How to Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Showing Up or Not Working on Mac?

Backing important documents, videos or photos to a WD external hard drive is a good method to back up your Mac data. However, in some cases, the WD external hard drive may become unrecognized or unreadable, and you may lose all your backup data which is important to you. To solve this type of issue, we will provide some proven solutions to help you fix unrecognized WD external hard drive on Mac and recover lost data.

Part 1. Recover lost data from unrecognized WD external hard drive.

The fist thing comes into your mind when you can’t access to your WD external hard drive is recovering the data in the drive. Mac data recovery software is able to help you recover deleted or lost data from a WD external hard drive or export data from an inaccessible WD external hard drive to your Mac. Now, follow the steps below to recover lost data from unrecognized WD external hard drive on Mac.

Step 1. Download and install Do Your Data Recovery.

Do Your Data Recovery for Mac is a powerful & easy-to-use Mac data recovery software. It can help you easily recover all files from an unrecognized WD external hard drive. Download and install it on your Mac.

Step 2. Choose the WD external hard drive to start data recovery.

Connect the WD external hard drive to your Mac and open Do Your Data Recovery. Then select the WD external hard drive to start data recovery.

Step 3. Scan the WD external hard drive and find recoverable files.

Then click on Scan button. Do Your Data Recovery for Mac will scan your WD external hard drive and find all existing files, deleted/lost files on the WD external hard drive.

Step 4. Preview and recover files from the unrecognized WD external hard drive.

Once the scan is completed, you can preview all recoverable files. Then select the wanted files and save them by clicking on Recover button. If you can’t find all files you want to recover after quick scan, just try advanced recovery mode to deeply scan the external hard drive and find much more files.

Part 2. 8 methods to fix unrecognized or damaged WD external hard drive on Mac.

• 1. Change USB port, USB cable, etc.
• 2. Check Power Supply of the WD external hard drive.
• 3. Check Finder Preference.
• 4. Force Mount in Disk Utility.
• 5. Run First Aid to repair WD external hard drive.
• 6. Format the WD external hard drive.
• 7. Repair WD external hard drive with DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac.
• 8. Update software or drivers.

1. Change USB port, USB cable, etc.

Normally, when you connect a WD external hard drive to your Mac’s USB port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the Finder in the left-hand column under Devices, since Mac’s treat them the same way as another computer.

If you can’t see the WD external hard drive, you can change the USB cable or try another USB port, or even you can connect the WD external hard drive to another Mac/PC to check it could be recognized by other computers.

2. Check Power Supply of the WD external hard drive.

Insufficient or no power supply in USB ports could also lead to hard drive not mounting issue. Therefore, you should make sure the WD external hard drive is getting the appropriate power. If the drive came with a Y-cable, use both USB connectors. Moreover, do not connect the drive through a USB hub, connect it directly to the Mac. Make sure the power adapter is connected directly to a wall outlet, not to an extension cord.

3. Check Finder Preference.

In some cases, your Mac has recognized the connected WD external hard drive but it is hidden due to Finder settings.

Just go to Finder > Preferences and confirm if the "External Disks" under "Show these items on the desktop" is selected. This will ensure if the external drives connected to this Mac are allowed to show on the desktop.

In the Sidebar tab you can choose which folders and devices will be shown in the left-hand column of the Finder window. Select 'External disks' so that the WD external hard drive could be shown in Finder.

4. Force Mount in Disk Utility.

Open Disk Utility on your Mac. If your WD external hard drive is not showing up on your Mac but grayed out in Disk Utility. Just click to choose the WD external hard drive and click Mount button to force the WD external hard drive to mount on your Mac.

5. Run First Aid to repair WD external hard drive.

First Aid can help you fix minor errors on an hard drive. Just choose it to fix unrecognized WD external hard drive. Open Disk Utility > Choose WD external hard drive > Run First Aid > Follow the wizard to repair the WD external hard drive so that it could be recognized by your Mac.

6. Format the WD external hard drive.

If the file system on the WD external hard drive gets corrupted or not compatible with your Mac, you can format the WD external hard drive. Disk Utility can help you quickly format your WD external hard drive, just click on Erase button.

7. Repair WD external hard drive with DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac.

DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac is a powerful data erasure application. It can help you quickly format a WD external hard drive. Just run it on your Mac, choose Disk Tool > select WD external hard drive > Click on Format button.

DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac also can help you format and wipe all data from your WD external hard drive before you sell or donate the WD external hard drive. Once the data is erased by DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac , the data will be lost forever, can’t be recovered by any data recovery software.

Open DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac , choose mode Wipe Hard Drive > Select the WD external hard drive > Click on Wipe Now button.

8. Update software or drivers.

Just open Appstore then update your macOS or update apps. In some cases, you need to visit WD official websites to download the latest drivers of WD external hard drive.

In conclusion

WD external hard drive is a great storage device for Mac computers. If it couldn’t be recognized by your Mac, just find a right way to help you fix this issue. With Mac data recovery software, you are able to completely recover lost data from the external hard drive.

If your WD external hard drive is not showing up on Windows, check this guide: fix unrecognized external hard drive on Windows.