7 Provens Ways to Fix WD Hard Drive No Showing Up Mac
Have you ever encountered the issue of WD hard drive not showing up on Mac? Various WD hard drive models may experience this problem, including WD Black, WD My Passport, WD Blue, WD Elements, and more. It can be a frustrating experience, especially when you need to access important data stored on the hard drive. Don’t worry! In this easy-to-follow guide, we will share 7 simple yet effective solutions to get your WD hard drive back. Without further ado, let’s get started!
Part 1: Why is WD hard drive not showing up on mac?
Unfortunately, there are several factors that could result in the issue of Western Digital hard drive not showing up on Mac. Before attempting any fixes, you might need to consider multiple possibilities. Here are the most common ones:
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- Faulty cable or connection
- File system corruption
- Outdated Mac operating system
- Hardware failure
- Virus infection
- Incompatible drive format
Part 2: Recover data from the unrecognized Western digital hard drive
If your WD external hard drive is not showing up on Mac, you might risk losing important data. To avoid this, we strongly recommend retrieving data from your WD hard drive and storing it in a secure location.One such solution is 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery. This tool not only recovers data from inaccessible WD hard drives but also supports various file types such as photos, images, documents, audio, and more. With its user-friendly design and impressive success rate, Tenorshare 4DDiG has become one of the highest-rated data recovery software in the industry.
Let’s take a look at how to recover data from a WD hard drive using Tenorshare 4DDiG:
Step 1: First of all, download and install 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery. Launch the program, connect your WD external hard drive to the Mac, and choose it to initiate the scanning process.
Step 2: Then, Tenorshare 4DDiG will immediately scan the WD hard drive thoroughly for lost files. To save valubale time, you can pause or stop the scan anytime if you’ve found the desired files.
Step 3: Once the target files are discovered, preview and recover them to a safe place. To avoid data overwriting, do not save the recovered files to the same partition where you initially lost them.
After creating a bacup, you can confidently address the issue of the Western Digital hard drive not showing up on Mac.
Part 3: How to Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac?
To help you find the appropriate methods more quickly, we categorize the solutions for specific scenarios.
Case 1: Your WD hard disk is not detected in Disk Utility
Fix 1: Check physical connection
You may face the “WD external hard drive not working on Mac” problem due to connection issues. Therefore, the very first thing to do is to examine the cable that connects your WD hard drive to your Mac. Replace the cable with a new one when you notice any damage. In addition, make sure that the USB cable is firmly plugged into the appropriate port on the WD hard drive and your Mac. If everything is fine but the problem persists, move on to other solutions.
Fix 2: Restart your Mac
Sometimes, a simple restart can help resolve various issues, including a WD external hard drive not working on Mac. You can do that by following the steps below:
Step 1: Navigate to the Apple logo positioned in the top-left corner of your screen.
Step 2: Opt for the “Restart” option from the dropdown menu.
Fix 3:Reset your Mac’s NVRAM
NVRAM, also know as Non-Volatile Random Access Memory, is a small amount of memory used to store and access key system settings.Some Mac users mentioned on support forums that resetting it might be helpful. Here are the detailed steps:
Step 1: Reboot your Mac. During the startup process, immediately press and hold the following keys on your keyboard.
- For Inter-based Macs : Option + Command + P + R
- For Apple chip-based Macs: Hold down the power button.
Step 2: Continue holding them until you see your Mac restart and hear the startup sound again. Then, release the keys.
Step 3: Allow your Mac to complete the startup process.
Fix 4: Use Terminal
For tech-savvy users, Terminal is the ultimate tool to fix the ‘WD hard drive not showing up on Mac’ error. You can use it to force an external hard drive to appear on the disk utility tool. Here is how
Step 1: Open Terminal. Next, type the “diskutil list” command to list all disks connected to your Mac, including external ones.
Step 2: Look for a line with /dev/disk_ where the underscore represents a digit assigned to your external disk’s identifier.
Step 3: Type “diskutil info disk1” and hit the Enter key. Replace 1 with the digit assigned to your WD external hard drive.
Step 4: If macOS recognizes the drive, type “diskutil eject disk1” to safely eject it. Again, replace “1” with the appropriate digit.
Step 5: Physically disconnect and reconnect the WD external drive to see if it appears again.
Case 2: Your WD hard drive is detected and accessible in Disk Utility
Fix 1: Turn on the External Disks option
When connecting a WD hard drive to your Mac, it may not immediately appear on the desktop or Finder, especially during the initial connection. However, this doesn’t necessarily signify a problem. Before delving into advanced solutions for the issue of WD hard drive not working on Mac, you can wait for a moment or manually adjust settings to display it:
Step 1: Click on Finder in the top-left menu bar, and then choose “Preferences” from the menu.
Step 2: Under the “Sidebar” tab, select “External disks” under “Locations.”
Step 3: Navigate to the “General” tab and check the box next to “External disks” to display the WD external hard drive on the desktop.
Case 3: Your WD external hard drive is detected but not accessible in Disk Utility
Fix 1: Mount the drive manually
On some occasions, macOS might fail to automatically recognize and mount the connected hard drive. That’s why your WD external hard drive is not showing up on Mac. To fix it, you need to mount the drive manually:
Step 1: Press Command + Space and type “Disk Utility” to open it.
Step 2: In the left sidebar, locate and choose your WD hard disk. If the drive is not already mounted, you’ll see an option to mount it.
Step 3: Simply click on the “Mount” button. Now, check whether the problem of WD external hard drive not showing up Mac is solved.
Fix 2: Repair disk errors
If the “Western Digital hard drive not showing up Mac” issue persists, it is likely because the file system is corrupted or damaged. To repair such disk errors, try running First Aid within the Disk Utility tool. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Launch Disk Utility by going to “Applications” > “Utilities” > “Disk Utility.”
Step 2: Select your problematic WD hard drive under the “External” section. Then, click on the “First Aid” button situated at the top of the interface.
Step 3: Wait for First Aid to complete.
Fix 3: Reformatting the drive
Reformatting your WD hard drive is like giving it a fresh start. Many Mac users reported that this solution proves helpful, whether it’s addressing compatibility issues or repairing damaged partition tables. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to fix the issue of WD hard drive not showing up Mac by reformating:
Step 1: Open Disk Utility, select your WD external hard drive and hit the “Erase” button in the toolbar.
Step 2: Choose the format and scheme for the drive as needed. Then, click on the “Erase” button to proceed.
Step 3: After the process is complete, reconnect the WD hard drive to your Mac.
With these solutions, you can say goodbye to any worries about the “WD external hard drive not working Mac” problem.
Conclusion
Fixing the problem of WD Hard Drive not showing up on Mac can be simpler than it seems. By following the solutions listed in this guide, you can easily address this problem on your own, without spending hundreds of dollars on professional hard drive repair services. If you encounter any data loss on a WD hard drive, 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery offers an easy and effective solution. In addition, it’s important to perform regular maintenance on your external hard drive.