1. Wd Passport External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac
  2. Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Operating System
  3. Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Air
  4. Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On Mac
  5. How Do I Fix My Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On My Mac
  6. Can't See My Wd External Hard Drive On Mac
  7. Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Drive
'I have a WD My Passport Ultra 1TB portable drive for storing important personal files. Suddenly, the WD Passport ultra is not showing up on my PC and I couldn't access saved data either.
How do I fix My WD Passport Ultra not showing up on my computer?'

WD My Passport not showing up on Mac. If you are having a similar issue that WD My Passport external or internal hard drive not showing up on Mac, you can try the following tips as listed here for help: (Some are similar as shown on this page) #1. Reconnect WD Passport to Mac #2. Change WD Passport drive letter #3. Remount WD Passport to. Hello I have recently had this problem were my external hard drive is not showing up on my mac. I have contacted apple support and they have tried to help me my reseting my computer but still nothing has worked. I was able to have it show up on my parents windows computer but not my mac. When I plug it in my mac I can hear it vibrating & the light shows up but nothing else happens.

How do I use the WD My Passport External Hard Drive in a Mac Air? Either keep the HDD in HFS+ format and install HFS+ drivers in your Windows PC or keep the HDD in NTFS format and install. Since then, Time Machine will make automatic, hourly backups, always that your Mac is turned on and the external drive connected. WD My Passport for Mac WDBCGL0020BSL - hard drive - 2 TB - USB 3.0 overview and full product specs on CNET.

When your WD My Passport Ultra hard drive or external hard drive is not showing up, you can neither access nor use the drive on your computer. And don't worry.

Follow this guide, you'll learn the causes and how to fix the WD Passport Ultra external hard drive not showing up error on your own.

Here is the complete guide to making your WD Passport external hard drive detected again:

PAGE CONTENT:
Part 1. Check The State of WD Passport External Hard Drive in Disk Management
Part 2. Fix WD My Passport External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Error - 6 Fixes
Part 3. Get Data Off and Format WD External Hard Drive to Work Again

Some of you may also want to learn what causes the wd external hard drive not showing up issue on the computer. Continue reading and check it out.

Why Is My WD Passport Not Showing UP

We consulted many experienced users and IT professionals, and we concluded the causes below. Check out why is your WD Passport Ultra external not showing up:

  1. 1. A faulty USB port/cable, or a damaged USB hub on PC
  2. 2. No drive letter is assigned to WD Passport drive
  3. 3. Corrupted file system or bad sectors makes WD drive unreadable
  4. 4. WD drive driver is out of date
  5. 5. Universal USB controllers drivers are outdated

These causes may also lead to some of your other devices malfunctioning, such as:

So how to fix these errors and make your WD Passport Ultra external hard drive show up on PC again? Follow through the tutorials below to get rid of this issue immediately.

Part 1. Check The State of WD External Hard Disk in Disk Management

Wd external hard drive not showing up mac operating system

Connect the WD external hard drive to your computer via the USB cable. Follow steps here to check the state of your WD external hard drive in Disk Management:

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys, type diskmgmt.msc in the Run box, and click 'OK'.

Step 2. In Disk Management, locate and check the state of your WD external hard drive.

Part 2. Fix WD My Passport External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Error

Check the state of your not showing up or not detected WD My Passport Ultra external hard drive and refer to the right fix to make your drive work normally again.

Tips to Remove WD External Hard Drive Not Showing Up/Not Detected Error:

Disk Status in Disk ManagementWorkable Solutions
1. Disk Shows Up, No Drive Letter Fix 1. File system is normal, add new drive letter..Full steps
Fix 2. File system is '*Others', fix file system..Full steps
Fix 3. File system is 'Unknown', sent for repair..Full steps
2. Disk Show Up, Not In File ExplorerFix 4. Contact EaseUS support team for help..Full steps
3. Disk Not Show Up Fix 5. Change a different USB cable/port or PC..Full steps
Fix 6. Update WD external hard drive driver..Full steps

Pick a respective fix and follow the full guide to fix your WD My Passport external hard drive not showing up issue now.

Fix 1. Add New Drive Letter to Make WD Passport External Hard Drive Showing Up

Applies to: Fix WD passport external hard drive not showing up error due to drive letter confliction.

If your WD displays as 'New Volume' with no drive letter in Disk Management, it won't show up in File Explorer. Don't worry.

You can change or add a new drive letter so to make WD passport detectable and accessible again in Windows PC:

Step 1. Press Win + R keys, type diskmgmt.msc in the Run dialog, click 'OK' to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on WD drive which fails to show up and choose 'Change Drive Letter and Paths..'.

Step 3. Click 'Add', set a new drive letter to assign to the WD external drive, and click 'OK'.

If the WD drive has already been assigned with a letter, click 'Change' to choose another letter for it.

After this, restart your PC and check if you can visit the WD external hard drive in Windows File Explorer.

Fix 2. Fix Corrupted File System/Bad Sector That Makes WD External Not Showing Up

Wd external hard drive not showing up mac

Applies to: Fix WD passport external hard drive not showing up due to file system error or bad sectors.

If the system files are corrupted or the WD device contains bad sectors, Windows disk management may detect it as '*Others' or RAW. Your computer may not even able to detect it from File Explorer.

EaseUS partition manager software with its Check File System feature can help. As long as your Disk Management can detect it, you can apply this tool to fix the corrupted file system and bad sectors on WD hard drive.

Follow to see how to fix corrupted system files and bad sectors on WD device:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose 'Check File System'.

Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.

Step 3. The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.

After this, you can check the drive. If your files were missing, move to Part 3 and apply reliable data recovery software to bring back all your WD external hard drive data.

Fix 3. Send 'Unknown' & Not Detected WD External Hard Disk for Repair

If your WD external hard drive displays as 'Unknown' in disk management, the last thing you can try is to send the disk for repair.

You have two options for this issue:

  • Option 1. Beyond the Warranty: Send WD external disk for repair in a local repair center
  • Option 2. Within the Warranty: Send WD external disk back to its manufacturer

Fix 4. Contact EaseUS Support Team for Help

If your WD external hard drive is detected in Disk Management but not showing up in File History, you have two choices:

  1. #1. Refer to External Hard Drive Shows Up in Device Manager Not in This PC for help.
  2. #2. Contact the EaseUS support team for manual service help.
You may need further help for tough data loss situations like reformatting drive, RAW disk, partition loss, repartition failures and system boot error. Consult with EaseUS Data Recovery Experts for cost-efficient one-on-one manual recovery service. They could offer the following services after FREE diagnosis:
1. Unformat the drive
2. Repair the RAID, RAW disk or operating system
3. Recover lost partition (the one that cannot be recovered by software)

Fix 5. Try a Different USB Cable/Port or PC

When your WD hard drive neither shows up in File Explorer nor Disk Management, you can try to change the USB cable, try another USB port, or a new PC to see if the drive can be read or not.

Step 1. Switch a USB port/cable and replug it to your computer.

If the drive can be read via new a USB cable or on a new PC, then the drive is working fine. The problem is with the USB cable.

Step 2. Reconnect the WD drive via a new USB hub or to a new PC.

  • If the WD Passport drive shows up, it is the damaged USB hub that stops WD from showing up.
  • If the WD passport is not detected either on your current or the new PC, replace the WD drive with a new one.

Fix 6. Update WD External Device Driver & Reinstall BUS Controllers

When the WD Passport drive is not working, it might be caused by the outdated device drivers. So the best way is to update its driver via the following three paths:

#1. Download and Install WD Device Driver:

Step 1. Connect the problematic WD external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Right-click on the Windows icon and select 'Device Manager'.

Step 3. Find and expand Disk Drivers, Portable Devices, Universal Serial USB Controllers, or Other devices.

See if the WD external hard drive is shown as an 'Unknown' device.

Step 4. Right-click on Unknown or not working WD external hard drive, select 'Properties'.

Step 5. Go to the Details tab, set Property to 'Hardware Ids'.

Step 6. Right-click the top Value and click 'Copy'.

Step 7. Paste it into a browser and search for the correct device driver.

Step 8. Find and download the correct WD device driver and install it on your PC.

After this, restart your computer. And everything shall work fine with your WD My Passport Ultra drive.

#2. Update WD Device Driver from Device Manager:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select 'Device Manager'.

Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac

Step 2. Expand Device Manager and right-click the WD My Passport Ultra drive.

Step 3. Select 'Update driver'.

Step 4. Select 'Search automatically for updated driver software', wait for the process to complete.

#3. Uninstall/Reinstall USB Controllers

When the Universal USB Bus Controllers are outdated, it may also stop your WD passport from being detected or showing up. So you can try to uninstall and reinstall USB controllers:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select 'Device Manager'.

Step 2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, right-click on USB controllers of the WD drive, and select 'Uninstall device'.

Repeat to uninstall each USB controller one by one.

Step 3. Restart the computer and Windows will automatically reinstall the USB controllers of your WD drive.

After this, you shall be able to visit and access saved data on your WD Passport Ultra drive normally by then.

Notice:
If the WD external hard drive is still not showing up in both File Explorer and Disk Management after trying all these solutions, send your drive for repair as shown in Fix 3.

Part 3. Get Data Off WD External Disk and Format It to Work Again

If your WD hard drive shows up and you can access the disk again. Take the last guide in this part to fully protect your files and make the WD external hard drive viable for saving and editing data again.

#1. Get Data Off WD External Hard Drive

Here are two ways that you can fully get files from your WD external hard drive:

  1. 1. Open and copy data from your WD hard drive to another storage device as a backup.
  2. 2. Recover lost files from WD drive with EaseUS file recovery software.

Wd Passport External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac

Note that, if you lost some valuable files during the process, don't worry. Professional file recovery software can scan and bring back your files in 3 steps:

Step 1. Choose the external hard drive

Since you're going to recover data from the external hard drive, run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the exact drive where you lost data. Click Scan.

Step 2. Scan for lost data

The software will start immediately to scan all over the selected drive for all lost data. During the scan, you could see more and more data showing up in the results.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. You can preview the file by double-clicking on it. Click Recover and choose another location to save the recovered data.

Remember to save the recovered files to another secure location and then move to the next guide to format your WD My Passport external hard drive to usable again.

Does My Passport For Mac Work On Windows

#2. Format WD External Hard Drive to Usable

Here, you may also let EaseUS Partition Master help. It's easy and efficient in formatting a disk:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.

Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.

Step 4. Invisibility toggler for macro. Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

After this, you can save the data back to your WD external hard drive again.

Make Your WD External Hard Drive Show Up and Work Now

On this page, we explained why is WD My Passport Ultra external hard drive not showing up on Windows PC and provided 6 practical fixes for you to follow and make the drive show up again.

As a beginner, we suggest that you follow the whole guide one by one. These fixes also work to resolve the same issue on all brands of external hard drive, internal hard drive, USB, or SD card.

Now, it's your turn. Take steps to fix your not showing up WD external hard drive and make it work again without losing any data.

People Also Ask

For further issues related to the WD passport, check the questions and answers below. You'll get a satisfying answer:

1. WD My Passport not showing up on Mac

If you are having a similar issue that WD My Passport external or internal hard drive not showing up on Mac, you can try the following tips as listed here for help: (Some are similar as shown on this page)

  1. #1. Reconnect WD Passport to Mac
  2. #2. Change WD Passport drive letter
  3. #3. Remount WD Passport to Mac
  4. #4. Update WD Passport drive driver
  5. #5. Format WD My Passport on Mac

2. How to use WD Passport on Windows 10?

For a new WD Passport: Connect Passport to Windows 10 PC > Open Disk Management and Initialize Disk > Create a New Partition on WD Passport drive.

For a used WD Passport: Connect it to Windows 10 > Open it in File Explorer to use it. If you need more space, delete some useless files on it to free up space.

3. Why is my external hard drive not showing up?

Accordingly, many reasons may cause your external hard drive not showing up. Here is a list of major reasons:

  • The external hard drive is not connected to the PC correctly
  • Faulty USB cable or USB hub
  • External hard drive is not initialized
  • External hard drive is doesn't contain a volume
  • External hard drive has no drive letter
  • External hard drive contains file system error, bad sectors, or virus

For a resolution, follow to External/Internal Hard Drive Is Not Showing Up in Windows 10/8/7.

WD Passport Ultra

WD MY PASSPORT NTFS DRIVER INFO:

Type:Driver
File Name:wd_my_5113.zip
File Size:4.7 MB
Rating:
4.76 (187)
Downloads:210
Supported systems:Win2K,Vista,7,8,8.1,10 32/64 bit
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Using My Passport For Mac On Windows

Passport Ultra Portable.

My Passport For Mac On Windows 10

Relax and follow offered methods here to repair not detected WD My Passport drive to work again. The WD My Passport gets its power from the Mac and the drive s LED light will start flashing as it powers up. The WD Passport NTFS for Mac operating systems.

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Your My Passport drive fits perfectly into the busy life of anyone with an on-the-go digital life. It is possible you do not have a Pro based upon these. Drivers brother mfc-7460dn usb for Windows 7. WD brings you the My Passport Ultra in a sleek and powerful device. Format WD My Passport Using File Explorer.

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Wd My Passport For Mac On Windows Without A Mac

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Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac

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Use My Passport For Mac On Windows

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Comments are closed.
By Jessica | Posted to Home > Mac Data Recovery Tips, updated on March 22nd, 2021

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'd better recover data with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac first.

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 WD hard drive that not showing up on Mac without losing important data?

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

  • 1. Trying six quick checks and fixes
  • 2. Showing the external hard drive in Finder & Desktop
  • 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

Get files off the WD hard drive that not recognized on Mac

As the data on the unrecognized WD hard drive is inaccessible, it can't be copied and backed up now. To avoid permanently data loss after trying some ways to fix the unrecognized WD drive, it is recomended to restore files from the drive first.

If you have a backup of the WD hard drive, you can feel relax to try the following fixes. If no, recovering data with some data recovery software, such as iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery. After it has scanned the data on your unrecognized WD hard drve, you can have a preview and click the Recover button to get all the files back.

More about how to use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac >>

First, See How Mac Recognizes a WD External Hard Drive

Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Operating System

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.
  • Step 3: Go to Desktop/Finder and check if your WD hard drive is showing up. If not, download, install iBoysoft Data Recovery on your Mac and then check if your WD hard drive is recognized by iBoysoft Data Recovery.
  • Step 4: If your WD hard drive is recognized by iBoysoft Data Recovery, follow the wizard to recover data and then format WD hard drive.
    If your WD hard drive is not recognized by iBoysoft Data Recovery either, send it to an expert for reparation.

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, it is time to download, install iBoysoft Data Recovery on your Mac and then recover data from WD hard drive. After recovering data, just reformatting WD hard drive and make it working again.

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

Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Air

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.

Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On Mac

Before that, it's necessary to recover lost data from unrecognized WD hard drive with a data recovery software, 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, it can recover lost data from Macintosh hard drive and various storage devices like USB drives.

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.

How Do I Fix My Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On My Mac

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 feel free to contact their support team for warranty status review and product replacement.

Can't See My Wd External Hard Drive On Mac

Conclusion

Wd External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Mac Drive

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 data recovery software like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. Then, you can fix the error in different ways without worrying about data loss.