I have a Western Digital My Passport Ultra that I use as the drive for Time Machine. It's a USB3 drive. Today, the system no longer recognises it. This problem happened with a previous WD My Passport. That time, I put it down to the drive and replaced it. Twice in row makes me wonder if it's the system not the drive. Any thoughts?
MacBook, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)
I have several Western Digital drives and generally they work well. I do currently have one has started to fail, I get errors saying it was disconnected every time I wake the computer from sleep. That's just to provide some perspective - I'm not aware of a systemic problem with these drives, although I'm sure Google will help you unearth any similar problems.
I'd recommend you use Disk Utility to check the drive first of all, and run a "Repair Disk" on it. If Disk Utility can't even see it, sometimes the cable might be the problem. Can you try a different cable? Do you have access to a different computer to connect it to so you can check the drive there?
When you say "the system no longer recognises it" perhaps you could provide more information. Do you mean you receive an error message of some sort, or do you mean it simply never shows up? Of course, I need to ask - does the drive spin up, show a power light, etc.? You might assume that we'll assume you've done all the basic troubleshooting, but it would probably be better to explain what trouble shooting you've done and precisely what is happening.
If you have an Apple store near you, it may be worth taking your kit there and seeing if they can help you. I think you can book in to receive assistance.
Hope some of those suggestions help you fix the problem.
Ivan
Thank you, Ivan. Disk Utility doesn't see the drive. It spins up and the light blinks on and off. David
Hmm, that doesn't sound too promising. I would try the following things next:
1. Try a different USB cable if possible.
2. Can you connect the drive to another computer to check that it works? This is a pretty important troubleshooting step.
3. Is the drive under warranty? Perhaps you can just replace it.
4. I am not sure whether this is really relevant to your situation, but there are reports of some problems with disk drives during the upgrade to Mavericks, e.g. this article may be worth reading: WD, Seagate, and Toshiba drives
5. Perhaps that particular model actually is problematic. As I said, I don't have problems with my WD drives generally but several of them are "MyBook" models and I don't have a USB3 MyPassport Ultra drive. Again I'd suggest seeking advice from the AppleStore if possible, or wherever you bought the drive from.
Good luck.
My iMac doesn't recognise the drive so I guess it is toast, just like the other previous one. 😟
External Disk Drive not recognised
