physical damage.
• Try using a different USB cable or plug it into another USB port on your PC.
• Avoid USB hubs; instead, connect directly to a rear USB port if you're on a desktop.
• Try another PC to confirm if the issue is drive-specific or system-related.

Way 2. Assign a Drive Letter in Disk Management

If your drive is detected in Disk Management but not in File Explorer, it may not have a drive letter assigned. Fix this with the following steps:

Step 1. Press Win + X and select Disk Management. Locate your My Passport drive (usually labeled as Removable or WD, or showing as Healthy without a letter).

Step 2. Right-click on it and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Step 3. Click Add or Change, then assign an unused letter.

Step 4. Click OK and refresh File Explorer to check if the computer won't recognize My Passport external hard drive problem fixed. This can also help solve flash drive not showing up in Windows.

Way 3. Update or Reinstall Disk Drivers

Outdated or corrupt drivers can also be the culprit when My Passport is not showing up or recognized. Here you may need to update or reinstall the WD My Passport driver.

Step 1. Press Win + X, select Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand Disk Drives and locate your My Passport device.

Step 3. Right-click and choose Update driver > Search automatically for drivers.

Step 4. If that doesn't help, choose Uninstall device.

Step 5. Unplug the drive, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Windows will reinstall the driver.

You can also update Universal Serial Bus controllers the same way. If your WD My Passport not showing up in Windows 11/10 persists, your system might be recognizing it, but the file system could be damaged.

Part 2. Fix My Passport Not Working in Windows 10/11

If the drive is visible but unresponsive or prompts error messages, chances are you’re dealing with disk errors or file system corruption. These fixes can restore My Passport hard drive not working back to normal.

Way 4. Run CHKDSK to Repair File System Errors

CHKDSK (Check Disk) is a reliable utility that scans and repairs file system problems and bad sectors, which cause Passport hard drive not working or other problems like NVMe SSD keeps disconnecting. To run CHKDSK:

Step 1. Press Win + S, type cmd, and run Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 2. Type the following and press Enter:

• chkdsk X: /f /r /x (Replace X with the letter of your My Passport drive)

Step 3. Wait for the scan to complete. It might take a while depending on the drive size. Once done, restart your PC and check the drive again.

Way 5. Format the Disk

When all else fails and the drive is unreadable, formatting may be your only option for WD Passport not working. But it should be noted that this will erase all data, so use this as a last resort, or only after transferring your data to another disk via cloning. To format the drive in Windows:

Step 1. Go to Disk Management by pressing Win + X > selecting Disk Management.

Step 2. Find your My Passport drive, right-click on the volume, and choose Format.

Step 3. Choose NTFS or exFAT as the file system (NTFS for Windows-only use, exFAT for cross-platform).

Step 4. Uncheck Quick Format if you want a deeper clean. Click OK to begin.

Conclusion

When My Passport is not working or is not showing up in File Explorer, the problem can often be traced back to connection issues, driver faults, or file system corruption. Fortunately, the issues can be resolved using basic Windows tools. And if you’re planning to replace or upgrade hard drive, use AOMEI Cloner for one-click data migration without headaches.