WD My Passport not showing up in “This PC”

Western Digital’s My Passport is a popular external hard drive series used for backups, file transfers, and portable storage. However, many users face a frustrating issue where WD My Passport doesn't show up in “This PC” after plugging it in.

This problem can be alarming, especially if you rely on the drive for important data. But in most cases, it’s fixable with a few troubleshooting steps.

Common Reasons Why WD My Passport Isn’t Showing Up

There are several possible causes for the drive not appearing in File Explorer:

The drive isn’t assigned a drive letter

USB port or cable issues

Outdated or corrupt drivers

The drive is disabled or hidden

File system errors or corruption

The drive is not initialized or partitioned

Drive is showing as RAW or unallocated

Let’s walk through each possible fix step by step.

Step 1: Check Basic Hardware Connections

Try another USB port: Plug the drive into a different port—preferably a USB 3.0 port on the back of your desktop.

Use a different cable: A damaged or low-quality USB cable can prevent the drive from being recognized.

Try another computer: See if the drive shows up on another system. If it does, the issue may lie with your original computer.

Step 2: Check Disk Management

If the drive doesn’t show in “This PC,” it may still be visible in Disk Management:

Press Win + X → select Disk Management

Look for a drive that is marked as:

Without a drive letter

If You See It:

Assign a drive letter:

Right-click the WD My Passport volume

Select Change Drive Letter and Paths

Click Add or Change, then assign a letter

Initialize the drive (if uninitialized):

Right-click on the disk (left side label like “Disk 1”)

Click Initialize Disk

Choose GPT or MBR, then create a new volume

Format the drive (if RAW or unallocated):

If data recovery isn't a concern, right-click the unallocated space and choose New Simple Volume

⚠️ Note: Formatting will erase all data.

Step 3: Update or Reinstall Drivers

Sometimes the drive doesn’t appear due to driver issues.

Press Win + X → Device Manager

Expand Disk drives or Universal Serial Bus controllers

Look for your WD My Passport (it might show as “Unknown device”)

Right-click it and choose Update driver

If that fails, select Uninstall device and restart your computer—Windows will reinstall the correct drivers automatically

Step 4: Enable the Drive in BIOS/UEFI

In rare cases, external USB ports or drives might be disabled at the system firmware level:

Reboot your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI setup (usually by pressing Del, F2, or F10)

Make sure USB ports are enabled

Save and exit

Step 5: Use WD Utilities

Western Digital offers WD Drive Utilities, which can check the health of the drive and help with setup.

Download from: Western Digital Support

Install and launch it

See if your drive is detected there

Run diagnostics to check for issues

Step 6: Recover Data (if Needed)

If the drive appears in Disk Management but is RAW or unallocated, use data recovery software before formatting:

These tools can help extract files from a corrupted drive before you reformat it.

Final Thoughts

When your WD My Passport doesn't show up in “This PC”, don’t panic. Most of the time, it's a logical or driver-related issue—not permanent data loss. Start by checking Disk Management, update your drivers, and only format the drive as a last resort (and only after recovering important data).

If the drive still doesn’t work across multiple systems or isn’t detected at all, it could be a sign of hardware failure—and you may need professional data recovery services or a replacement under warranty.