WD passport Not Recognized on Macbook

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Level 1

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WD passport Not Recognized on Macbook

I just bought a 320 gig WD Passport and it is not being recognized on my Macbook. When I plug the devise into either of 2 USBs the HD lights up, so it is being powered, but it does not show up on my desktop. Does anyone know how I can fix this? Anyone have a similar problem?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2.2ghz

Posted on Jan 26, 2008 8:29 AM

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Answer 1

WeeLB

Level 1

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Jan 26, 2008 9:02 AM in response to RustyRuss

RustyRuss,

I have the 80GB version and it works just fine. You say that the drive isn't recognized but have you checked for it in the Disk Utility application?

If the drive is detected in Disk Utility, try checking the disk and make sure it is partitioned correctly. If not you will need to format the drive. Also, try plugging the drive into another computer to make sure your MacBook isn't the problem.

If none of this works, I would suggest that you have a faulty HDD and need to contact the vendor or Western Digital.

Good luck!

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Answer 2

RustyRuss Author

Level 1

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Jan 26, 2008 9:24 AM in response to WeeLB

yea, i checked for it in the disk utility application and the devise did not show up at all. Im going to have to try it in another computer. would it matter if the other computer is a PC? could the problem be that my MacBook's USB doesn't have enough power in one port to power the 320 gig? think i would need to purchase one of those splitters that would allow me to plug the HDD into both of the USB ports?

thanks for all your help on this

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Answer 3

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Jan 26, 2008 10:59 AM in response to RustyRuss

My guess is that it's not getting enough power to the port. You probably need a "Y adapter" cable that pulls additional power off of an additional plug. Here are a few possibilities.

http://www.bixnet.com/5vps2powercord.html
http://www.bixnet.com/usbcawibuba.html
http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Apricorn-AUSB-Y-USB-Power-Adapter-Y-Cable/2 632913/product.html
http://www.amazon.com/USB-Power-Adapter-Y-Cable/dp/B000JIOHDE

I've got a 160 GB WD Passport that works fine off of one USB port on my MacBook and iBook G4 1.42. I've also got a 160 GB SimpleTech Pininfarina Design drive with WD Scorpio/Initio chipset. The latter works off of one port on my MacBook but requires the second power port on my iBook. The SimpleTech drive came with a Y cable, but the WD Passport didn't.

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