2025 Guide: Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Mounting on Mac [11 Solutions]

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An WD external hard drive not mounting on your Mac means you can't open the WD external hard drive on your Mac and can't access the files stored on it. There are many reasons behind why an WD external hard drive is not mounting on a Mac. But, don't panic. There are many ways to fix this issue and ensure you can access to the WD external hard drive on your Mac and write data to it or modify files on the drive.

Quick Overview of Solutions to Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Mounting on Mac:

Here is a quick overview of the solutions covered in this guide:

• Basic Checks - Physical connections, power cycle drive, test on another computer
• Disk Utility - Check for errors, repair drive, reformat if necessary
• Reset PRAM and SMC - Reset NVRAM and SMC to resolve hardware issues
• System Information - Confirm if the drive is detected at the hardware level
• Safe Mode - Eliminate software conflicts
• Terminal - Manually mount the drive
• Software and Firmware - Update macOS, drivers, WD tools
• Data Recovery - Donemax Data Recovery for Mac, recover deleted, formatted and inaccessible data.
• Test on Windows PC - Determine if the issue is Mac-specific
• Contact WD Support - Troubleshoot with customer care
• Preventative Tips - Regular backups, safe ejection, surge protection

If the step-by-step solutions outlined here do not successfully troubleshoot your WD drive, data recovery or drive replacement may be necessary. Let's get started!

11 Solutions to Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Mounting on Mac

Solution 1. Start with Basic Checks

Before you try in-depth troubleshooting, first eliminate some basic culprits behind the WD external drive not mounting issue:

• Physical connections - Check that the USB cable is properly inserted into both the drive and the Mac. Try connecting to another USB port. Avoid unpowered USB hubs.
• Power cycle - Disconnect the drive's cables, wait for 30 seconds, then reconnect. For powered drives, verify the power supply is working.
• Test on another computer - Connect the drive to a Windows PC or another Mac to see if it mounts normally there. This confirms whether the issue is with the drive itself or your Mac.

Solution 2. Check the WD External Hard Drive in Disk Utility

Disk Utility is the inbuilt disk management tool on macOS for inspecting, repairing and formatting storage devices.

Does drive appear here? - Open Disk Utility and check under the External section if your WD drive shows up here. If yes, click First Aid to check and repair errors.

If your drive is not even visible in Disk Utility, head over to the System Information solution next. A drive detected in Disk Utility but showing functionality issues can likely be fixed by formatting or repairs.

Verify and reformat - While your drive is selected, go through its technical specifications under the Info pane. If the File System is incompatible with Mac, for example NTFS, you will need to erase and reformat the drive to a supported format like APFS, Mac OS Extended etc.

💡 Note: Reformatting will wipe all data on the drive. So backup your data before this step.

Solution 3. Reset PRAM and SMC

Resetting the PRAM and SMC can resolve low-level hardware detection issues on your Mac.

PRAM - Shut down your Mac fully and turn it back on, immediately pressing the key combination Command + Option + P + R. Hold for 20 seconds until you hear the second reboot sound.

SMC - The SMC reset process depends on whether you have a removable or non-removable battery model. Look up Apple's guide on how to reset SMC for your specific MacBook or iMac model.

Resetting these systems clears out any corruption that could be preventing your Mac from detecting the connected external drive.

Solution 4. Check System Information (Hardware Detection)

If your WD external hard drive is still not visible in Disk Utility or Finder, verifying it at the hardware level is the next step.

System Information app - Go to About This Mac > More Info > System Report. Under the Hardware section, click on USB and scan the list of connected devices for your WD external drive.

If detected here - Great! The issue seems to be at the software level instead of hardware failure. Solutions like formatting, Safe Mode etc may apply.

If NOT detected - Uh oh. This means your Mac is unable to see the physical hard drive for some reason. Could be faulty cable, port damage or power issues.

Solution 5. Boot into Safe Mode

Booting into Safe Mode loads a minimal version of macOS with only essential apps and services. This can isolate software conflicts that stop your external drive from mounting correctly.

Restart into Safe Mode - Shut down and restart your Mac, immediately pressing and holding the Shift key after you hear the startup chime, until the login window loads.

For Apple silicon Mac, restart the Mac, press and hold Power button until it boots into macOS Recovery mode. Then click the Macintosh HD, hold the Shift key, choose Continue in Safe Mode.

Test drive mounting - Now connect your WD external hard drive while in Safe Mode and check if successfully mounts on the desktop. If yes, then third-party apps like antivirus software or custom kexts might be interfering. Enter your admin password if prompted.

This narrows down external drive mounting issues to core macOS system problems instead of software conflicts.

Solution 6. Mount Drive Manually via Terminal

As an advanced troubleshooting step, you can manually mount storage devices using Terminal to bypass Disk Utility or Finder issues.

Identify drive - Open the Terminal app on your Mac. Type in the command diskutil list and note your external drive's identifier code (such as /dev/disk6).

Mount command - Now type diskutil mountDisk /dev/diskX with X replaced by your WD drive's identifier code.

Additionally try diskutil verifyDisk /dev/diskX or diskutil repairDisk /dev/diskX to fix errors.

Terminal gives you low-level control to directly access and troubleshoot external drives not mounting as expected.

Solution 7. Update Software and Firmware

It is vital to keep your system and drive firmware updated for maximum compatibility:

macOS updates - Go to System Preferences > Software Update or System Settings > General > Software Update and install any pending updates for your version of macOS. This resolves bugs that can prevent successful drive mounting.

WD Firmware - Go to WD Support and enter your product name/code to download the latest firmware available for your external drive model. Improved firmware optimizes drive performance.

You can also install WD software tools like WD Security, WD Backup etc. to check drive diagnostics.

Solution 8. Attempt Data Recovery

If critical personal or business files exist on the unmounting WD drive, data recovery should be attempted before considering replacement.

Recovery software - Applications like Donemax Data Recovery for Mac and Stellar Data Recovery have user-friendly Mac versions to retrieve media, documents etc from hard drives.

Step 1. Download and install the reliable Mac data recovery software - such as Donemax Data Recovery for Mac. It can help you recover deleted, formatted, inaccessible files from an unmountable or erased WD external hard drive.

Step 2. Open Donemax Data Recovery for Mac, choose the WD external hard drive to start data recovery.

Step 3. Click on Scan button to deeply scan the WD external hard drive and find all recoverable files.

Step 4. Once the scan gets finished, you can preview all recoverable files. Then select the wanted files, click on Recover button to save them.

Donemax Data Recovery for Mac also can help you mount WD external hard drive on Mac, reformat corrupted on Mac, repair damaged WD external hard drive on Mac, etc.

Professional services - For physical damage like click sounds or water exposure, consult an expert recovery service - but keep costs in mind.

Having a trusted backup of important data is the best protection against external drive failures. So once you regain access, be sure to create a backup.

Solution 9. Does Drive Work on Windows?

To determine whether the mounting issues lie with the Mac machine or drive faults, connect your WD external hard drive to a Windows 10/11 PC.

If detected on Windows - Great, the problems seems macOS-specific. Solutions like software update or Safe Mode are indicated.

If NOT detected - Then a physical fault with the drive itself is likely. Contact WD Support regarding warranty replacement options.

This quick test on a secondary OS often diagnoses if the problem stems from the system or hardware.

Solution 10. Leverage WD Support

After trying all applicable solutions for your external drive mounting failure, tap into WD’s technical support and service options.

Product details - Lookup your WD external drive’s model name/number and serial number/code before contacting support reps - this speeds up troubleshooting.

Warranty check - Enter your product details on WD's Warranty Check page to see if your device is still covered within the warranty period.

If yes, you can avail free repair or replacement services, subject to service terms.

Support options - WD offers 24/7 online chat, email and phone support in multiple languages to address technical issues. Using WD tools generally makes problem diagnosis easier.

Rely on their expertise to recover your data or receive warranty replacements!

Solution 11. Some Handy Proactive Tips

Here are a final few handy proactive practices to avoid external drive mounting failures down the road:

• Maintain multiple backups of important personal and work data in external hard drives, cloud services etc. Backups are your safety net if a drive fails.
• Safely eject the WD drive before unplugging it from your Mac to prevent file system or data corruption errors. This also applies to SD cards.
• Use a surge protector between power outlets and external hard drives. Sudden power surges can damage ports and render drives undetectable by your Mac.

How to Mount NTFS WD External Hard Drive on Mac Without Reformatting?

If the WD external hard drive has been formatted to NTFS file system, it may not mount on your Mac. With NTFS for Mac too, you can easily mount an NTFS WD external hard drive on Mac and write data to it without any limitation.

Step 1. Download and install Donemax NTFS for Mac - a reliable NTFS for Mac tool.

Step 2. Open Donemax NTFS for Mac, select the NTFS WD external hard drive, click on Mount button.

Step 3. To read-write the WD external hard drive on Mac, just click on Enable Writable button.

Conclusion

Dealing with an external hard drive suddenly not mounting on a Mac can severely disrupt your workflow and lead to missing deadlines or lost data. By methodically trying all the solutions outlined in this comprehensive troubleshooting guide, you stand the best chance of quickly identifying and resolving the underlying issue - whether simple software glitches or actual hardware faults.

Remember to start with the easier, non-technical checks like physical connections and drive formatting using native macOS tools like Disk Utility or Terminal. Gradually attempt more complex solutions like NTFS for Mac, Safe Mode, system resets and manual mounting as needed, relying on WD's technical support for drive-specific issues.

With the right troubleshooting approach and recovery tools, you can minimize downtimes due to your WD external drive failures. Installing pending system updates, maintaining firmware and creating backups are handy precautionary steps as well for avoiding mount issues down the road.