Recover Lost Data from WD (Western Digital) External Hard Drive on Mac?

Quick Navigation:

• 1. What Is WD My Passport Drive?
• 2. Data Loss on WD External Hard Drive
• 3. Three Methods to Recover Lost Data from WD External Hard Drive on Mac
• Method 1: Use Data Recovery Software
• Method 2: Ask that your Mac show all hidden files
• Method 3: Use a Data Recovery Service
• 4. FAQs about data recovery from WD external hard drive on Mac

Digital Western external HDDs and SSDs are widely used as portable external hard drives. They're readily available, inexpensive, and come in various storage sizes. However, they still face the possibility of data loss due to the occurrence of common hard drive-related issues. For example, if you find your WD My Passport is read-only on your Mac, you may format it with Disk Utility and you will lose all contents stored on it.

If you notice that part of your data is missing, you must immediately stop using the hard disk and begin the recovery process. If you have lost data on your WD, keep reading to learn how to retrieve it.

What Is WD My Passport Drive?

WD Drive is an external hard drive made by Western Digital, an American company that has made computer hard drives for over 50 years.

It has a compact and lightweight design, and the My Passport drive is ideal for storing and carrying significant amounts of data, such as business documents, images and videos, music, file archives, and more.

The most recent iteration of the drive can transfer data up to 5 Gbps via a single USB cable. The built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption and a password can protect sensitive information from prying eyes.

Data Loss on WD External Hard Drive

Attaching a WD external hard drive to your MacBook running the latest macOS will appear as a drive in the Finder. When mounted, a drive becomes accessible and may be seen in Finder and Disk Utility. If the storage device is corrupt, macOS cannot mount or read its contents because it will lack the necessary file system metadata.

A new file system can be created only by formatting the unmountable/unrecognized external hard disk with APFS, ExFAT or another format compatible with macOS. However, formatting will erase all data stored on the WD external hard drive.

And in some cases, you delete a few documents from an WD external hard drive by mistake and you don’t have a backup. Then you should find a reliable method to get the lost files back.

Three Methods to Recover Lost Data from WD External Hard Drive on Mac

Method 1: Use Data Recovery Software

If you have lost data on a WD My Passport drive/or other WD external hard drives, you can get it back by connecting the disk to your Mac and using data recovery software designed for Macs.

Do Your Data Recovery for Mac, the data recovery software application used for this essay, was chosen for its user-friendliness, speed, and, most importantly, its free trial edition, which allows you to examine all recoverable files before committing to a purchase.

Recover Lost Data from a WD Drive Using DoYourData Recovery for Mac:

Step 1. Click Download to download Do Your Data Recovery for Mac and then install it on your Mac. Make sure the WD external hard drive has been connected to your Mac.

Step 2. Open Do Your Data Recovery for Mac and select WD external hard drive to start data recovery.

Step 3. Click on Scan button. This Mac data recovery app will deeply scan the WD external hard drive and find all existing files, deleted files, formatted files and lost files on the WD external hard drive.

Step 4. Once the scan is completed, it allows you to preview the recoverable items. Then select the wanted files and save them.

Find a safe place to retreat to. Don't save anything new to the WD My Passport external hard disk while trying to restore information from it. Just hit the Recover button when you're ready.

Method 2: Ask that your Mac show all hidden files

The necessary files may be just hidden. The ability to open files on a WD Here are the basic procedures for using My Passport on a Mac:

• Start up, Finder.
• Find your WD My Passport Drive and open it.
• Press the keyboard shortcut (Command + Shift +. ) to view concealed folders.

Check the area to see if anything unexpected appears.

Method 3: Use a Data Recovery Service

You're not alone if you've tried data recovery independently and felt like a shipwrecked sailor. Have no fear! Like a lifeboat, data recovery services are available via simple phone calls or emails. Your WD My Passport drive is just one type of storage device that can benefit from the expertise of a data recovery service.

Data recovery services can remedy any possible data loss situation, from the commonplace (such as unintentional deletion or formatting) to the extremely rare (such as physical damage). They are usually successful when do-it-yourself methods have failed.

According to Western Digital's support page, to keep your drive under warranty, you must have your chosen data recovery service provide you with written confirmation of the data recovery process on its corporate letterhead.

FAQs about data recovery from WD external hard drive on Mac

1. Is it possible to recover lost data from WD external hard drive which is erased?

Yes, if the WD external hard drive has been erased by Disk Utility or other disk formatting tools, don’t create new files on it. Just run a data recovery application to scan the WD external hard drive, then it will help you find the erased files.

However, if the WD external hard drive has been wiped by Mac data erasure software - such as DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac, the data is gone forever, can not be recovered by any method.

2. What is the best way to restore WD external hard drive on Mac?

If you have a backup, you can easily restore lost files from the backup, otherwise, data recovery app is the best choice. DIY data recovery application, such as Do Your Data Recovery for Mac can easily and quickly scan the WD external hard drive and recover the lost files.

3. How to recover data from an inaccessible WD external hard drive on Mac?

First of all, check if you can mount the WD external hard drive. If you can mount the WD external hard drive on your Mac, you can open it to access all files stored on it.

You also can run a data recovery app to scan the inaccessible WD external hard drive, then export the files from it to your Mac.

4. Can I recover lost data from unrecognized WD external hard drive on Mac?

You can run the Do Your Data Recovery for Mac and check if it could recognize the WD external hard drive. If it could recognize the WD external hard drive, click on Scan button to help you find the files stored on the WD external hard drive, then export them to your Mac.

If data recovery app can not recognize the WD external hard drive, you’d better connect the WD external hard drive to a Windows PC, then try to fix the issue and recover lost files.

Conclusion:

Now that you know how to access WD My Passport files on a Mac and how to protect your drive, you should implement the necessary adjustments as soon as possible. Always remember to detach the drive from the operating system before you remove it from use. And if you have lost data from the WD external hard drive, don’t write new data to it. Immediately run a data recovery application to scan the WD external hard drive, and recover the files you want to save.