Mac Doesn T Recognize Wd External Hard Drive

Another reason for your Mac not recognizing external drives is a dirty or loose connection between your cable, USB-C multi-adapter, Thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports. From there you can troubleshoot the problem and usually fix it. If that doesn’t work, we have a couple of simple troubleshooting tips to fix an external hard drive not showing up on Mac.

Summary: This post shows how to access a WD hard drive that's not recognized by Mac. To avoid data loss when fixing the unrecognized WD external hard drive, you can recover lost data from the WD hard drive for free with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.

Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions. Select your Mac OS X volume (WD External Hard Drive). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

Just like Seagate external hard drive not recognized on Mac, WD hard drive not recognized is a question frequently asked by Mac users in Apple related forums. It happens to WD My passport, WD My Book, WD Elements and Easystore, etc.

If you are one of those who are wondering:

  • Why Mac won't recognize my WD hard drive?
  • How can I make the WD hard drive detected and work on Mac again?
  • Can I fix this issue without losing my important data?

You are in the right place to make the WD hard drive recognized by:

  • 1. Trying six quick checks and fixes
  • 2. Checking if Finder allows connected external hard drive showing up
  • 3. Updating related WD Apps with WD Discovery for Mac
  • 4. Checking if the WD hard drive is password locked
  • 5. Repairing the unrecognized WD hard drive with First Aid
  • 6. Use WD Drive Utilities to check the unrecognized WD hard drives
  • 7. Reformatting the WD hard drives when it's not working

First, See How Mac Recognizes a WD External Hard Drive

The process of Mac recognizing an external hard drive is a little complicated even though you can't see it. Specifically, when you plug a WD hard drive into a Mac computer, macOS would be notified. Then macOS will call all related hardware and software to read, recognize, and show this hard drive on the Desktop and in Finder, so that finally you can access your data on the drive on your Mac computer.

So, we usually simplify this process in 4 steps:

  1. The WD hard drive is supplied with power, so that Mac can detect this storage device.
  2. macOS reads partition information of the WD hard drive.
  3. macOS recognizes the file system of each volume.
  4. Users access data on the WD hard drive.

However, if any part of this process goes wrong, hard drive problems like Mac won't recognize your WD hard drive would occur. As a consequence, you can't access, copy, write to or transfer data stored on it.

Now, Fix WD hard drive not recognized issue on Mac

So, based on the process of Mac recognizing a WD hard drive, we need a thorough check to know which part makes the WD hard drive not working on Mac, and then fix it.

1. Try Quick fixes when WD hard drive is not recognized by Mac

A proper connection is the most basic condition that Mac can access the WD hard drive. Or else the external hard drive would not even show up in Disk Utility. When your Mac can't recognize an external hard drive, you can always do the following quick fixes at the very beginning.

  • Make sure the WD hard drive is externally plugged into a wall outlet if it's a WD desktop hard drive like WD Elements Desktop and My Cloud.
  • Connect the WD hard drive directly to the computer and do not use a USB Hub.
  • Try a different USB cable and port for power and data supply, especially if the My Passport external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Utility.
  • Try a different USB-C adapter to connect the WD hard drive if your Mac only has the Thunderbolt 3 port.
  • Try to connect the WD hard drive with a different Mac computer to check if the WD hard drive can be recognized on that Mac.
  • Try to plug the WD hard drive in to a Windows PC to check if the file system of the WD hard drive is not compatible with Mac.

The WD hard drive lights on but is not recognized by Mac still?

Wait! Do you allow your Mac to show the recognized WD hard drive in the Finder and Desktop?

2. Show the WD hard drive in the Finder and Desktop

Sometimes, you think WD hard drive is not recognized by Mac because the WD external hard drive isn't showing up on Mac, neither in Finder nor on the desktop. However, the fact is that the WD hard drive is detected by macOS but it is not set to show up on Mac.

In this case, you can show the WD hard drive by changing the preferences:

  • Step 1: Go to Finder > Preferences > General, make sure the 'External disks' option is ticked. This will make the recognized WD hard drive show up on the Desktop.
  • Step 2: Select Sidebar tab on the top, make sure the 'External disks' option under Locations is also ticked.

The WD hard drive is not working on Mac still?

Well, it seems that Mac really can't recognize the WD hard drive. We need to take advantage of some tools for further check.

3. Update incompatible WD Apps with WD Discovery for Mac

WD Discovery is a desktop software for Mac and Windows for delivering WD software, updates and notifications for WD external hard drives.

When WD hard drive is not recognized, you can download WD Discovery for Mac to update WD Drive Utilities, WD Security, WD Backup, etc. Possibly, your Mac doesn't recognize the WD hard drive because the WD software is not compatible with your macOS.

4. Check if the WD hard drive is password locked

If you are using WD hard drives like My Book Drive and it is not recognized by Mac now, you can check if the hard drive is password protected. macOS can't read the partition information and mount the volumes if the WD hard drive is password locked. You can download and install WD Security to unlock the WD hard drive if a password has been set to protect the hard drive.

The WD hard drive is not encrypted? Then the reason for Mac not recognizing the WD hard drive is that macOS fails to access the partition and file system information. It could be a problem when WD external hard drive used on PS4 extended drive but not recognized.

5. Repair the unrecognized WD hard drive in Disk Utility

Disk Utility is a built-in disk management and repair tool on Mac computers. When a WD hard drive is not recognized or not working due to inner disk errors, you can try to repair the unrecognizable WD hard drive with Disk Utility.

Note: If the WD hard drive is recognzied in in Disk Utility but not mounted, you can select the Mount option first then the WD hard drive will be mounted on the Desktop..

  • Step 1: Go to Applications > Disk Utility.
  • Step 2: Click 'View' and choose 'Show All Devices'.
  • Step 3: Select the unrecognized WD hard drive from the sidebar.
  • Step 4: Click on First Aid on the top. Wait while First Aid verifying and fixing possible errors of the WD hard drive.

If First Aid can't repair the external hard drive, or Disk Utility doesn't recognize the volumes of the drive, probably, the WD hard drive could be corrupted caused by bad sectors.

6. Use WD Drive Utilities when WD hard drives not working on Mac

WD Drive Utilities for Mac is a specialized utility for WD hard drives to run drive diagnostics (fix potential drive failures, slow disk performance, and bad sectors), Manage RAID configuration (For RAID supported models), Erase and format WD hard drives, etc.

If a WD hard drive won't work normally on a Mac due to bad sectors or other parameter errors, you can download WD Drive Utilities for Mac to have a diagnosis of what happens to your hard drive.

  • Step 1: Install WD Drive Utilities on your Mac and then launch it.
  • Step 2: Plug the unrecognizable WD hard drive into the Mac.
  • Step 3: Click on 'Diagnose' and choose 'Run Quick Drive Test' to check the WD drive completely.

7. Fix the unrecognized WD hard drive by reformatting

If the unrecognizable WD hard drive can't be repaired by WD Drive Utilities, the file system of the WD hard drive might be seriously damaged or corrupted. In this case, you have to reformat or erase this WD hard drive. Before that, it's necessary to recover lost data from unrecognized WD hard drive with free hard drive data recovery software for Mac, like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, to avoid data loss.

iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is professional in external hard drive data recovery on Mac. It supports Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, and hard drives of other manufacturers. This data recovery software can recover lost data when hard drive is unrecognized, unmountable, unreadable, corrupted on Mac. Besides, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac can recover lost data from Macintosh hard drive, USB drives, Pen drives, SD cards, memory cards, CF cards as well as other storage devices.

Tutorial to recover lost data from unrecognizable WD hard drive with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac

Step 1. Download, install, and restart your Mac. Then launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.

To recover your important photos, videos, music, documents, emails from this unrecognizable WD hard drive, you can free download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on your Mac.

Step 2. Scan for lost data on the WD hard drive.

When the data recovery software is launched, you will see your unrecognizable WD hard drive in the interface. You need to select this corrupted WD hard drive and then click the 'Scan' button to scan for data on this drive.

Step 3. Preview and recover files.

When WD hard drive is corrupted, you can't access your data on this drive. But you can use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to preview the data on the drive, which will help you make sure your files are not corrupted before you finally click 'Recover' to recover them.

Tutorial to reformatting WD hard drive that is not recognized by Mac

  • 1. Go to Disk Utility and select the unrecognized WD hard drive from the sidebar.
  • 2. Click on Erase on the top.
  • 3. Follow the instructions to finish the reformatting process.

After reformatting WD hard drive process finished, you will hopefully see the WD hard drive recognized and showing up on Mac correctly.

However, if the external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Utility at all, the great chance is that the WD hard drive is physically broken. As a result, Mac can't read and recognize it. In this case, we advise you to check if the serial number of the WD hard drive is still in warranty so that you can ask for a repair or replacement service.

WD provides no-limited warranty unless your WD hard drive was purchased from an authorized distributor or authorized reseller like Amazon. So, if your WD hard drive is dead for disk corruption, please free free to contact their support team for warranty status review and product replacement.

Conclusion

In the issue of WD hard drive not recognized, be it on Mac or Windows, data rescue should come first. This is also important when USB flash drives, SD card, or other external hard drives that are not showing up on Mac.

You can recover data from the unrecognized hard drive with free data recovery software like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. Then, you can fix the error in different ways without worrying about data loss.

The external hard drive is a great way to store digital data such as Photos, videos, audio, document, and other important files. These portable drives allow us to carry such devices in pocket/bag and transfer data from one to another device. But sometimes there has been a time when you face problem while using these portable hard drives. Mostly people face 'external hard drive not recognized' error in computers running on Windows and Mac Operating system. In the modern age, this is very frustrating and sometimes frightening experience when hard drive contains valuable data. If you are suffering from such problem then, read this full article. Here, we will provide the best solution to fix “External hard drive not recognized” errors.

Part 1. 5 Solutions for External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Windows

In Windows computers, 'wd external hard drive not recognized' is one of the most common problems. There are many reasons behind this problem include USB port not working, drivers problem, file corruption, and many others.

Solution 1: Make Sure USB Port is Working Properly

Step 1: You might be plugging the external hard drive in the dead USB port. Try to connect it to other USB port that is working.

Step 2: If the problem still persists after skipping the USB port and connect it to another then, there may be software or hardware problem. To clarify this problem, you can connect the external hard drive to another system.

Step 3: Still not working? Try to reboot your computer and connect it again.

Solution 2: Uninstall External Hard Drive Drivers

Step 1: First of all, you have to click on 'Start' button and type 'devmgmy.msc' without quotes and hit on 'Enter' button.

Mac Doesn't Recognize Usb Drive

Step 2: Click on 'Device Manager' and then 'Universal Serial Bus Controller'. Here, you can check unrecognized error by any application.

Step 3: If you found such 'Seagate external hard drive not recognized' then, click on the 'Driver tab' and hit on 'Delete or uninstall the driver'. Now, go to 'My Computer' to see the external hard drive is showing or not.

Step 4: If it still not shows up then, try to perform a restart to start the computer again. In case, it shows but disappears later then, you can repeat the whole process of uninstalling and rebooting PC. Maybe this will work. You can go to disk management and change the external hard drive letter and hit on 'OK' to permit.

Solution 3: Turn on the USB Root Hub

Facing WD external hard drive not recognized error? Here, below are step by step guide to turn on USB Root Hub.

Step 1: At the first step, you can click on 'Start' button at the bottom left corner of the screen and type 'devmgmt.msc' and press 'Enter' button.

Step 2: Now hit on 'Device Manager' and then 'Universal Serial Bus controller'.

Step 3: Here, you will see USB Root Hub right-click on it and then 'Properties'.

Step 4: After that, click on 'Power Management' and click on 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power' to uncheck the checkbox.

Step 5: You have to perform these steps again for every single USB hubs in the list. Once the whole process completed, click on restart to reboot your PC.

If Seagate external hard drive not recognized error still occurs then, you can move to the next solution.

Solution 4: Disable Hidden Devices to See All Devices

Sometimes, Seagate external hard drive not recognized error occurs when the device is hidden. You can turn on show all hidden devices to see it.

Step 1: Initially, hit on 'Start' button and type 'devmgmt.msc' without any quotes (') and press 'Enter' button.

Step 2: Device manager will appear, you have to click on 'View' and choose 'Show hidden devices'.

Step 3: Once the above process completed, click on Plus (+) to expand all notes.

Step 4: If you found any old entries then right-click on it and choose 'uninstall'.

Step 5: Once the above process completed, click on restart to reboot your system.

Solution 5: Make Some Changes in Registry Files

This is the last solution if all solutions are failing in solving Seagate external hard drive not recognized the problem. If you don't have special computer skill then, it is not recommended to you. This process required computer knowledge with special computer skills.

Step 1: Firstly, click on the 'Start' button and type 'regedt32' without quotes and press 'Enter' button.

Step 2: Now, you have to make a backup of your current registry files by clicking on the file and then 'Export'.

Step 3: Then, go to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Control Class {4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318'.

Step 4: In case, you found any upperfilter or lowerfilters at the right side of the screen then, simply delete them.

Step 5: After the above process completed, you can plug your external hard drive into your computer again.

Part 2. 2 Solutions for 'External Hard Drive Not Recognized' Problem on Mac

Solution 1: Check USB Ports are Running

Step 1: First of all, go to finder window to find the external hard drive. In order to do this, you have to click on 'File' and then hit on 'New Finder Window'. Here, below you can see the external hard drive.

Step 2: In case, it is not there then, try to connect the external hard drive to other USB port that is working.

Step 3: Sometimes, you need to mount your device under the Disk utility. Click on 'Disk Utility' and search for an external drive.

Step 4: Select the external hard drive and click on Mount to mount it as a storage device.

If still, it is not working then try to connect the hard drive directly to a computer instead of USB port hub. Sometimes, USB hub ports don't have enough power that is required by the external hard drive.

Solution 2: System Profiler

Mac Doesn't Recognize External Drive

Step 1: At the first step, you have to hit on Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen.

Step 2: Choose 'About this Mac' and then hit on 'More Info' to go into System Profiler.

Step 3: Now, the system profiler will appear to click on the 'USB' in the left menu under the Hardware category.

Step 4: If still Seagate external hard drive not recognized on Mac error occurs then, try to connect your external hard drive on another computer.

Part 3. Main Reasons for Why External Hard Drive are Not Recognized on Mac and Windows

Mac won

Mac Doesn T Recognize Wd External Hard Drives

Dead USB Port

External drive not showing up on your computer? Most of the times external hard drive not recognized error occur due to the dead USB port. If you are facing external hard drive not recognized then it may be due to Failed USB ports. Try to connect the external hard drive to another USB port.

Drivers Problem

Driver problem is the most common reason behind such type of errors. If you are facing then, it may be due to a driver problem. You can uninstall the driver under computer management or you can update drivers.

Power Failure

Most of the people connect external hard drive on external USB hub that may lead to such problem. These USB ports are not capable of giving hard drive enough power to hard drive. It is always recommended to connect your external hard drive directly to computer USB ports.

Hard Drive Not Working

If you still facing such problem then, there may be a hard drive problem. Firstly, you can connect the hard drive to another computer. Otherwise, you can visit local professional hard drive repair shop to fix this problem.

File Corruption Due to Virus

Virus is another reason behind this problem. Sometimes, these harmful programs infect or delete the necessary files. It is always recommended to install Antivirus on your computer to prevent such problems.

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