Wd My Passport Not Showing Up On Mac

Wd My Passport For Mac Not Showing Up My Passport Ultra for Mac is formatted for Time Machine and ready to deliver plug-and-play storage out of the box. With WD Discovery™ software, you can also work across both Mac and PC. If you find your WD external hard drives shows unallocated, just create a volume for it. Right click the Unallocated space and choose ‘New Simple Volume’, then follow the wizard to create a new volume. After that, open This PC (or My Computer) to check if the WD external hard drive is showing up. Assign a new drive letter for your WD. Therefore, if a WD my passport external hard drive is not recognized by Mac OS, but it is able to be compatible with Windows OS, you only need to format it to HFS+ file system which is able to be recognized by Mac OS. WD My Passport Does Not Show up due to Virus Attack.

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By Katrina | Posted to Home > Mac Data Recovery Tips, updated on August 20th, 2021User rating:

Summary: Here you will find 5 methods to fix WD My Passport for Mac drive not showing up or working on Mac. To avoid data loss, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac can help save your data to a safe place.

Everything has flaws, even the WD My Passport for Mac drive that you used for years.

It happens frequently that:

WD My Passport won't show up when connecting to your Mac computer
WD My Passport is greyed out in Disk Utility
WD external hard drive light on but not working after macOS Big Sur update
WD My Passport drive won't open WD unlocker application on M1 Mac
Mac didn't unlock the WD My Passport drive but asking for the WD Drive Unlock application
WD My Passport Ultra becomes encrypted or unreadable on your Mac

Either way, your important data on this drive will become inaccessible and concerns you a lot.

If the WD My Passport is not showing up on Mac desktop, Finder, or Disk Utility after connecting to your Mac, how to find it and make it work? If you can't see files from WD external hard drive on Mac, how to access data? You'll get answers here. An octoroon.

Solutions for fixing WD My Passport drive not showing up on Mac

Method 1: Do the basic checks
Method 2: Check Finder Preferences
Method 3: Install the latest WD drive unlock application
Method 4: Check & repair drive in Disk Utility
Method 5: Recover data and erase the drive
Method 6: Repair your WD hard drive in local shop

Fix 1: Do the basic checks

Usually, malfunctioned USB port or Mac computer, the broken USB cable, and some hardware problems could make WD My Passport not showing up.

Before going further troubleshooting, do the following basic checks is very necessary.

1. Safely remove the WD My Passport and reconnect it to the USB port. Try quickly plug or slowly plug, which sometimes just works for no reason.

2. Check whether the USB cable or USB port is bad by connecting other hard drives to this USB port or cable and see if that makes a difference.

3. Reboot your Mac computer to see if your WD My Passport drive is not showing up in Disk Utility/Finder or not.

4. Connect the WD My Passport to another Mac or Windows PC, which will find out if it is the incompatible file system of the drive that makes this WD My Passport undetectable.

If the WD My Passport for Mac still doesn't show up or work on Mac after the basic checks, go ahead to try out the solutions as below to make it show up on Mac.

Fix 2: Check Finder Preferences

If your WD My Passport is not showing up in Finder and desktop, it's possible that the configuration of the Finder Preferences prevents your WD My Passport drive from showing up.

In other words, you didn't allow the connected external hard drives to show up in the Finder or on the desktop.

Now, follow the guide below to set Finder Preferences and make the WD My Passport for Mac show up in Finder or on the desktop.

1. Go to Finder > Preferences > General tab.
2. Tick the 'External disks' option to show the WD My Passport for Mac on the desktop.
3. Go to the Sidebar tab, tick 'External disks' under 'Locations' to show your WD My Passport for Mac in Finder.
4. Go to Desktop or Finder and check if your WD My Passport is showing up. If not, download, install iBoysoft Data Recovery on your Mac and then check if your WD My Passport is detected by iBoysoft Data Recovery.
5. If your WD My Passport is recognized by iBoysoft Data Recovery, follow the wizard to recover data and then format WD hard drive.
If your WD My Passport drive is not detected by iBoysoft Data Recovery either, send WD hard drive to an expert for reparation.

Solution 3: Install the latest WD drive unlock application

Typically, if you have received a message like 'You must run the WD Drive Unlock application from the WD Drive Unlock CD associated with the drive you want to unlock' and you can't open or unlock your WD drive (My Passport):

This has been discussed a lot that WD hard drive not working after the macOS Big Sur update or when connecting to an Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air.

If you have used WD Utilities or have created a secure password to keep others from accessing the files on the drive, you have to type the password to unlock the drive (unless you enable auto-unlock for this computer) each time:

You shut down or restart your Mac.
You disconnect and reconnect the WD My Passport.
Your Mac wakes up from sleep mode.

Besides, you have to unlock the WD drive with your password even if you have uninstalled the WD My Passport software from your Mac.

To fix that Western Digital My Passport hard drives not working or unlock (though you know the right password) after the macOS Big Sur update, simply download, update, and install the latest WD Discovery Utilities for macOS 11 Big Sur.

If unfortunately, you can't remember the password, you can only reformat the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive to make it work again, but at the expense of data loss. So, recovering your data with iBoysoft data recovery software in advance.

Fix 4: Check & repair drive in Disk Utility

If the WD Passport hard drive is not showing up in Finder after trying the above methods, you can see whether it is showing up in Disk Utility or not. Casio fx 3600pv user manual.

Usually, you could have two results:

Case 1: Your WD My Passport drive is detected and showing up in Disk Utility, but it is greyed out or not mounting.

Case 2: Your WD hard drive is not recognized, so it's not showing up in Disk Utility at all.

Here, we'll show you solutions to case 1.

1. Manually Mount WD My Passport for Mac in Disk Utility

Sometimes, hard drives cannot be automatically mounted in Disk Utility, even though Mac has detected the hard drive. So it's possible that you'll see the WD My Passport for Mac drive not mounting in Disk Utility.

In this situation, you can manually mount the hard drive.

1. Go to Finder>Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility.
2. Click Show All Devices in View option at the left corner of Disk Utility.
3. Select your WD My Passport for Mac drive from the left sidebar and click the Mount button on the top of the Disk Utility window.

Instead, you can also click on the mount icon beside the drive to mount it immediately.

2. Repair WD My Passport for Mac drive with First Aid

If you can't mount the WD My Passport for Mac manually, there should be some file system problems in this drive.

But don't worry. There is a native repair tool called First Aid in Disk Utility, which can analyze and repair basic hard drive errors especially with file systems and catalogs, extends, volume bit maps.

To run First Aid to check the WD My Passport hard drive:

1. Go to Disk Utility.
2. Select the WD hard drive.
3. Click First Aid on the top of the Disk Utility window and then click Run.

After running First Aid, try to mount the WD Passport hard drive again to check if it can be mounted and accessed now.

If your WD My Passport drive cannot mounted, try next solution to recover data and then erase the drive.

Fix 5: Recover data and erase the drive

If First Aid was unable to repair the errors in the WD My Passport, it means that the file system of the WD drive has been damaged. Common, to fix the WD My Passport for Mac drive that's not showing up on Mac, you have to reformat it.

Can't Find Wd My Passport On Mac

The question is, reformatting will assign a new file system but will also erase all data on this drive as well. Hence, firstly, recover data from WD drive with iBoysoft Data Recovery.

Tutorial to recover data from My Passport for Mac hard drive:

1. Download, install and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on Mac.
2. Select My Passport for Mac and click the Scan button to scan all data on this drive.
3. Preview the searching results, choose files you need, and click Recover to get them back.

Next, you can courageously proceed to erase your WD My Passport for Mac hard drive with no fuss.

1. Open Disk Utility.
2. Select the WD My Passport for Mac drive in the left sidebar.
3. Click Erase on the top of the Disk Utility window.
4. Complete the information for your WD drive (such as new format, partition scheme, and so on) and click Erase.

Fix 6: Send your WD My Passport drive for repair

If My Passport for Mac hard drive is not showing up in Disk Utility, it means that the WD hard drive is not recognized or detected by the Mac. Very probably, your My Passport for Mac has some hardware problems. You'd better send it to a local reparation center.

Understanding why My Passport drive not showing up on Mac

Sometimes, an external hard drive not showing up on Mac just because the USB cable or the USB port on your Mac is bad. In addition, the following reasons may also lead to WD My Passport for Mac not showing up or not working.

Recent macOS update issue
System failure
Virus infection
Motherboard issue
WD My Passport drive damage or corruption

Bonus Maintenance Tips for WD My Passport drives for Mac

Apparently, most hard drives not showing up issues are caused by unsafe ejection and sudden power outage. In order to keep your WD My Passport for Mac in good condition, you should pay attention to:

Make sure that your WD My Passport doesn't become physically damaged.
Always safely and properly eject the WD My Passport for Mac drive after using it.
Don't just unplug the USB cable, on the contrary, unmount your drive by right-clicking (control-click) on the icon on the Desktop or in the Finder and choose 'Eject'.
Properly use WD software like WD Drive Utilities, WD Backup software ( to back up important files to your My Passport drive), and WD Discovery ( to organize and share your files to the My Passport drive to backup your online social life).

Final thoughts

Actually, My Passport for Mac hard drives are just like other external hard drives, which may not show up after connecting to a Mac. This article offers a full guide to help you fix the WD drive not showing up issue in different situations. It's worth mentioning again that once this issue happens, rescue files from your WD Passport hard drive with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac first, or you'll face permanent data loss.

Buy WD 4TB My Passport for Mac USB 3.0 External Hard Drive featuring 4TB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Type-A & Type-C, Data Transfer Rates of up to 5 Gb/s, 256-Bit AES Encryption, Bus Powered - No External Power Required, Preformatted HFS+ for Mac, Windows Compatible with Reformatting. Turn on Your Mac and Log In. Plug in your WD My Passport’s USB cable into its Micro USB B.

Easiest Way to Fix WD Passport Not Showing Error

1. In Control Panel, go to Devices and Printers. You can see your passport drive visible there.
2. Open its properties and then open drivers, simply uninstall it.
3. Unplug your passport drive.
4. Restart your computer and insert/plugin your passport again into PC.

Follow to learn how to make your WD Passport external hard drive detected again:

Included WD Discovery software lets you connect to popular social media and cloud storage services like Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox and Google Drive so you can import your photos, videos and docs to the My Passport for Mac drive to help preserve your online life. WD Discovery can also manage your drive through WD Drive Utilities.
The My Passport for Mac drive works with Apple Time Machine, and included WD Security software helps protect your data. More Space For Itunes And Photos SSD-based Mac computers are great, but sometimes you need more space for.

Why Is WD Passport Not Showing Up
5 Fix for My WD Passport Is Not Showing Up on Computer Error: Quick Fix. Try a Different USB Cable/Port or PC; Method 1. Change WD Drive Letter to Make WD Passport Drive Detectable; Method 2. Fix Corrupted File System/Bad Sector That Makes WD Not Showing Up; Method 3. Update Device Driver to Make WD Drive Work, Detected; Method 4. Uninstall/Reinstall USB Controllers on WD My Passport Drive

How Do I Fix My WD Passport Ultra Not Showing Up on My Computer

'I have a WD My Passport Ultra 1TB portable drive for storing movies, photos, and important personal files. This morning, WD My Passport suddenly became inaccessible, couldn't be detected by my computer.
The WD Passport ultra is not showing up on my PC and I couldn't access saved data either. Is there a possible way that can help me to repair the not detectable WD drive to work again?'

If you are having a similar problem on your WD My Passport Ultra hard drive or other brands of external hard drive or devices, don't worry.

On this page, you'll learn why is WD Passport Ultra external hard drive not showing up on Windows PC and how to fix this error on your own with practical fixes and tutorials.

Why Is My WD Passport Not Showing UP

There is a lot of reasons that will cause your external hard drive not showing up or not detected on Windows PC. Check the following list, you may find the exact cause that makes your WD Passport Ultra external not recognized error:

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

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

5 Fixes to Remove WD Not Showing Up/Not Detected Error:

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

When your computer cannot detect or read your WD hard drive, you can first try to change the USB cable and connect it with another USB port or 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 exists on the USB cable.

How To Install Wd Passport

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

If the WD Passport drive shows up, it is the damaged USB hub on your computer that stops WD from showing up.
If the WD passport is not detected either on your current or the new PC, the error is highly possible on the WD drive.

You can selectively follow below 4 methods to get problems fixed and repair the WD My Passport drive to show up and work again.

Method 1. Change WD Drive Letter to Make WD Passport Drive Detectable

When your WD become inaccessible, you can follow the guidelines below to change its drive letter so as to make WD passport detectable and accessible again in Windows PC:

Wd My Passport For Mac Not Showing Up On Windows

Step 1. Press Win + R to bring up Run dialog > Type: diskmgmt.msc 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' and choose the drive letter beside Assign the following drive letter > Click 'OK'.

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

Step 4. Then restart PC and you can check out whether the problem still exists or not.

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

If the system files corrupted or the WD device contains bad sectors, you won't be able to access the drive. Your computer may not even able to detect it from File Explorer.

EaseUS partition manager software with its Check File System feature supports repairing corrupted file system and bad sectors on WD hard drive. Download it, you can easily make your WD external hard drive show up on the computer again.

Follow to see how to fix corrupted system files and bad sectors on WD device: Parallels desktop 11 for mac yosemite.

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'.

Method 3. Update Device Driver to Make WD Drive Work, Detected

When the WD Passport drive is not working, it's highly possible that the device driver is not updated. So the best way is to update its driver via the following two paths:

Manually Download and Install WD Device Driver:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon at the left corner and select Device Manager.

Step 2. Find and expand Disk Drivers, Portable Devices, Universal Serial USB Controllers or Other devices to see if WD device is shown as Unknown device.

Step 3. Right-click on Unknown device > select Properties.

Step 4. Go to Details tab > Set Property to be Hardware Ids.

Step 5. Right-click the top Value and click Copy.

Step 6. Paste what you copy into a browser to search the correct device driver, find and download the correct WD device driver and install it on your PC.

Step 7. Then restart your computer and everything shall work fine with your WD My Passport Ultra drive.

Update WD Device Driver from Device Manager:

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

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.

Method 4. Uninstall/Reinstall USB Controllers on WD My Passport Drive

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

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

Step 2. Find and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers > Right-click on USB controllers on your WD drive and select 'Uninstall device'.

Repeat to uninstall each USB controller one by one.

Step 3. Restart the computer and Microsoft will automatically reinstall the USB controllers software for your WD drive.

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

Extra Important Tips

If your WD hard drive shows up and can be detected normally again, please don't rush to use it. Please do these tips first:

1. Copy and backup important data from your WD hard drive to another storage device.
2. Format WD hard drive or external hard drive to NTFS for saving data again.

If the WD hard drive still doesn't show up or cannot be detected, some physical errors may have occurred to your device. Please try these tips for a guide:

1. Search and find some manual guide online to check the physical error on your WD hard drive.
2. Or you can take your WD drive to a local hard drive repair center for professional help. (If you are not professional, please try this tip.)

Conclusion

On this page, we explained why is WD My Passport Ultra external hard drive not showing up on Windows PC and provided 5 practical fixes for you to follow and make the drive show up again.

If you are having a similar issue on other brands of external hard drive, internal hard drive, USB, or SD card, you can also try these tips to make your device show up and work again on Windows PC.

Fixed: Western Digital My Passport Go Keeps Disconnecting

Wd Drive My Passport For Macbook Pro