6 Best Fixes: WD Elements External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac

Western Digital (WD) Elements drives are a staple for digital storage due to their reliability and simplicity. However, for Apple users, the seamless plug-and-play experience can sometimes hit a wall. One of the most frustrating scenarios for a creative professional or student is plugging in their device only to find the WD Elements external hard drive not showing up on the Mac desktop or Finder.

This issue can stem from various causes, ranging from simple cable faults to complex file system incompatibilities. If you are facing this problem, do not panic; your data is likely safe. This comprehensive guide will explore why this happens and provide six authoritative methods to fix the issue. Whether it is a settings tweak or a professional software solution, we will help you resolve the WD Elements hard drive not showing up on Mac error effectively.

Why Is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac?

Before diving into the repairs, it is essential to understand the root cause. When users ask, "Why is my external hard drive not showing up on Mac?", the answer usually falls into one of three categories: physical connection, system settings, or file system format.

Connection Issues: A faulty USB cable, a loose port, or an insufficient power supply (common with USB hubs) can prevent the drive from mounting.

Finder Preferences: The drive might be connected and working, but macOS settings are configured to hide external devices from the desktop.

File System Conflict (NTFS): WD Elements drives often come pre-formatted with NTFS for Windows. While Mac can read NTFS, it cannot write to it natively. If the drive was not ejected properly from a PC, macOS might refuse to mount it, causing the external hard drive not showing up in the Mac error.

Physical Connection: Error with the USB port or cable

Drive Not Mounted: The WD Elements drive might not have been mounted properly

6 Proven Ways to Fix WD Elements Not Showing Up on Mac

If your drive is missing from Finder, follow these steps in order. We start with basic checks and move to advanced repairs and professional software solutions.

Way 1. Reset the USB Port and Check Hardware

Sometimes, the USB ports on a Mac can become unresponsive due to software glitches or power surges.

Step 1. Unplug the WD Elements drive.

Step 2. Restart your Mac. This resets the USB bus and clears temporary configurations.

Step 3. Try a different USB port or a different cable to rule out physical damage.

Step 4. If available, plug the drive into a different computer (Mac or PC) to verify if the drive itself works.

Way 2. Turn on the "Show" Option in Finder

The drive may be mounted, but you simply cannot see it.

Step 1. Open a Finder window. In the top menu bar, click Finder > Settings (or Preferences).

Step 2. Select the General tab. Ensure the checkbox for "External disks" is ticked under "Show these items on the desktop."

Step 3. Check the Sidebar tab and ensure "External disks" is checked under "Locations" as well.

Way 3. Check If WD Is NTFS Formatted

If the physical connection is sound, the issue is often the file system. Most WD Elements drives are formatted as NTFS. macOS has native read-only support for NTFS, but it is often unstable. If the drive has minor file system errors or wasn't ejected properly from a PC, macOS will fail to mount it, causing the external hard drive will not show up on Mac.

Instead of reformatting the drive and losing your data, the authoritative solution is to use PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac. This professional software acts as a bridge, mounting NTFS drives that macOS rejects and enabling full Read-Write capabilities.

PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac is a robust utility designed to solve cross-platform compatibility issues. It eliminates the frustration of read-only drives and mounting failures. It allows you to read, write, delete, rename, and move files and folders on your WD Elements drive directly within macOS.

And this tool supports not just HDD (like WD Elements), but also SSD, USB flash drives, SD cards, and CF cards. It manages NTFS (Windows NT 3.1–11), FAT32, and exFAT file systems.

Tip: The software is fully optimized for macOS 12 and later, running natively on both Intel and the latest Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) chips.

Free Download

100% Secure

Note: Don't forget to configure the Security Policy in iOS Recovery Mode. macOS can only read NTFS partitions by default, not write directly to them. To write data to an NTFS partition on macOS, you need to use a third-party NTFS driver. 

Step 1. Run PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac and connect your WD Elements external hard drive.

Step 2. The software will display all of your drives on your Mac. 

Step 3. If your external hard drive shows "Read Only", you can change the state manually by clicking"Enable Writable".

Step 4. You can now write data on your hard drive on Mac once it is set to Read & Write.

Way 4. Reformat WD Elements Hard Drive

If you do not need the data on the drive, or if you have a backup elsewhere, reformatting gives the drive a fresh start and ensures Mac compatibility.

Warning: This wipes all data.

Step 1. Open Disk Utility (Cmd + Space, type "Disk Utility").

Step 2. Select the WD drive in the sidebar.

Step 3. Click "Erase".

Step 4. Choose ExFAT (for Windows/Mac use) or APFS (for Mac only). Click Erase.

Way 5. Mount the WD Elements Drive on Disk Utility

If the drive doesn't show in Finder, check the system backend.

Step 1. Open Disk Utility. Look at the sidebar. If your WD Elements drive appears but is greyed out, macOS detects it but hasn't mounted the volume.

Step 2. Select the greyed-out drive.

Step 3. Click the "Mount" button in the top toolbar.

Way 6. Run First Aid

If the drive mounts intermittently or acts strangely, the file directory might be corrupted.

Step 1. In Disk Utility, select the WD Elements drive.

Step 2. Click the "First Aid" button.

Step 3. Click "Run". macOS will scan the drive structure and attempt to repair errors that are preventing it from showing up properly.

Ending

The panic of a WD Elements external hard drive not showing up on a Mac is understandable, but the solution is often within reach. Whether the culprit is a hidden Finder setting, a loose cable, or a corrupted file system, systematically going through these six methods will usually restore access.

For users who want to keep their existing data and use their WD drive seamlessly between Mac and PC, PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac is the most effective solution. By handling NTFS drives correctly and providing a safe mounting mechanism, it resolves the WD External hard drive not showing up on Mac issue while unlocking full read/write potential on your Apple computer.

FAQs

Q1: Why is the light on my WD Elements on, but it's not showing up on Mac?

A: A blinking or solid light indicates the drive has power. If it doesn't appear, it is likely due to a software issue. The file system might be corrupted, or the drive format (NTFS) is not mounting correctly on macOS. Using tools like PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac can often force the drive to mount as visible.

Q2: Will reformatting my WD Elements drive delete my photos?

A: Yes. Reformatting erases everything on the disk. Do not use the "Erase" function in Disk Utility unless you have a backup of your data. If you need to save the data first, try mounting the drive with PartitionAssistant to copy files off before formatting.

Q3: Is WD Elements compatible with Mac automatically?

A: Most WD Elements drives come formatted as NTFS for Windows. Macs can read them but not write to them without additional software. To use them seamlessly, you either need to reformat them to exFAT/APFS or use an NTFS driver like PartitionAssistant.

Q4: Can PartitionAssistant fix a physically broken drive?

A: No. If your drive makes clicking noises or isn't detected by Disk Utility at all (even as a greyed-out device), it likely has a hardware failure. Software can only fix logical errors and mounting issues.

Q5: Does PartitionAssistant support the new macOS Sonoma?

A: Yes. PartitionAssistant NTFS for Mac is updated to support macOS 12 and later, including Ventura and Sonoma. It is also fully optimized for Apple Silicon (M1, M2, and M3) Macs.