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? asked in Computers & InternetHardwareAdd-ons · 8 years ago

My MacBook Pro won't recognize my WD External Hard Drive?

I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running OS X and a WD 1.5TB Passport External Hard Drive. The drive is about 3 months old and is formatted for a Mac (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)). It worked without a problem for maybe two and a half months, but now when I plug it into my laptop a few things happen:

It does not appear in Finder or on the desktop

The light on the drive begins to flash rapidly and continues the whole time it's plugged in

I can hear the disk turn on and it keeps quietly humming the whole time it's plugged in

It appears in Disk Utility but says it's not mounted

How can I retrieve the data that's on my external?

Update:

Thanks for the tip Duncan, but it didn't work. When I tell Disk Utility to mount the disk, it says it cannot be mounted

8 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Leave it plugged in while the operating system is running. Then shut down the computer and unplug it. Boot back up into the operating system, wait a minute and then plug it back in. External devices can get left in an open state and computers will not see them. This is not common shared knowledge. If it doesn't show it testing it this way there is some other issue involved. Hopefully it was only left in an open state.

    Source(s): 18 years experience fixing and repairing computers.
  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    This Site Might Help You.

    RE:

    My MacBook Pro won't recognize my WD External Hard Drive?

    I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running OS X and a WD 1.5TB Passport External Hard Drive. The drive is about 3 months old and is formatted for a Mac (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)). It worked without a problem for maybe two and a half months, but now when I plug it into my laptop a few things happen: It...

    Source(s): macbook pro recognize wd external hard drive: https://shorturl.im/8ftA5
  • Anonymous
    6 years ago

    This Site Might Help You.

    RE:

    My MacBook Pro won't recognize my WD External Hard Drive?

    I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running OS X and a WD 1.5TB Passport External Hard Drive. The drive is about 3 months old and is formatted for a Mac (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)). It worked without a problem for maybe two and a half months, but now when I plug it into my laptop a few things happen:

    It...

    Source(s): macbook pro won 39 recognize wd external hard drive: https://biturl.im/yaU6O
  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    Wd Hard Drive Not Recognized

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    Can you hear/feel the hard drive spinning up? This is an indicator of what is functioning or not. If you feel comfortable, you should be able to take the case apart, and remove the actual hard drive (should be like any other desktop hard drive) and connect it into a caddy (make sure you get the right type of caddy for the hard drive) to see if it is then readable. Caddies generally run ~$20 from a reasonable retailer.

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    If it is appearing in the left hand column in Disk Utility right click on it there and select Mount from the menu and see if that forces it to mount.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    8 years ago

    you can recover data from an unmounted drive on mac os x with the help of a recovery tool. pls see the video for more information.

  • 7 years ago

    THANKS FOR THE TIP WORKED FOR ME!!!

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