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WD my passport not showing on desktop

MacHead84

MacHead84

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 25, 2013
425
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I am a guest in the land of smiles
Hi Guys,

My WD my passport external hard drive is not showing up on my desktop.
Also not in disk utility. Only in system report.

What can I do to make it work?
If you have any suggestion kindly share.

Thank you

Screen Shot 2017-05-20 at 14.05.54.png
 
If it's not showing up in Disk Utility and won't mount, then it's probably failing. You can try unplugging it and plugging it back in several times to see if you can't get it going again. If that doesn't work, it's probably time to call WD and get a RMA if the drive is still in warranty. WD Passport drives are warranted for 3 years.
 
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Does the drive still work with -other- Macs?

If it DOES, might be cable, controller issues, etc. How is the drive initialized? (Mac format or PC format?)

If it DOES NOT, could be failed hardware or controller card.
 
I do not have another mac to test it. But under bootcamp it is also not showing up.
The format is NTFS. Paragon NTFS for Mac does also not see the drive. I don't think it's the cable.
Maybe something is wrong with the hardware itself?
 
Have to disagree with the advice about opening it up and putting it in another case - especially if the Passport is still under warranty. WD will refuse to issue a RMA if you have tampered with the drive in any way. Of course if the drive is old and not under warranty, then you can try what was recommended in the previous post.
 
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OP wrote:
"The format is NTFS. Paragon NTFS for Mac does also not see the drive. I don't think it's the cable."

Do you use this drive ONLY with this, and other Macs?
OR... do you use it "cross platform"? (Macs and PC's)

IF you intend to use it "just with the Mac", the strongest advice I can give you is to format it "for a Mac". That is to say, HFS+ with journaling enabled.

If you're going to use it with PC's as well, you'd probably do better to format it as FAT32 (at least, I -think- that's the choice that Disk Utility offers).
 
I expect that the format was NTFS, while the drive was still working.
Now, it seems that you have a drive enclosure, but nothing is responding inside the case, other than the interface chip.
In that USB bus screen shot, you should see some information about the configuration of the drive, capacity, file system used, some other info. But --- there's nothing about the media at all... just the interface data.

What can you do to make it work?
Replace it.
You should be able to check on W-D web site if the drive is still in warranty according to the serial number on the case.
 
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How do you initiate they WD ie do you run the small unlock/password utility to gain access when you plug it in ?

If so the utility could be corrupted or deleted and you need to DL from WD and run it direct from the laptop
 
Even if a password were needed, wouldn't you still see information about the media in that USB tab?
And, you would also see the media, even if it wouldn't mount. OP said it was NTFS format, and Paragon NTFS would provide for the password access directly in Disk Utility, right? And, you would still see a volume there, too. OP has nothing.
 
DeltaMac said:
Even if a password were needed, wouldn't you still see information about the media in that USB tab?
And, you would also see the media, even if it wouldn't mount. OP said it was NTFS format, and Paragon NTFS would provide for the password access directly in Disk Utility, right? And, you would still see a volume there, too. OP has nothing.
Click to expand...
I'm only going by a similar problem I had with my Samsung SSD which showed nothing as the auto start utill for mounting and password etc on the SSD was not functioning
 
chscag said:
Have to disagree with the advice about opening it up and putting it in another case - especially if the Passport is still under warranty. WD will refuse to issue a RMA if you have tampered with the drive in any way. Of course if the drive is old and not under warranty, then you can try what was recommended in the previous post.
Click to expand...
I assumed that OP is much more interested in getting his data off the drive than anything else. Sending the drive back to WD will mean the loss of all his data on the drive.
 
Fishrrman said:
OP wrote:
"The format is NTFS. Paragon NTFS for Mac does also not see the drive. I don't think it's the cable."

Do you use this drive ONLY with this, and other Macs?
OR... do you use it "cross platform"? (Macs and PC's)

IF you intend to use it "just with the Mac", the strongest advice I can give you is to format it "for a Mac". That is to say, HFS+ with journaling enabled.

If you're going to use it with PC's as well, you'd probably do better to format it as FAT32 (at least, I -think- that's the choice that Disk Utility offers).
Click to expand...

I can't format anything because my computer does not probably load the drive.

SteveJUAE said:
How do you initiate they WD ie do you run the small unlock/password utility to gain access when you plug it in ?

If so the utility could be corrupted or deleted and you need to DL from WD and run it direct from the laptop
Click to expand...

The drive is still under warranty. Even when I installed the WD Manager it's say that I have to plug in a WD drive. But it is already plugged in. So not even the WD manager software can detect the drive.

I am currently traveling so I have only my MacBook Pro available and Bootcamp. The data on the drive are not so important as it's only Movies. So not a biggie if all is lost. I just want to safe the drive from complete dieing.
 
MacHead84 said:
I am currently traveling so I have only my MacBook Pro available and Bootcamp. The data on the drive are not so important as it's only Movies. So not a biggie if all is lost. I just want to safe the drive from complete dieing.
Click to expand...

Is this a late 2016 MBP and your using a dongle to get to USB-C port or a different cable ? as its just an added complication

I would walk in to Powerbuy or Homepro or any one of the stores in Thailand (or even a fellow hotel guest ) and ask one of the guys to plug it in to confirm but it's more likely there is some hardware failure
 
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