“I dug up an old hard drive and, upon connecting it with my Mac, it doesn’t appear on Finder but appears on Disk Utility. Though it appears to be greyed out. Why is my Western Digital hard drive not showing up on Finder, and is there any fix for it?”
___A Question from Reddit
When your Western Digital hard drive is not detected on your Mac, other than fixing it, rescuing files from it is more challenging. But why does this happen? Don’t worry, though. In this post, we’ll provide an explanation of WD drive non-recognition causes and data recovery solutions based on numerous use cases.
Part 1: Why Is My Western Digital Hard Drive Not Showing Up?
You might be thinking, “Why is my Western Digital hard drive not showing up on Mac?” The answer to that is that there are many scenarios where a Western Digital hard drive is not detected on Mac. Sometimes, it won’t show up on Desktop/Finder, or may or may not appear on Disk Utility. This can happen due to numerous reasons, such as:
- Loose Connection: The USB cable, port, or adapter might be faulty or not properly connected.
- Power Issues: The drive might need more power than the USB port can provide.
- Incompatible Format: If the drive is formatted for Windows (like NTFS), macOS might not read it without extra software.
- Outdated Software: Old drivers or software can cause connection problems.
- Drive Hardware Problems: The hard drive itself might be damaged.
- Rare Virus Problem: Malware can sometimes block drive access.
Part 2: How to Recover Data From a WD Hard Drive That Won’t Show Up?
When a WD external hard drive is not showing up on a Mac, extract data from it to avoid permanent loss. Otherwise, this might happen if you apply the solutions first, e.g., formatting the disk. You’ll need a specialized Mac data recovery tool that can actually detect the WD hard drive not showing up on Mac and retrieve files from it.
4DDiG Mac Data Recovery is a professional file rescue tool that supports extraction from inaccessible internal and external drives, like the WD, with a high success rate. Besides, you can pick the file types you wish to retrieve and examine them after they’re recovered. Here’s more about this app in detail:
- The recovery app enables restoration from different external storage mediums, including hard drives, SD cards, and USBs, among others.
- The software provides complete recovery support to all major brands, including Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, LaCie, and more.
- The external disk recovery software provides support for more than 2000 different file types, e.g., audio, video, document, and image formats, along with many more.
- It supports the latest macOS Sequoia and T2, and M series chips.
Here’s how to use this tool to recover files from an inaccessible WD external drive:
Step 1: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access. Then, execute the Mac WD drive recovery tool on your computer.
Step 2: Pick the WD drive and file types to scan. Then, hit “Scan.” Pause or stop the scan to locate the files by filtering out results, e.g., with “Modified Time,” “File Size,” etc. You can also enter keywords in the top-right search box to find matching files.
Step 3: Hit “Recover” to move the recovered data from WD to a secure place on your Mac or cloud drive account.
Part 3: Basic Checks Before Fixing WD Hard Drive Not Showing up on Mac
Try basic checks first when your Western Digital external drive is not showing up on Mac. Most of the time, they can fix WD external hard drive and you won’t need to tread into advanced solutions. Here they are:
- Try Another USB Port or Cable: Plug the drive into a different USB port or use a different cable. Make sure it’s the correct type for your drive.
- Test on Another Computer: Connect the drive to another computer to see if it works there. This helps rule out issues with your Mac.
- Check the Drive’s Light: Look for the power light on the drive. If it’s off, the drive might not be getting power.
- Use a Different Power Outlet: Try a different wall outlet to make sure the drive is getting enough power.
- File Format Compatibility: Make sure the drive is in a format macOS can read. NTFS drives may need extra software to work fully on a Mac.
Part 4: Methods to Fix Western Digital Hard Drive Not Showing up on Mac
If basic checks are unable to fix WD external hard drive not detected on Mac issue, proceed to advanced solutions.
Case 1: WD Hard Drive Isn’t Showing up in Finder/on the Desktop
Your Finder Preferences might be set to exclude external disks from appearing on the Finder/Desktop. This might be why the WD external hard drive is not showing up on Mac. You can enable the disk to appear on the Finder/Desktop in the Finder Preferences. To do so:
Step 1: Head to “Finder.” Then, choose “Preferences.” Tap “Sidebar.”
Step 2: Then, tick mark “External disks” beneath “Locations.”
Step 3: Go back to “Preferences.” Next, select “General.” Tick mark “External disks.”
Case 2: WD Hard Drive Is Detected but Not Accessible in Disk Utility
Fix 1: Manually Mount the External Hard Drive
If your Western Digital external drive is not mounted on your Mac, you can manually mount it in Disk Utility. To do so:
Step 1: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access. Then, Execute “Disk Utility.” Right-click the WD drive. Tap “Mount.”
Step 2: When the disk is successfully mounted, it will show up on the Desktop and you will be able to access it without trouble.
Fix 2: Run First Aid on Your Drive
When your WD external drive is unable to be manually mounted on the Mac, it might be because of some errors that are preventing its mounting procedure. You can fix them through Mac’s built-in First Aid tool. Here’s how:
Step 1: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access. Then, Execute “Disk Utility.”
Step 2: Tap the WD disk. Next, choose “First Aid” from the above menu. Hit “Run.”
Fix 3: Format the Hard Drive
Even if First Aid can’t repair the WD external drive, its file system or partition might be corrupted. So, you’ll need to format the disk. To do so:
Step 1: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access. Then, Execute “Disk Utility.”
Step 2: Tap the WD disk. Next, choose “Erase” from the above menu. Choose a “Name” and “Format,” e.g., APFS Format. Hit “Erase” again.
Case 3: WD Hard Drive Isn’t Showing up In Disk Utility
Fix 4: Boot into Safe Mode
Recently installed apps can interfere with the disk, resulting in the Western Digital external drive not showing up on Disk Utility. So, you can enter into Safe Mode to examine whether the WD drive appears there and uninstall the interfering apps. To do so
Intel Macs:
Step 1: Shut down your Mac and wait 10 seconds. Then, switch it on.
Step 2: Immediately hold the “Shift” key. Let go when you see the login screen.
Step 3: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access and examine if it appears in the Disk Utility.
Apple Silicon Macs:
Step 1: Shut down your Mac and wait 10 seconds. Press and hold the “Power” button until you see startup options.
Step 2: Select the startup disk. Next, hold “Shift.” Click “Continue in Safe Mode.” Then, release “Shift.”
Step 3: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access and examine if it appears in the Disk Utility.
Fix 5: Reset the NVRAM
NVRAM stores important Mac settings like volume and display preferences. If they’re corrupted, they can cause the ‘WD hard drive not showing up on Mac’ problem. So, you can reset them. Here’s how to do that:
Step 1: Click the “Apple logo” on your Mac. Then, choose “Restart.” When the screen goes black, press and hold “Option + Command + P + R.”
Step 2: Keep holding these keys until you hear the startup sound twice or see the Apple logo appear and disappear twice.
Step 3: Connect the inaccessible WD drive to your Mac for access and examine if it appears in the Disk Utility.
Fix 6: Contact a Professional
If all else fails to resolve the ‘WD external hard drive not showing up’ on Disk Utility issue, the problem might be due to hardware. Therefore, contact an external disk repair service to fix it.
Bottom Line
If you were wondering, “Why is my Western Digital hard drive not showing up in Disk Utility or on Finder, we’ve clarified in this post. But before trying to fix the Western Digital hard drive is not detected on your Mac, which might erase your data, use 4DDiG Mac Data Recovery. It’s a user-friendly tool that helps recover files from drives your Mac can’t read, making it a safe first step.
