Fix WD Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Utility with 4 Ways

If your WD hard drive not showing up in Disk Utility after you connect it to your Mac, don't worry! In this post, we will show you effective methods to fix the WD hard drive not showing up in Disk Utility error.

Before fixing the error, we also provide effective ways to recover stored data from the WD hard drive that is not showing up on a Mac. Keep reading!

Recover Stored Data on the WD Hard Drive

Are you worried about your data stored on the WD hard drive and not showing up on Mac? In that case, you must use professional Mac data retrieval software to retrieve the preserved data from the WD hard drive. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is a professional software that can restore lost data from accidental deletion, emptied trash bins, or other data loss events.

This powerful Mac data retrieval software helps solve the WD external hard drive not showing up on a Mac issue and restores files on it even without Time Machine backup.

Check out the following steps to recover stored files from the WD hard drive that is not showing up in Disk Utility:

Step 1. Search for lost files

Correctly connect your external hard drive to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, and select the external hard drive. Then, click "Search for lost files" to find lost/deleted files on your external devices.

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your external hard drive to avoid further data loss. After backing up the external hard drive, the software can recover data from your external hard drive's backup, and you can remove the external hard drive and use it again.

Step 2. Filter and find lost files

After the scan, all file types will be presented in the left panel. Select the file type to find wanted files on your external devices.

Step 3. Preview and recover

Click the file and preview it. Then, select the files you want to recover and click the "Recover" button. You can save your data to local and cloud drives.

After saving your lost files to a safe storage location, we will get on with the probable fixes for resolving the WD hard drive not showing up in the Disk Utility issue.

If you're using WD My Passport, WD Easystore, WD My Book, or others, you can try the below-mentioned fixes to spot and resolve the error, including:

• WD Passport not showing up on a Mac
• WD Easystore not mounting on a Mac

These are the top 4 ways to fix the WD hard drive not showing up on Mac error:

Fix 1. Check the Display Settings in the Finder

First, you must ensure that your drive isn't concealed. macOS lets users alter what devices are shown in the Finder and on the desktop. Therefore, this might be the case if you anticipate seeing your drive in those areas, but it only pops up in Disk Utility. To unhide your drive from Finder and desktop, go through the steps below:

Step 1. Hit "Finder > Settings" on the Apple menu bar. In the "General" tab, select "External disks".

Step 2. Please ensure that the "External disks" is chosen in the "Sidebar" tab beneath "Locations".

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Fix 2. Turn on Show All Devices in Disk Utility

If you have bought a new WD external drive that doesn't appear on your Mac, it might be the best time to make it usable and mount it. Mounting is crucial to make your external device and OS compatible.

This is the most vital reason the WD hard drive is not showing on Mac. To mount the WD external hard drive, you will need to enable "Show All Devices" in Disk Utility. These are the steps to follow:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility".

Step 2. Hit the "View" symbol in the action pane's top left edge and "Show All Devices".

Step 3. Opt for your WD external Hard Drive from the list of options, and hit "Mount".

Now, the program will instantly mount a disk on a Mac and make it ready for further use.

Fix 3. Use WD Drive Utilities to Diagnose the Unrecognized WD Hard Drive

WD Drive Utilities for Mac is one of the leading specialized utilities for WD hard drives to run drive diagnostics, such as resolving sluggish disk performance, bad sectors, and potential drive failures. In case a WD HDD isn't working usually on a Mac because of other parameter errors, you need to follow the steps below:

Step 1. Install "WD Drive Utilities" on your MacBook, and start it.

Step 2. Insert the unidentifiable WD hard disk onto your Mac.

Step 3. Hit "Diagnose" and opt for "Run Quick Drive Test" to verify the WD drive entirely.

Fix 4. Fix the Unrecognized WD Hard Drive by Reformatting It

In case WD Drive Utilities can't fix the unidentifiable WD hard drive, the file system of this drive might be severely damaged. In that case, you need to reformat or eliminate the WD hard drive. But prior to that, retrieving lost data from an unidentifiable WD hard drive with data retrieval software, such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, would be necessary to steer clear of data loss.

Follow the steps below to reformat a WD hard drive in Disk Utility:

Step 1. Open Disk Utility and choose the WD hard drive from the external disk list.

Step 2. Click "Erase" from the top menu. Choose a new file format you want, and click "Erase" again to confirm the reformat.

Don't know which format is better on macOS? Read this article to solve this problem.

Why WD Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Utility

Western Digital hard drives are Mac's most striking external HDDs, having plenty of advanced options and features to crank your experience up a notch. Like other HDDs, WD drives might also lag because of corruption and faulty connections. Moreover, other factors could also make the external HDD unnoticed on your Mac.

Here are the main reasons why a WD hard drive is not showing up in the Disk Utility on your Mac:

• A broken USB cable.
• A malfunctioned USB port.
• The file system of the external HDD is damaged.
• The USB adaptor isn't adequately working.
• A mismatched format has been applied to the external hard drive.
• Software and hardware, for example, the driver for the external, requires an update.

As a consequence of the above reasons, you might plug the external HDD into your Mac, but nothing occurs. It shows that your Mac doesn't read the external HDD.

Conclusion

The first step in resolving the WD hard drive not being detected on Mac should be data restoration. This is critical if your Mac needs to recognize your USB memory sticks, SD cards, or other external storage devices.

Tools for data recuperation, such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro for Mac, can help you restore data from an unknown hard drive. The issue can then be fixed using a variety of techniques without causing the loss of information.

WD Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Utility FAQs

These are the leading FAQs to understand the topic better:

1. Why isn't my external hard drive in Disk Utility?

There's a chance that the external hard disk has become damaged if Disk Utility still cannot see it despite the fact you choose the Show All Devices button in the View panel. In that case, a new drive must be installed in lieu of the one that has been destroyed.

2. How do I fix my WD external hard drive not showing on my Mac?

In order to fix your WD external hard drive not showing up on your Mac, you may mend the damaged WD drive with First Aid. Follow the steps below:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility".

Step 2. Opt for your WD external HDD from the list of options shown.

Step 3. Navigate to "First Aid" and hit "Run" to kick-start the diagnostics.