External WD Hard Drive Issue

Ronasara wrote:

• When formatting, only use Disk Utility to do so.

I format them as FAT32 first then re-format as APFS.

• Do not use any maintenance utility that came with the drive. They virtually always cause problems and should not be used at any time. Delete the utility.

Yes. And if you format them first, you wipe the utility anyway.

• If after doing the suggestions above, the disk still does not work, return it to the manufacturer as defective.

... and don't replace with another WD drive!

I too have had issues with WD drives and no longer use them. Here is what I suggest.

• Make sure that you have correctly formatted the drive.
• When formatting, only use Disk Utility to do so.
• Do not use any maintenance utility that came with the drive. They virtually always cause problems and should not be used at any time. Delete the utility.
• If after doing the suggestions above, the disk still does not work, return it to the manufacturer as defective.

britaols wrote:

New externa WD harddrive Will not work

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Your post is too vague. Please provide some issue details and context.

Read this user tip then post back: Writing an effective Apple Support Commun… - Apple Community

Maybe you did not format the new drive correctly when you first connected it to whatever you connected it to.

My experience is that WD bare drives are fine, but their enclosures are not. The biggest troublemaker here is the WD Passport. Its Design and Performance Criteria document must have read, "design to go on sale every other weekend."

I've never had a WD bare drive fail in a proper drive enclosure like OWC's Mercury Elite series, whether the more delicate 2.5-inch laptop-class drives or the more robust 3.5-inch versions. I cannot say that about their enclosures.

Our experience is that Western Digital (WD) external drives often fail. :-(

What's happening with yours?