Mac HD plugged into PC, now doesn't work

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
G

goatprincess

Reputable
Sep 24, 2014
3
0
4,510
My roommate plugged our WD passport HD which is formatted for our mac, into his PC without realizing he shouldn't have done that. It didn't show up on the pc and now when we plug it into the mac it doesn't show up. Doesn't show up in System Profiler, or Disk Utility. It lights up indicating it is on when it is plugged in. We tried both usb ports. We tried a different usb cable. Any suggestions? We can't even find it on the computer to do anything for it.
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Hey there!

Sorry to hear you are experiencing such inconveniences with the WD Passport!
Have you done any recent updates on the OS X? Also is the light solid or blinking?
If the disk is spinning "normally" and the light is flickering when connected, I'd guess the problem is with the firmware. So I can suggest to check it out: http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/firmware.asp?id=wdfMP_forMac&os=MAC
The fact that your Mac doesn't recognize the drive even in System Profiler is not a good sign though, as the drive isn't even being seen at the bus (I/O) level. If it's not seen in System Profiler, it's not a partition/formatting issue but more of a hardware compatibility issue. Any other external HDDs to test against?
Another...
Sort by date Sort by votes
SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
6,758
3
45,960
Hey there!

Sorry to hear you are experiencing such inconveniences with the WD Passport!
Have you done any recent updates on the OS X? Also is the light solid or blinking?
If the disk is spinning "normally" and the light is flickering when connected, I'd guess the problem is with the firmware. So I can suggest to check it out: http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/firmware.asp?id=wdfMP_forMac&os=MAC
The fact that your Mac doesn't recognize the drive even in System Profiler is not a good sign though, as the drive isn't even being seen at the bus (I/O) level. If it's not seen in System Profiler, it's not a partition/formatting issue but more of a hardware compatibility issue. Any other external HDDs to test against?
Another thing you can try, if you have access to another Mac is swapping the power supply and see if it helps. Sometimes the more data is written on the external, the more power supply it needs. So I suggest you swap those cables as well.
I'd also suggest you reformat My Passport in FAT32: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/291/
so that it gets recognized on both operating systems. This way you can use your roommate's PC again to test the drive with Data LifeGuard Diagnostics: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/940

Hope any of those work for you!
Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom