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I'm using Mac OSx Yosemite Version 10.10.2 and the last time i conntected my WD External Hard Drive was just 5 days ago and I disconnected correctly etc. So it wasn't till today that I reconnected it to my laptop and it doesn't show on my desktop. The light blinks on the hard drive and I hear it spinning but doesn't show on my desktop. I have important files in this drive. What can I do?
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There are a couple of possibilities here:
Lastly, see if Apple's Drive Utility is able to see the drive. If it does try repairing it.
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I went to best buy and bought a new cable and the one that the guy recommended was the "Insignia 4ft charge/sync cable" and i just connected and its till not appearing on my mac desktop. also the drive does show on the disk utility.
When I clicked "Verify Disk" it said this:
Verifying partition map for “WD My Passport 070A Media”Checking prerequisitesChecking the partition listChecking for an EFI system partitionChecking the EFI system partition’s sizeChecking the EFI system partition’s file systemChecking all HFS data partition loader spacesChecking booter partitionsChecking Core Storage Physical Volume partitionsThe partition map appears to be OK
Part 2: When I clicked "Repair Disk" it said this:
Verifying and repairing partition map for “WD My Passport 070A Media”Checking prerequisitesChecking the partition listAdjusting partition map to fit whole disk as requiredChecking for an EFI system partitionChecking the EFI system partition’s sizeChecking the EFI system partition’s file systemChecking all HFS data partition loader spacesChecking booter partitionsReviewing boot support loadersChecking Core Storage Physical Volume partitionsUpdating Windows boot.ini files as requiredThe partition map appears to be OK
what does this all mean? what do I do next?
Sounds like the drive is OK. But it does sound like the drive is formatted for Windows (FAT32/NTFS) not GUID & Mac OS Extended (journaled). Even still your Mac should be able to access the drive. Did you alter your system? Or, upgrade the OS?
I believe i did upgraded the OS when it advised me to update but that happened before last week like a 2weeks ago and when i connected my external hard drive to the computer it was working fine.
how can i go about this? what should be my next steps.
I need to access some important files that I need.
What gets me is the entry: "Updating Windows boot.ini " thats not Mac! Thats MS Windows. Do you have BootCamp and Windows installed on your system?
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I just fixed mine by editing the finder preferences. 1) make sure external disks is checked under "general". 2) Make sure external disks is selected under "sidebar"
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Okay, so I had to fight this today, and I figured out a way to at least fix the hard drive.
First of all, update to Sierra if you are on Mac OS. El Capitan was a pain in the a$$. Next, open the WD Disk Utility app, NOT the mac one. Select "Erase" and then check the box on the right, NOT the left. The left will not erase first for some reason. Erase the right first, then the left. Boom. Your hard drive is ready for work again.
HOWEVER if you need to get those files off of the hard drive, do not mess around and go to a computer repair shop. If you can, back up your important files temporarily to iCloud or some other service. Disk Warrior is supposed to work great but I didn't exactly have $100 lying around.
After this is said and done, I still recommend buying another hard drive just in case.
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Thanks Senna Hyey! Your solution worked beautifully.
Mine is a very new drive I had decided to re-purpose, one that I needed to use between two Macs and for whatever reason it was visible to one but not the other.
Apple's Disk Utility was used to erase and reformat the drive but it remained invisible in Finder and Disk Utility on my second Mac, so after finding your solution I ran WD's Disk Utility app to erase the drive and sure enough it worked!
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9 Comments
Was this ever solved I am having the same exact problem after plugging my wd external into a windows pc on accident . MacBook same version on Yosemite. Light blinks on hd but nothing shows up.
by cmancha
Same here... disc utility hangs on "Loading Discs".
by maartenverwaest
Ugg. This is the worst. Same with me, the passport unit it's self seams to be working fine. Light is glowing, slight vibrating, but does not show on my computer at all.
by Sophia Smiles AG
Hello, I just had the same problem and thought all it's lost. But I plugged the hard drive in my husband's mac and it was working. I shut my mac book off and sprayed both usb ports with dust off air-spray. I just turned it on again and the hard drive is discoverable again.
by Sasha
none of the answers solve the problem, for me, same problem except i get the wd smartware on my desktop when i plug it in, i even enter my wd security password, but the folder doesnt show up, but instead, i get another wd smartware which dont even work... disk utility also shows 2 wd smartwares.
if your disk doesnt work you can download iboysoft data recovery and you get 1 GB free to recover but you will have to pay 70 bucks to recover all your data...
by j.ghanavizi
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