Western Digital My Passport external hard drives are widely used by business professionals, healthcare providers, and individuals for secure data storage and backups. However, when an external drive fails to appear in File Explorer but is visible in Disk Management, it often indicates logical corruption, partition damage, or bad sectors, making stored data inaccessible.
This case study details how we successfully recovered 240 dental X-rays and patient records for a local dentist in Guildford from a WD My Passport external hard drive, after the drive became unreadable due to logical corruption and aging components.
As Guildford Data Recovery, Surrey’s oldest and best data recovery company, we have 25 years of experience using deep sector scanning, partition repair, and forensic data extraction techniques to restore lost medical files securely and confidentially.
WD My Passport Not Showing in File Explorer & Containing Corrupted Sectors
A Guildford-based dentist contacted us after their WD My Passport external hard drive stopped working, with the following issues:
- The drive was not detected in File Explorer but appeared in Disk Management.
- Disk Management showed the drive as “Unallocated” or “RAW.”
- Attempts to access the drive resulted in error messages stating it was unreadable.
- The drive contained 240 client X-rays and dental records essential for patient care.
Since continuing to use a failing hard drive can cause further data corruption, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the WD My Passport hard drive arrived at our secure cleanroom facility, we conducted a full hardware and partition table diagnostic. Our findings:
- Logical corruption (Partition table damage) – Preventing Windows from reading the file system.
- Corrupted sectors & aging NAND components – Leading to slow response times and data errors.
- No major physical damage detected, meaning logical recovery was possible through partition repair and deep scanning.
Since logical corruption can make a healthy drive appear “empty” or RAW, we prioritized non-intrusive data extraction techniques.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging the Hard Drive to Prevent Further Data Loss
To preserve all recoverable data, we:
- Created a sector-by-sector forensic clone of the WD My Passport drive.
- Used advanced imaging tools to extract readable sectors while avoiding further corruption.
2. Repairing the Partition Table & File System
Since the drive’s partition table was damaged, we:
- Rebuilt the MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table).
- Repaired the NTFS file system to restore missing directories.
3. Extracting & Verifying Dentist’s Patient Data
Once the partition was restored, we:
- Recovered all 240 client X-rays, treatment plans, and appointment records.
- Restored folder structures exactly as they were before corruption.
- Transferred the fully restored data to a secure external backup device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our partition repair and deep forensic sector recovery techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the dentist’s lost client files, including:
✅ 240 patient X-rays in DICOM format
✅ Dental records, appointment schedules, and treatment history
✅ Organised file structures restored for easy access
The dentist was able to retrieve all essential medical records, preventing patient treatment delays and compliance issues.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful hard drive recoveries, we are England’s leading data recovery specialists for medical professionals. Our expertise includes:
✔ Partition table repair & RAW drive recovery
✔ Bad sector cloning & deep forensic scanning
✔ Confidential retrieval of medical records, X-rays, and patient data
✔ Secure & GDPR-compliant data recovery services
If your external hard drive is not showing in File Explorer, displaying RAW errors, or preventing access to critical medical files, stop using it immediately and contact us for expert data recovery.