Windows 10: External 4TB WD Easystore Drive Shows as "Unknown Disk - Not Initialized" – Need to read...

I have a 4TB Western Digital Easystore external hard drive model: 266A containing around 2TB of important data. It was working perfectly on multiple Windows 11 PCs and laptops until recently.Now, the drive is no longer showing up in File Explorer on my laptop. However:It appears in Device Manager under Disk Drives.It is listed in the “Safely Remove Hardware” option.In Disk Management, it shows as “Disk 1 – Unknown, Not Initialized” and forces me to initialize the disk either MBR or GPT every time I plug it in.I am afraid that initializing the disk will likely erase my data, so I have not i

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External Hard Disk (WD Elements) Not Working /Unknown - Not Initialized/

Hello,

My Laptop is not showing the drive for External Hard Disk (WD Elements) in "My PC". I only show the existing Drives C and D (system partitioned ones). But the Hard Disk is identified by "Devices and Printers" under Elements 10B8 - When I click on Properties and then Hardware, it shows the name of Hard Disk as "WD Elements 10B8 USB Device"; also, Device status shown as "This device is working properly.".

From Microsoft Explorer Window -> Disk Management - Hard Disk is populated as Disk1 as "Unknown" and "Not Initialized". Please note that it does not show any volume details. When I try to Initialize the Disk, using both GPT or MBR options, system throws an error message "The Request failed due to a fatal device hardware error".

I have tried to change the cable, tried it in multiple USB ports; Also, I have tried the options already available on internet for troubleshooting; each case that I have seen is different from what I have. Can someone review and assist?

 

Win10 Disk Management not recognizing my WesternDigital external backup drive

No, the WD 4TB external backup drive is not partitioned.

My desktop has two internal drives. C: is 2TB and E: is 1TB. Neither is partitioned.

Incidentally, I plugged my WD into my laptop whose Disk Management only had this one entry:

Disk 0

Basic 298.09 GB

Online

and the WD showed up as a new entry there:

Disk 1

Unknown

3725.99 GB | 3725.99 GB

Not initiated | Unallocated

So, at least WIn10 is consistent between my desktop and my laptop.

 

External Hard Drive Only Reads as "Local Disk"

Hello,

I was able to fix one of my hard drives with a simple step, hopefully, I can fix another!

I have a WD Easystore HDD that has a lot of good graphic design material I can't lose. However, when I plug it in, the File Folder freezes up, and Disk Management hasn't loaded up all the way either. Normally with Disk Management, you see a list of drives to
work on. It currently still says "Connecting to Virtual Disk Service."

When I click on the drive I want to access, it takes a long time to load, as if it doesn't want to, and File Folder freezes. What can I do to repair this? Or is my External HDD permanently damaged?