This answer explains how to regain access to an unresponsive drive.END MAC Check the power cable The My Book and Elements desktop devices use a power adapter to operate the drive and hardware. Portable devices rely on the data cable for power and data. Check the power cables are well seated in the external drive (applies only to Desktop external drives), and also the AC socket the power adapter is connected. Connect the device directly to the computer.
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For troubleshooting it's best to ensure the data cable is connected directly to the PC or laptop. Do not connect the device through a non-powered USB hub. Similarly make sure the power adapter is connected directly to a wall outlet, to rule out a degraded surge protector or power strip. If this is a My Passport or Elements Portable drive, ensure the data cable is connected securely to the drive, and the computer's USB port. For troubleshooting only, do not connect via a USB hub, to rule out power related concerns. My Passport and WD Elements Portable devices may benefit using a Power Booster Cable to use two USB ports, in order to provide extra power to the device. Use a USB hub with its own power adapter.
These units provide 5V, and up to 1000mA to each USB port; and may be a good alternative, if a Power Booster Cable is not available. Test with another power adapter. Take note of the input requirements at the power port of the desktop device for voltage and amperage.
Feb 7, 2018 - If the WD Passport for Mac still does not work or not show up in Finder/Disk Utility after the basic checks, go ahead to try out the solutions as.
Be sure the output of the power adapter does not provide voltage higher than the device's input requirements. Higher amperage will not harm a device, but higher voltage will destroy a device Check the data cable Data cables can degrade over time from bending and flexing. The connectors can get bent, or the internal pins may corrode from moisture or other contaminates. Use a different data port. Use a different data cable. Use a different computer, if possible Check the Drive Partition and Data health using Disk Utilities The macOS has a built-in diagnostic and First Aid to test and repair minor problems named Disk Utility.
A user may also use the diagnostics feature within. On a Mac computer, the Disk Utility is used to verify that the drive is recognized by the system. Some WD external drives are preformatted in which can be used on Windows, and will be Read-Only on a Mac. Western Digital products listed for Mac are preformatted for to be used with Mac specifically. The most current line of My Book and My Passport devices ship, formatted in to be used on both Windows and Mac computer.
Click Go on the top menu bar, then choose Utilities, and Disk Utility. For information on how to partition and format a drive, please see. If the drive had not appeared on the desktop, or if Disk Utility is showing that the drive is formatted in a file system that is not recognized, then you can reinitialize the drive from within Disk Utility to a format that the Mac will recognize. Download and Install WD Drive Utilities to test an WD external device for problems.
See for information installation, and for information on setting up and using this utility Check System Profiler. The Mac System Profiler will show you whether the external drive is physically detected by the Mac. Click on the blue Apple Menu in the top left corner of the desktop. Select About this Mac then More Info. When the System Profiler opens, click on ‘USB’ or the specific connection type is being used. If the external drive is not listed; as a final step, try connecting the external drive to a second Mac machine. If the problem follows the drive to the second Mac computer, then the device may be malfunctioning, and it's best to request an RMA to return the drive under Warranty.
Please see for information on replacing a drive under warranty WINDOWS Check the Power Cable The My Book and Elements desktop devices use a power adapter to operate the drive and hardware. Portable devices rely on the data cable for power and data. Check the power cables are well seated in the external drive (applies only to Desktop external drives), and also the AC socket the power adapter is connected. Do not have the drive connected through a USB hub. For troubleshooting it's best to ensure the data cable is connected directly to the PC or laptop. Similarly make sure the power adapter is connected directly to a wall outlet, to rule out a degraded surge protector or power strip. If this is a My Passport or Elements Portable drive, ensure the data cable is connected securely to the drive, and the computer's USB port.
For troubleshooting only, do not connect via a USB hub, to rule out power related concerns. My Passport and WD Elements Portable devices may benefit using a Power Booster Cable to use two USB ports, in order to provide extra power to the device. Use a USB hub with its own power adapter.
These units provide 5V, and up to 1000mA to each USB port; and may be a good alternative, if a Power Booster Cable is not available. Try another power adapter. Take note of the input requirements at the power port of the desktop device for voltage and amperage.
Be sure the output of the power adapter does not provide voltage higher than the device's input requirements. Higher amperage will not harm a device, but higher voltage will destroy the device Check the Data Cable Data cables can degrade over time from bending and flexing.
The connectors can get bent, or the internal pins may corrode from contact with contaminates. Use a different data port.
Use a different data cable. Use a different computer, if possible Check the drives status in Device manager. Open Device Manager please see for more information. From the device list, expand the entry called Disk drives. If the device is detected by the system, there will be an entry here listing the device and a product identification number.
If it is not listed under disk drives, expand the Other devices entry and check if there is an entry for an Unknown device. Right click the Device, either from Disk drives, or Other devices above, and select Properties. Under the General tab, will probably indicate This device is not working properly followed by either Code 28 or Code 10. Code 10 would suggest a potential power supply issue (3.5” external drives”). If you have a second external drive with an equivalent power supply, then you may try the second power supply.
If it's not possible to try a different power supply, verify the problem by connecting to a different USB port, or if possible by connecting to a second PC from the steps above. If the device shows the same error code, then it would be best creating an RMA and returning the drive under Warranty. Please see for more information. Code 28 would suggest a error. Right click on the ‘drive’ entry in Device Manager and select Uninstall. Remove the external drive, restart the computer and reconnect the device.
If the symptoms persist with the same error, repeat this test on a second PC, if possible. If the drive fails on the second PC with the same error, then it would be best creating an RMA and returning the drive under Warranty. Please see for more information Check Disk Management Even though the drive may not be seen on the desktop or the File Explorer, it's a good idea to check if the drive is recognized in Disk Management. Critical: The instructions below are designed to help repartition and format a hard drive. This process is Data Destructive and cannot be undone.
Once the process begins, ALL THE DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE LOST! If there is important data stored on the drive, it's best to consult a Data Recovery specialist. Please see preferred data recovery partners for more information.
Open Disk Management. See for help accessing the Disk Management utility. Check if the drive is seen in Disk Management. The partition on the drive should be labeled or and should have a drive letter assigned.
Drive capacity and partition health can also be viewed from this window. If the drive does not say Healthy, or shows the file format as RAW, then the partition has become corrupt. It could also be corrupt if the bar above the drive is black and shows as Unallocated.
In this instance right click on the drive and select delete volume or delete partition. We can then right click on the drive again and select create new volume or create partition. Follow the Wizard to create a Primary partition.
Select format for Windows only, or for use on Windows and Mac In case the answer did not answer your question, you can always visit the for help from WD users.