My Passport Ultra 500 GB Drive Partion is Lost on Format or Erase in WD Drive Utilities

Description

The user partition is lost after format or erase of the drive.

This can happen on some 500GB My Passport Ultra (WDBWWM5000Axx) drives when these steps occur.

• WD Drive Utilities is used to erase or format the drive.
• Drive is ejected from the computer.
• It is connected to the computer again.

Resolution

Drive With a Password

Format the drive using Windows Disk Manager or macOS Disk Utilities.

Need more help?
Answer ID 8200: Steps to Format a Drive for Use with Windows or macOS

Drive Without a Password

1. Erase the drive using WD Drive Utilities.
   
   Need more help?
   Answer ID 50396: How to Install and Use WD Drive Utilities Software


2. Format the drive using Windows Disk Manager or macOS Disk Utilities.
   
   Need more help?
   Answer ID 8200: Steps to Format a Drive for Use with Windows or macOS