External hard drives often stop working or disappear on PCs, which is a common issue. However, it's still difficult for regular users when their external hard drives, USBs, or SD cards are suddenly unrecognized or not showing up on their PCs. But what happens when you experience the "WD external hard drive not showing up on Mac or Windows" error? Does this mean all of your data is lost forever? The good news is that no, it doesn't mean your data is lost forever. Today, we will teach you exactly how to solve this error. So let's not waste another minute.
When learning how to fix WD external hard drive ot working issue, itās important to remember that some of the methods below could cause you to lose data. Furthermore, not all methods are guaranteed to bring back your information. In such a case, how can you recover data from your WD external hard drive?
AnyRecover's Key Features:
Step 1 - Download and install AnyRecover Recovery software. Run the program and select "Data Recovery" mode and then select "External Devices" to restore data.
Step 2 - Connect your external hard drive, then choose the file type and click on "Scan" to start scanning.
Step 3 - Once the scanning is complete, you can preview the files, select what you want to recover and tap "Recover" to get back your lost files.
Step 4 - If you can't find what you want, you can repeat the process and choose the "All-Round Recovery" Mode to scan for lost files.
If you donāt have any important information stored on your external hard drive, one option to solve the error is to use the Disk Management option. This is a simple and easy way to restore access to your hard drive, but precautions need to be taken because it does lead to data loss. Itās also not a guaranteed method of success. With that being said, if you donāt mind losing data on your external hard drive, you can try this method. Hereās how:
Open Disk Management and right click on the WD hard drive that needs to be initialized.
Click on āinitialize diskā.
Pick a partition system (MBR or GPT).
Right click on the disk and select āCreate New Simple Volumeā.
Wait for the New Simple Volume Wizard to pop up and follow the on-screen prompts.
When learning how to solve wd external hard drive not recognized errors, another method you can use is to change the letter and paths of your hard drive. Like the first method mentioned, this method is simple and easy, and can be done with very little technological knowledge. Though itās also not a guaranteed method of success, it is worth a shot. Hereās how to do it:
1. Using your keyboard, press the āRā and Windows logo simultaneously.
2. When the ārunā box pops up, type in ādiskmgmt.mscā and click āokā.
3. Right click on the WD drive and click āChange drive letter and pathsā.
4. Click āChangeā.
5. Use the drop down menu to assign a new letter. Click āOKā.
6. Restart your computer and check to see if problem has been resolved.
If you donāt want to go through all the trouble of using disk management and run software to try to fix your WD External Hard Drive not recognized problem, you can opt to try a super quick fix like this one. All you have to do is change the USB port to which your WD external hard drive is connected. If that doesnāt work, you could also try connecting it with a different USB cable.
If youāve tried some of the methods listed above but find that your WD hard drive isnāt even showing up in Disk Management, there could be something wrong with the device driver. To update the driver, take the following steps:
1. Press āRā while simultaneously holding the Windows button.
2. Go to your device manager.
3. Click on ādisk drivesā.
Is there a yellow exclamation mark next to the WD hard drive device? If yes:
4. Right click on the WD hard drive.
5. Click āPropertiesā > āUpdate Driverā.
6. Restart your computer.
You don't need to panic if your WD external hard drive is not recognized. There are some simple methods that you can use to regain access to your hard drive. If you are concerned about data loss, you may want to invest in a product like AnyRecover that can help you quickly and easily recover your data after a WD External hard drive not recognized error has been delivered.
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