I have been using a 'My Passport for Mac' external HD as the destination disk for Time Machine backups. Then I noticed that the computer was no longer seeing that HD. Since rebooting did not help, I purchased a new My Passport for Mac HD. When I installed it, the computer immediately 'saw it.' I just left it be and eventually Time Machine started a new backup.
As free Mac data recovery software, iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery enables you to recover data from uninitialized WD My Passport on Mac and other brands of external hard drive, recover data from uninitialized AppleAPFSMedia, even recover data after initialize a disk, whatever the drive is formatted to APFS, HFS+, HFS, exFAT, FAT32. I have a similar situation - but I had to re-install Windows 7. I installed the WD anywhere backup software from my external Passport Elite and am trying to restore all my backed up files.
The last time I looked it was about 10% finished making the new BU. Next time I noticed, I had a message saying that the device had not been properly ejected. Finder no longer showed this disc. I did a complete shutdown and restarted the computer. Computer still does not see this disc. I use two other external HDs and occasionally get the same 'failure to eject' message, but a reboot has always corrected the situation. Any suggestions?
I have an older Mac Mini, but my OS is 10.10.4. Click to expand. 'My Passport' has only a USB connection. I did a SMC reset. This seems to have corrected the problem - at least for the last 5 minutes.
I'll feel better if it is still functioning after 48 hours. Consequently, if this is acceptable procedure, I'lll leave this thread open and report back in a couple of days. Thank you so very much for your help. Over the years, I have had a few occasions to turn to the Forum for help. To the best of my recollection you, Mr Cooper, have always responded and your advice has always been sound. Again thank you for your kind and generous help. Glad you were able to resolve your issue.
And yes, Cory is a valuable resource, that's for certain! I'm wondering if this thread is another indication that WD drives are, at times, problematic, where as drives from a number of other manufacturers (Seagate, LaCie, etc.) are easier to work with. Myself, I have relied almost exclusively on Seagate drives, having used a number of them for various purposes, and with various interfaces (SCSI, USB, and Firewire). Except for typical wearing out (usually 5 to 7 years of use), they have been extremely reliable. I also wonder if for the WD drives, even though they come formatted for use right away, that it might be beneficial to use Disk Utility to Erase, Format, and Partition the drive right away.
Cory, maybe you could enlighten us on that. Thank you both for your comments and advice. I can understand that people such as yourselves might prefer to do your own setups. However, being that the computer is only a means to an end for me and being unversed in their care and keeping, I prefer to get things that are 'plug & play.'
Regardless, it is obviously of great benefit to people such as myself that there exists such kind, helpful and knowledgeable people such as you two who offer their help so generously. PS: After several hours, the drive is still functioning. From one perspective, I understand where you are coming from. Some folks prefer to not 'tinker' with anything, and thus want to just have things move along. It's the same when one owns an automobile. I know of a number of people who do nothing but just drive their cars, and when something goes wrong (even if it is simple), they prefer to take it to a dealer and have it repaired.
That will get the job done, but certainly at a higher cost. Then, there are folks who do like to 'tinker', albeit carefully and having the knowledge (and at times the experience) to proceed. Cory and myself are just two such folks. In the case of hard drives, not sure if it is still the case, but it used to be that getting a 'PC' version of a new hard drive was less expensive than the Mac version (if it existed). But, that PC drive can be setup for use on a Mac. That actually was the case when I purchased my Samsung 256 gig SSD. There was no 'Mac' version, so I had to get the drive ready for use inside my Mac Mini.
For the automobiles we own, I do some basic maintenance on my own, and I can do some simpler repairs. For major work, though, I do take it to an auto repair/maintenance shop. But, besides all that, there is still the choice one makes as to how they take care of things. For any hard drive, it is best to use software tools to keep the drive functioning as smoothly as possible. That will extend the life of the drive, and avoid possible headaches that can happen if such maintenance/care is not done. Again, taking care of an automobile is similar.
For example, I monitor the air pressure on the tires for both of our vehicles myself. One of them (our 2013 Toyota Camry) actually comes with a feature that monitors the tire pressure (In fact I got alerted once about it), but I still do it on my own. For our other vehicle, I have to do it on my own. The benefits of keeping correct air pressure are numerous, including extending the life of the tire (and thus saving money). In any event, I am glad the drive is working for you. If you need any ideas, thoughts, etc. About maintaining your drives at peak performance, just ask any of us.
![Install My Passport For Mac On Computer Install My Passport For Mac On Computer](http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/remove-disk-from-time-machine-backup-mac-osx3.jpg)
Thank you both for your comments and advice. I can understand that people such as yourselves might prefer to do your own setups. However, being that the computer is only a means to an end for me and being unversed in their care and keeping, I prefer to get things that are 'plug & play.'
Regardless, it is obviously of great benefit to people such as myself that there exists such kind, helpful and knowledgeable people such as you two who offer their help so generously. PS: After several hours, the drive is still functioning. From one perspective, I understand where you are coming from. Some folks prefer to not 'tinker' with anything, and thus want to just have things move along.
It's the same when one owns an automobile. I know of a number of people who do nothing but just drive their cars, and when something goes wrong (even if it is simple), they prefer to take it to a dealer and have it repaired. That will get the job done, but certainly at a higher cost. Then, there are folks who do like to 'tinker', albeit carefully and having the knowledge (and at times the experience) to proceed. Cory and myself are just two such folks. In the case of hard drives, not sure if it is still the case, but it used to be that getting a 'PC' version of a new hard drive was less expensive than the Mac version (if it existed). But, that PC drive can be setup for use on a Mac.
That actually was the case when I purchased my Samsung 256 gig SSD. There was no 'Mac' version, so I had to get the drive ready for use inside my Mac Mini. For the automobiles we own, I do some basic maintenance on my own, and I can do some simpler repairs.
For major work, though, I do take it to an auto repair/maintenance shop. But, besides all that, there is still the choice one makes as to how they take care of things. For any hard drive, it is best to use software tools to keep the drive functioning as smoothly as possible. That will extend the life of the drive, and avoid possible headaches that can happen if such maintenance/care is not done. Again, taking care of an automobile is similar.
For example, I monitor the air pressure on the tires for both of our vehicles myself. One of them (our 2013 Toyota Camry) actually comes with a feature that monitors the tire pressure (In fact I got alerted once about it), but I still do it on my own. For our other vehicle, I have to do it on my own. The benefits of keeping correct air pressure are numerous, including extending the life of the tire (and thus saving money). In any event, I am glad the drive is working for you. If you need any ideas, thoughts, etc.
About maintaining your drives at peak performance, just ask any of us. Click to expand.Mr Honestone, Ah your reference to automobile maintenance brought back a few memories. The way one approaches problems (DIY or hire someone) is not only a function of personality, but also of age and physical condition. A good example the auto maintenance.
My approach when I was in my 20's and 30's was a lot different from that now when I am in my 80's. Another VERY BIG difference is the automobiles themselves. My first several autos were just minor variations from the basic design; viz., under the hood the engine ran down the center with a row of spark plugs on the top, on one side was the carburetor, on the other side was a distributor. That was it!!! Yep, in those days I did a LOT more than just monitor the air pressure, Now, even if I were still young and fit, I doubt that I would even be able to change the spark plugs.
Of course, back then, a high mileage car would have about 50,000 miles on it and was about ready for the scrap heap; now a car with 50,000 miles is just barely broken-in. Rarely needed a tire pressure gauge then because every service station was 'full service' and you got your tire pressure checked for free most every time you filled-up the tank. Times; they do change! I am in my early 70's, and yes, there are some physical things I can no longer do (or if I could, they would be painful). For automobiles, the things I can do myself are 1) change the Cabin Air Filter, 2) change the Air Filter, 3) check the tire pressure myself, and 4) diagnose some simpler electrical problems that can be cured by replacing a fuse.
I hope to be able to do those things (or at least most of them) by the time I am in my 80's (hopefully I can make it that far. So far, so good, as I am in good to excellent health, my wife does a super job in preparing all our meals from a health conscious perspective, and I get a good amount of exercise). For maintaining a hard drive, there are quite a few software tools available for doing that, both free and not free. I would recommend that you look into which ones are available, and also do some things on your own on a regular basis.
Again, it is wonderful that the drive is working fine. But, besides maintaining the drive itself, there are other pieces to your machine (mainly from a software perspective) that would be beneficial for you to maintain/'repair' yourself. By doing that, you'll avoid a number of issues that quite a few folks have that don't follow such procedures. I do consider myself somewhat proficient with Macs, both from a hardware and software perspective. And, I do have a number of tools available to proceed with most repairs. But, it is my preference to avoid that as much as possible, and thus I follow a somewhat 'rigid' (from my perspective) program to keep my machines 'lean and clean'. Those procedures have served me well for a number of years.
Finally, your statements about older automobiles and excellent service bring back memories! In fact, they remind me of the scene in 'Back To The Future', when Marty first went back to 1955. A car pulled into a Texaco station, and right away 4 or 5 folks rushed out to help the customer.
Today you'd be lucky to get 'served' right away to just pay for the gas you want to pump yourself (I don't pay at the pump, and never, never use a credit/debit card to pay for the gas). Hornstone, Thank you for the further comments. While I dislike doing so, I will impose further on you. You state: 'For maintaining a hard drive, there are quite a few software tools available for doing that, both free and not free. I would recommend that you look into which ones are available, and also do some things on your own on a regular basis.' And go on to say 'there are other pieces to your machine (mainly from a software perspective) that would be beneficial for you to maintain/'repair' yourself.'
And 'I follow a somewhat 'rigid' (from my perspective) program to keep my machines 'lean and clean'.' I did purchase something called MacBooster 2. It seems to have helped a lot in speeding up a machine that had gotten intolerantly slow (& I'm a pretty tolerant guy.) If you could be specific re the tools and processes you have in mind, I will be glad to give them further consideration. RE Credit Cards; I am not so cautious as you and I have had one bad incident.
![Passport Passport](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125601671/171349413.png)
However Chase caught it before I did, notified me, cancelled that card and had a new card to me by the next day. I use my card that is keyed to British Airways for essentially everything I purchase. As a result, I have had eight free first class flights to London and more business and coach class flights (all free) than I can remember. 'Free' in this case means the ticket is free, I still pay taxes and certain fees, but these are minuscule compared to the cost of the ticket.
Even though I took two first class flights last year, I now have enough miles for two more. Hey Doug, I am very, very careful in the use of my credit/debit cards. In fact, I do not use them much outside of our home. I also had an incident occur back in the late 90's with my ATM card, but got it straight right away. Even with all the supposed 'safe guards', I am still very, very careful. OK, regarding my procedure, first of all, the tools I use are the excellent freeware program Onyx, the excellent disk maintenance/repair program Tech Tool pro (not free), and SuperDuper!
(not free, although there is a free version) for my backups. Secondly, I have two external drives that I use for both backups and storing some other stuff )like old tax returns, old photos, movies and TV series, etc.).
I also have Disk Warrior, which is another premiere disk maintenance/repair program (not free), but I only use it once in a while. Still, there are times when it comes in handy.
Next, I continually am getting rid of unnecessary files/folders on both of my machines every day. For example, I immediately delete EMails I don't need, and downloads of prior versions of files that I don't need. Both of my internal drives on each of my Macs are 256 gig SSDs, but I am only using about 40% of the space on each one.
Still, I want to keep things as clean as possible. Besides my Macs running more smoothly, the other thing is that if I do download something 'large', I have to space to do it (I then move the file later, unless it is for temporary usage, after which I get rid of it right away. Third, every Saturday I go through my disk cleanup/maintenance/repair/backup processing for both of my Macs. The things I do are: 1.
I use Outlook for my EMail needs, and when an EMail is deleted, it actually does not go away. So, I run a procedure (explained by Microsoft) to get rid of those deleted EMails permanently. Run Onyx to perform a number of cleanup tasks, and some limited disk maintenance. Run TechTool Pro for performing 'complete' disk maintenance (and repairs when necessary, which are few and far between). Use SuperDuper! To perform backups (actually 'clones') for each of my machines to the two separate external hard drives.
All of that works well for me. It is somewhat time consuming, but I am doing other non-computer tasks while all of this is going on (a number of the tasks take some time, especially Surface Scan with Tech Tool pro, and the backups, and they can run unattended).
Well, it's doing it again. My mac mini OSX 10.10.5 seems to lose the 'My Passport for Mac: external HD. I went through the procedures discussed earlier; no help. I did a SMC reset. This seemed to fix it. I could see all my HDs.
Then only a few seconds later (while I was opening Firefox), I got a message saying that the disc was not properly ejected. The Passport for Mac was no longer there.
Perhaps it is not important to have this drive??? I use it only for time machine to do hourly backups of my internal HD. That internal HD contains my various programs, but no data. I keep all my data on an external HD which gets backed up to a different external HD once a day using the Second Copy backup program. I never seem to have any trouble with any external HD other than the My Passport for Mac and that is the only one using Time Machine. I've always backed up my data, but went years with no difficulty without backing up the internal HD.
Do you think I should just ignore backing up my internal HD and be content with backing up my data? OK, we need to try and understand something. Besides the Western Digital (WD) drive, do you also have one or two more external drives? And, what are the sizes of each drive? Secondly, I believe Second Copy runs on Windows machines only.
So, how do you get it to run on your Mac? Third, when you say 'I keep all my data on an external HD', what data is that?
Fourth, how much space are you using on your internal drive? Finally, what do you use your machine primarily for? I myself use it to 1) check EMails with Outlook, 2) browse the Internet with Google Chrome, 3) keep track of my checking account with Quicken, 4) view TV programs and/or movies with VLC (right now, I am at Episode 8 of Season 4 of Breaking Bad. Fabulous series!), 5) use Word a fair amount of the time, and 6) use Excel occasionally. Let us know what software you use. Once you answer all those questions, I believe we can help you better. Sorry to hear the issue has reappeared.
You stated that you have an older Mac mini (Late 2009). Have you tried the other USB ports on the mini and/or disconnecting all other peripherals except the My Passport? You could simply use the My Passport on a weekly basis to perform the Time Machine backup of the internal drive, and unmount and disconnect it for the rest of the time. If you go more than seven days without backing up, Time Machine will prompt you. I wonder if it could actually be a faulty drive, or possibly an overload of the USB bus with multiple devices plugged in.
If the WD drive still has issues no matter which port it is connected to, I would certainly not trust it for my backups, as you could have issues trying to recover. One of the reasons why I asked what you use your Mac for is that if it is for 'limited' purposes like myself, then using Time Machine is somewhat overkill. That is why I choose instead to do weekly backups (actually a clone of my internal SSD) with SuperDuper! There is nothing real critical I will lose from one week to another. About the only 'problematic' issues would be 1) my Quicken Account File (and its' backup) would not be quite up to date, 2) the database that contains all my Outlook EMail information would be a week old, and 3) I would lose any software updates that I have downloaded. I actually had to recently go through a complete restore of my system from my most recent SuperDuper!
Backup, but what I did first was to 1) save the Quicken Account Files, 3) the Outlook EMail database, and 3) any downloads to a location on my external drive (it is partitioned, and one of my partitions is for miscellaneous information). Then, after doing the restore, I just copied the saved files to the appropriate locations on my just restored system. OK; embedded in the last three comments are several questions. I'll try to answer them all. I have a total of 4 HDs. 1) My internal HD is 320 GB with 212 GB free. The in use portion of the drive, in addition to the apple stuff that came on it contains primarily my programs, mainly two releases of Photoshop plus Bridge, Lightroom and TeX Shop.
Also Firefox and all my emails. 2) I keep all of my data, primarily photographs on a 3 TB external HD with 1.36 TB free. I back this external HD up to a second external HD daily.
That other HD is also a 3 TB drive with 1TB free. I have, for the life of my computer used this 2 HD setup for my photography.
Dougstocks.com if you are interested. 3) Finally, my newest HD, is the My Passport which I set up fairly recently to use with Time Machine to keep a BU of my internal HD. It is (I think) a 1TB drive. When I first encountered this problem, I thought that the My Passport had failed, so I bought this newest one. I started backing-up my internal HD probably only about 2 years ago. I think I read that it was a good idea.
Further, prior to that time, if one of my programs failed I could always buy a new one. But when Adobe stopped selling their major programs and initiated their subscription scheme instead, I figured that I ought to have a BU of PS & Bridge. So, the small My Passport is used just to have an extra copy of my programs. 4) You are, of course, correct. Second Copy is a Windows program. I should have looked instead of relying on my notoriously faulty memory. What I am actually using is Carbon Copy Cloner.
5) As implied by above, I primarily use my machine for the post-processing of digitally captured photographs. Secondary uses are emails, search for stuff using Firefox or Safari., Occasional use of TexShop. Tracking Investments using some on-line Quicken Program. Accessing bank and investment accounts. With occasional stock trading.
I also use my machine to access and maintain a few photographic web-sites. Oh yes, I also infrequently use Open Office for various minor things.
Annually, I use TurboTax. I recently bought MacBooster 2 and use it frequently. It has really speeded up my machine. 6) I will not swear to this, but my recollection is that the Mac Mini has four, maybe five USB ports. All are in use and I think each one has a hub on it. So, there are several things connected to the computer via USB. I have had no problems with anything except those two 'My Passport' HD.
There is one other device, a printer I believe, connected to the same hub as the My Passport. It works fine. No, I have not tried disconnecting the other stuff. My personal preference would be to just call it quits on the My Passports - but I do worry about someday needing another copy of Photoshop For example, I might buy a newer mini with 16 GB RAM. That sure would speed up PS.
7) My present Mini is, I think, late 2008. I tried disconnecting the My Passport, but before my Mac could see it again, I had to do an SMC reset. But even then, it vanished again in less than 5 minutes. The My Passport could be faulty, but, if so this would make two in a row that were faulty. 8) Your copying your files back onto your restored HD is what I envisioned doing, if the need ever came up.
However, knowing Adobe, they may have some built in feature that prevents such a thing. If you have any suggestions, I will gladly consider them, but as indicated earlier, I'm about ready to just scrap the idea of keeping my internal HD backed-up.
Many thanks for you kind assistance.
This article explains how to physically connect, disconnect, and install a WD external / easystore drive to a computer running Windows or Mac PC.END This article explains how to physically connect, disconnect, and install a WD external / easystore drive to a computer running Windows10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP or macOS. Choose an operating system from the table below for specific instructions: If problems with disconnecting the drive occur, please see for more information.
Operating System Instructions Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP (instructions will appear below this table) macOS (instructions will appear below this table) Unix/Linux ( not supported by WD) (instructions will appear below this table). Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Important information for all Operating Systems:. Windows, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 have all the necessary drivers for installing most Western Digital / easystore external hard drives. Consequently, Western Digital does not have, nor provides, drivers for the majority of external hard drives. If the OS reports that it cannot find a driver for the drive please see:. Newer WD external hard drives ship with either Windows NTFS or Mac HFS+ filesystems. Upon connecting to the computer, the external hard drive should be recognized and ready for use.
If the drive is not immediately recognized (or appears to be read only on a Mac), it is likely formatted for Windows PC. If this is the case it's best to reformat the drive. See for assistance in reformatting your drive. Some drives ship formatted in ExFAT in order to be compatible on both Windows and Mac computers.
In most cases, simply connect the external hard drive to an available data port on the computer for it to be recognized. Network drives, will not show up in Disk Management (under Windows) or Disk Utility (under Mac OSX); nor can a network drive be re-formatted from the computer's OS.
These drives are formatted in a Linux filesystem, and can be refomatted only through the built-in Network Storage Manager (with the exception of the older My Book World (Blue Rings) and NetCenter drives which could not be refomatted at all). Important Windows information to know before getting started: My Book and My Passport drives that are sold as “Mac” drives, or are setup for a Mac file system, will not be recognized by any version of Windows OS. In order to make a drive compatible with a PC which is formatted for Mac, it's best to re-partition and re-format to a Windows filesystem in order for the drive to work on the Windows system.
See for assistance in reformatting the drive. Note: All USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt external drives can be connected to the corresponding port on the computer using the steps below. The user's computer may not look like the one pictured but they follow the same steps. If this is a Passport drive, there is no power adapter, please skip to steps 1 and 2.
Plug the power adapter into a wall outlet. You can try a power strip or UPS but if you have problems with the drive, try connecting it to a wall outlet. Connect the power plug into the back of the drive. It's okay if the drive powers on, then off, or if you see some lights come on for a brief second. Connect the USB or FireWire cable directly into your computer (do not use a USB or FireWire hub). If your drive has more than one port, only use one.
Do not connect both the USB and FireWire together to the computer. Connect the other end of the USB or FireWire cable into the external drive. The drive should then power on (you shouldn't need to use the power switch), if your computer is on, Windows should detect and install the native Windows drivers for your drive.
If the drive is formatted for your computer system, it should show up in My Computer with a drive letter. How to disconnect the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect the external hard drive from a computer using USB 3.0, USB 2.0 or FireWire. Please ensure that any files residing on the external hard drive are closed and no programs are accessing the hard drive. Right-click on the WD SmartWare Icon on the taskbar to view a list of available hard drives to eject. SmartWare does not support Thunderbolt drives. Locate and highlight the external hard drive in the list of available devices.
Click on the Stop button to safely remove the drive from the Operating System. The hard drive will spin down and turn off on it's own. When prompted, it's safe to unplug the data cable and/or power cable. If problems with disconnecting the drive occur, please see for more information. Older/Legacy USB 2.0 and FireWire Drives and WD Elements drives How to connect the drive: Please follow the steps below on how to physically connect the drive to a computer.
Note: All USB external drives can be connected to the corresponding port on the computer using the steps below. The user's computer may not look like the one pictured but they follow the same steps. If this is a Passport drive, there is no power adapter,please skip to steps 1 and 2.
Plug the power adapter into a wall outlet. You can try a power strip or UPS but if you have problems with the drive, try connecting it to a wall outlet. Connect the power plug into the back of the drive.
It's okay if the drive powers on, then off, or if you see some lights come on for a brief second. Connect the USB or FireWire cable directly into your computer (do not use a USB or FireWire hub).
If your drive has more than one port, only use one. Do not connect both the USB and FireWire together to the computer. Connect the other end of the USB 2.0 or FireWire cable into the external drive. The drive should then power on (you shouldn't need to use the power switch), if your computer is on, Windows should detect and install the native Windows drivers for your drive. If the drive is formatted for your computer system, it should show up in My Computer with a drive letter.
Note: If Windows has an error installing the drive then you may need to try it on another computer to make sure that the drive is working properly. You can also check the following Knowledge Base article:. If the drive does not work on other computers, it's probable that the drive has been damaged, or has failed, and should be returned to the place of purchase. If you are unable to do so, and your drive is still under warranty you can replace it by following instructions in the following article:. If the drive installs properly and you don't get an error, but the drive is not showing up in My Computer or Windows Explorer, then you may need to format the drive for Windows. Please see the Knowledge Base articles at the beginning for help formatting the drive.
If you still have problems with the drive then you should How to disconnect the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect the external hard drive from a computer using USB 3.0, USB 2.0, FireWire, or Thunderbolt interface. Please ensure that any files residing on the external hard drive are closed and no programs are accessing the hard drive. For Windows Operating Systems double-click on the Safely Remove Hardware Icon on the taskbar to view a list of available USB or FireWire hard drives to eject. Locate and highlight the external hard drive in the list of available devices. Click on the Stop button to safely remove the drive from the Operating System.
The hard drive will spin down and turn off on it's own. You can unplug the USB or FireWire cable and/or power cable at this time.
If problems with disconnecting the drive occur, please see for more information. ESata Drives Important: When using the eSATA connector, this device does not support hot swapping (connecting and disconnecting while the computer system is running). Please shut down the computer system before plugging in or disconnecting the external hard drive. The eSATA interface does not support interaction with the WD Drive Manager utility used with the My Book Studio Edition II and My Book Pro II drives. You will need to connect the drive via USB or FireWire in order to change the RAID type of the drive. How to connect and install the drive: Please follow the directions below to connect your external eSATA hard drive to a PC computer system using eSATA.
Please ensure that the computer system is turned off. Plug the AC adaptor into an electrical outlet (if applicable). Connect the other end of the adaptor into the DC power supply socket located on the back of the hard drive. Connect one end of the eSATA cable to the hard drive and the other end of the eSATA cable into the computer system's eSATA port.
Power on the computer system. During the boot process, the hard drive will power on automatically.
Note: It may necessary to access the computer BIOS and ensure that the computer is booting to the original internal hard drive. The computer will most likely have the ability to boot to this hard drive if it's connected through eSATA. Once the computer system is booted to Windows, the external hard drive will be shown in My Computer and Windows Explorer. How to disconnect the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect your external hard drive to a PC computer system using eSATA. Please ensure that any files residing on the external hard drive are closed and no programs are accessing the hard drive. Shut the computer system down by clicking on Start and then Shut Down.
Once the computer has been shut down, the external hard drive can be disconnected from the eSATA and power cables. MacOS Important information for all Operating Systems:. The macOS has all the necessary drivers for installing most Western Digital / easystore external hard drives. Consequently we do not have, nor do we provide drivers for the majority of our external hard drives.
If your OS reports that it cannot find a driver for your drive please see:. WD external hard drives ship with either Windows NTFS or Mac HFS+ partitions. Upon connecting to the computer, the external hard drive should be recognized and ready for use. If your drive is not immediately recognized (or appears to be write-protected on a mac), it is likely formatted for a different OS. If this is the case you will need to reformat the drive.
See for assistance in reformatting your drive. Some older external hard drives shipped with a FAT32 file format.
In most cases, you may simply connect the external hard drive to an available FireWire or USB port on your computer for it to be recognized. For information regarding the limitations of the FAT32 filesystem see:.
Some newer drives ship with an ExFAT file system. This allows data to be read or written by both Mac and Windows computers, without the partition or file size limitations of FAT32. Network drives, will not show up in Disk Management (under windows) or Disk Utility (under macOS); nor can you re-format them in your OS. These drives are formatted in a Linux format, and can be refomatted only through the built-in Network Storage Manager (with the exception of the older My Book World (Blue Rings) and NetCenter drives which could not be refomatted at all). Important Mac OSX information to know before you get started My Book / My Passport and easystore drives that are sold as “PC” drives, or are setup for a PC file system, will either not be recognized by macOS or will appear as a write-protected drive.
In order to make a drive compatible with a Mac that is formatted for Windows, you will need to re-partition and re-format to a Mac OSX format before the drive will work on the Mac system. See for assistance in reformatting the drive. Note: If you have reformatted the drive, you can download the software that came on the drive from our under your specific drive's page. However, you may need to register the drive in order to download any restricted software. USB 2.0, and FireWire Drives with WD SmartWare WD SmartWare is supported on macOS 10.5.x Leopard through 10.9.x Mavericks only. With macOS 10.10.x Yosemite through 10.12.x Sierra, it's best to use Time Machine as a backup solution. How to connect and install the drive: Please follow the steps below on how to physically connect your drive to your computer.
Note: All USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt external drives can be connected to the corresponding port on the computer using the steps below. The user's computer may not look like the one pictured but they follow the same steps. If this is a Passport drive, there is no power adapter, please skip to steps 1 and 2. For troubleshooting purposes, please try connecting the power adapter directly to a wall outlet, if possible. Connect the power plug into the back of the drive. It's okay if the drive powers on, then off, or if the lights come on for a brief moment.
Connect the data cable directly into the computer (do not use a data cable hub, or connect the drive to the USB port on a keyboard). If the drive has more than one port, only use one.
Do not connect both the USB and FireWire, or Thunderbolt together to the computer. Connect the other end of the data cable into the external drive. The drive should then power on (depending on the model it may or may not have a power switch), if the computer is on, macOS should detect and install the native drivers for the hard drive. If the drive is formatted for the computer system, it should show up on the desktop and in finder. Note: After the drive is installed, the user may be presented with the software installation screen (As seen below).
If this occurs follow the instructions in starting with step #2. How to disconnect the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect the external hard drive on a Mac computer system using USB 2.0, FireWire, or Thunderbolt. Please ensure that any files residing on the external hard drive are closed and no programs are accessing the hard drive. Drag the icon for the hard drive to the trash can to safely eject the drive. The hard drive will spin down and turn off on it's own.
The drive can then be safely disconnected from the USB 2.0 or FireWire, and power cables. Older USB 2.0 and FireWire drives To connect your WD (powered) external hard drive to your Mac computer:. Turn on the computer and allow the system to boot completely to the desktop. Plug in the power to the external hard drive and let it spin up.
Connect the data cable to the drive first and then to the computer. The hard drive should mount as an Icon on the desktop. To disconnect your external hard drive from your Mac computer:. Simply drag the drive icon to the trash can to safely dismount the hard drive. You may also press the power button on the drive, or unplug the power cable from the wall, if you wish to turn off the external hard drive. If you have issues with the drive showing up on your desktop, please see for more information. If problems with disconnecting the drive occur, please see for more information.
Note: If your Mac fails to install the drive or you get an error, you may need to try it on another computer to make sure that the drive is working properly. If the drive does not work on other computers and it's new, it's probable that the drive has been damaged, or has failed and should be returned to the place of purchase. If the drive installs properly and you don't get an error, but the drive is not showing up on your Mac Desktop, then you may need to format the drive. Please see the Knowledge Base article for help formatting the drive. If you still have problems with the drive then you should. ESata Drives Important: When using the eSATA connector, this device does not support hot swapping (connecting and disconnecting while the computer system is running). Please shut down the computer system before plugging in or disconnecting the external hard drive.
The eSATA interface does not support interaction with the WD Drive Manager utility used with the My Book Studio Edition II and My Book Pro II drives. You will need to connect the drive via USB 2.0 or FireWire in order to change the RAID type of the drive. How to connect and install the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect your external hard drive on a Mac computer system using eSata. Turn on your computer and wait until the Operating System is fully loaded. If you want to install the backup software now, double-click the WD Anywhere Backup icon on the installation screen and follow the instructions. Turn off your computer.
Connect the power adaptor to the drive and to a wall socket. Connect one end of the eSATA cable into an available port on your computer. Plug the other end of the eSATA cable into the WD external hard drive.
Turn on the hard drive by pressing the power button located on the back panel of the drive. Turn on your computer. The WD external hard drive will power up automatically and mount to your system (Desktop). Your hard drive is now installed and ready to use.
How to disconnect the drive: Please follow the directions below to disconnect your external hard drive to a Mac computer system using eSATA. Please ensure that any files residing on the external hard drive are closed and no programs are accessing the hard drive. Click on the Apple icon and then click on Shut Down. Once the computer has been shut down, the external hard drive can be disconnected from the eSATA and power cables.
Unix/Linux (All Distributions) Important information for all Operating Systems:. Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Vista, 7, 8, as well as macOS have all the necessary drivers for installing most Western Digital / easystore external hard drives. Consequently we do not have nor do we provide drivers for the majority of our external hard drives. If your OS reports that it cannot find a driver for your drive please see:. Newer WD external hard drives ship with either Windows NTFS or Mac HFS+ partitions. Upon connecting to the computer, the external hard drive should be recognized and ready for use. If your drive is not immediately recognized (or appears to be write-protected on a mac), it is likely formatted for a different OS.
If this is the case you will need to reformat the drive. See for assistance in reformatting your drive. Some older external hard drives shipped with a FAT32 file format. In most cases, you may simply connect the external hard drive to an available FireWire or USB port on your computer for it to be recognized.
For information regarding the limitations of the FAT32 filesystem see:. Network drives, will not show up in Disk Management (under Windows) or Disk Utility (under macOS); nor can you re-format them in your OS. These drives are formatted in a Linux format, and can be refomatted only through the built-in Network Storage Manager (with the exception of the older My Book World (Blue Rings) and NetCenter drives which could not be refomatted at all). MUST READ: Western Digital is unable to provide support for the Unix/Linux operating systems outside of jumper configurations (for EIDE hard drives) and physical installation support. While Unix and Linux are not supported by WD on any of our external drives many distributions will work with with a WD external device. Please contact your distribution manufactuer to ensure compatibility prior to purchasing the drive.
The steps below are distro neutral, and include information only on how to physically connect the drive to your computer, and only from a command line. To connect your WD external hard drive to your Unix/Linux computer:. Turn on your computer and allow the system to boot completely to the desktop. Plug in the power to the external hard drive and let it spin up.
Connect the data cable to the drive first and then to the computer. Depending on your configuration, your drive may automaticly mount, or may need to be manually mounted.
In most distributions typing 'man mount' from the command line will display the syntax and options to mount your drive. Important: On some distributions only the root or super-user accounts can mount and unmount filesystems. If you are unable to mount your drive please contact your system administrator. To disconnect your external hard drive from your Unix/Linux computer:. Ensure that your drive is not currently being written to our read from. Unmount your drive.
In most distributions typing 'man unmount' from the command line will display the syntax and options to unmount your drive. Disconnect the power cable (if applicable) and data cable from the drive. Note: If your OS fails to mount the drive, or you get an error, you may need to try it on another computer to make sure that the drive is working properly. If the drive does not work on other computers, it's possible that the drive has failed, and should be returned to the place of purchase or sent in for an RMA. For information on how to diagnose your drive under Unix/Linux you will need to contact your distributions manufactuer for assistance. For information on how to RMA your drive please see MUST READ: Western Digital is unable to provide support for the Unix/Linux operating systems outside of jumper configurations (for EIDE hard drives) and physical installation support.
In case the answer did not answer your question, you can always visit the for help from WD users.