25 December 2018 Senior Program Developer
How to Recover Files from My Passport External Hard Drive. Many users asked me about the same problem: 'My Macbook can recognize my WD MY Passport, but when I want to open it and find some files, the system shows that the drive is unreadable. Use a simple but effective password to protect your external hard drive. Use a password you can remember easily without being figured out by others. Switch a WD Passport From a Mac to PC.
Summary
Want to password protect external hard disk but do not want to influence the normal use of the free space and not-so-important files in external disk? Try professional external hard disk encryption software - Renee File Protector! With the advent of technology, portable memory devices like external hard disk, USB drives, SD card, etc. help us to carry data on the go. But these devices have their own disadvantages like it is easy to lost or even fall into wrong hands, which means all the data inside will be compromised. Can we get a better protection to the folders in the external hard drives and portable devices? Then nobody can get access to the files or data inside the devices without authorization. The best way is to protect these data with password which is set by your own!
In Windows, we can password protect the folders which is saved in computer with the built-in encryption function. But how to password protect external disk at will and will not influence the normal use of the free space and not-so-important files? You can try the professional data protection software – Renee File Protector. Helps you password protect folders with important files in external hard drive or USB with a few simple steps but with professional encryption.
Download and try the free version of Renee File Protector!
Click any part you want to know
Get Overall Protection to Privacy Data with Renee File Protector
Password protects folder and files in external memory device like USB disk, memory card, etc.
Password protect network folders to ensure corret users get access to correct shared folder.
Supports to hide, lock folders/files/parititon in local disk.
Erase data you select forever without trace. Protect your personal data!
Compatiable with Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Download Now people have download Renee File Protector to get overall protection.
Not enough protection? No only want to protect the data inside the computer but also prevent from outside threats? Professional USB Port Locker – Renee USB Block may help! Disable auto detection of USB port, bluetooth, CD/DVD devices, etc.
Password Protect Folder in External Hard Disk with Renee File Protector
The first time you use Renee File Protector, you will be required to set the master password. Here we recommend you to set the email address because it can help you recover the master password when you forget it.
Step 1: Launch Renee File Protector and go to “Lock File” in “External Disk“. Then connect your external hard disk/external memory device to computer.
Step 2: Click “Lock Folder” on the right side and select the target folder in external hard drive.
After selecting the folder, you need to set the password. Renee File Protector provides 2 password modes: the master password you set when using the software for the first time and the independent password. *Now, new version provides “Guest Password” which can authorize users to check the files but can not unlock.
Step 3: Check & edit the files inside the password protected folder.
After lock, it will create a new file named “(original name of the folder).exe”. Then the original folder will be deleted automatically.
If you want to access the password protected folder and edit the files inside, please click this .exe file and then enter the related password in the pop up window.
Step 4: After entering the correct password, a floating window of the password protected folder will be shown on the right-top corner on desktop.
You can click “View”, “Change Password” and “Unlock” to make the operation you want.
How to Unlock the Folder Permanently in External Hard Drive?
Unlock in Other Computer (Without Renee File Protector)
After lock, it will create a new file named “(original name of the folder).exe”. Then the original folder will be deleted automatically. If you want to unlock folder permanently, please click this .exe file and then enter the password you set before in the pop up window.
After unlock, please click “Unlock” in the floating window and confirm the operation.
If you want to unlock the folder in your own computer which you password the folder in, you can unlock it with Renee File Protector.
①. Click “Lock File” in “External Disk”.②. Select the target folder(s).
③. Click “Unlock” button.
④. Enter the password you set.
No so clear about the operation? Get more from the video!
Still annoying about how to protect your secret folders in the external hard disk? Now using Renee File Protector can solve this problem at once!
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Summary: This article analyzes why the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive is not mounting on Mac and how to fix this issue. If you worry about losing data from this hard drive, you can recover data with iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery at first.
Overview of WD My Passport for Mac hard drive
The WD My Passport for Mac hard drive is specially designed for Mac mini computers, iMacs and MacBooks. This trusted portable storage always offers quick and easy way to expand the storage space of your computer and to store a massive amount of photos, videos, music and documents. The WD hard drive comes in some amazing features like cloud storage, password protection with hard drive encryption, and compatiblity with Apple's Time Machine backup software. But the problem is that no matter how powerful this hard drive is, it is possible that this WD My Passport for Mac hard drive is not mounting on Mac computer.
Here is one typical case from apple.stackexchange.com:
My WD hard drive (WD My Passport for Mac) didn't mount on my MacBook Air, not even in Disk Utility. I have 1 TB family photos on this hard drive, which are very precious for me. How to fix WD My Passport for Mac hard drive not mounting error? Any data recovery solution? Thanks a lot!
In fact, this is a common annoyance for many WD customers that the hard drive fails to mount in Finder or Disk Utility. If you are confronted with the same issue and haven't got an effective workaround to fix this unmounted drive on your Mac, check this page and learn why it happens and how to address this disk problem.
Why WD My Passport for Mac is not mounting?
This issue may be caused by various factors, such as virus infection, internal file system errors, sudden power failure, sudden power outage, unwanted interruption during transferring data, etc. For all kinds of reasons, your Mac won't recognize this hard drive and thus this external hard drive won't mount.As a result, you can't open this WD hard drive nor access your important files.
How to fix the unmounted WD external hard drive on Mac?
Step 1: Check whether the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive is set to show up on Mac
Go to Finder > Preferences and confirm if the 'External Disks' under 'Show these items on the desktop' is selected. This will ensure if the external drives connected to this Mac are allowed to show on the desktop.
This operation will show up your WD My Passport drive on the desktop in most cases, but if it failed, you can move to the next point.
Step 2: Check if the WD Mac hard drive is showing up in Disk Utility
You can go to Utility and see if this hard drive appears in the left sidebar. If your WD hard drive for Mac is not mounting but grayed out in Disk Utility, you can right-click and select the 'Mount' button to mount it manually. However, if this external hard drive is corrupted, the 'Mount' button will not be available.
When these two checks didn't make any difference and the WD My passport for Mac hard drive is not mounting still, you need to check some hardware that get involved in the disk connection. Let's start with the basics by following the steps below.
Step 3: Check the power supply
It's well known that insufficient power supply or damaged USB ports could also lead to hard drive not mounting issue. Therefore, you should make sure the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive is getting the appropriate power. If the drive came with a Y-cable, use both USB connectors. Moreover, do not connect the drive through a USB hub, connect it directly to the Mac. Make sure the power adapter is connected directly to a wall outlet, not to an extension cord.
Step 4: Check the USB cable
Ensure the cable is properly connected to both the drive and computer. Then try connecting your WD My Passport for Mac hard drive with a new USB cable if you can fetch another one.
Step 5: Check the USB port
If the problem still continues, try using a different USB port. Perhaps your Mac has two USB port - the back and front ones. Assuming the external hard drive is plugged in the front USB port, try to insert the drive to the back USB port.
Step 6: Check for driver update
If the hardware seems to be OK, let's check the software that related to this disk problem - the driver. A driver is a software component that allows the operating system and a device to communicate with each other. If your driver files go missing, outdated, or turn corrupted due to any virus invasion or invalid operation, the hard drive attached to your Mac will faile to work, resulting in an external hard drive not mounting on Mac.
Step 1: Click the Apple icon and select 'App Store…'
Step 2: Click Update (NOT UPGRADE!) to install a specific update or Update All to install all available updates.
But sometimes, a hard drive is not mounted because of internal disk errors like file system corruption, partition table lost, the directory is corrupted, etc. You WD hard drive will not be recognized by your Mac in these cases. Fortunately, you can fix the hard drive not mounting issue with the native disk repair tool, Disk Utility.
Step 7: Run First Aid to fix WD My Passport for Mac not mounting error
Disk Utility's First Aid is a Mac built-in tool to verify and repair minor problems of a hard disk. Whenever you have troubles with a hard disk, First Aid is your first solution.
Step 1: Go to /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility/, then click Continue.
Step 2: In the sidebar, select the not mounting WD My Passport for Mac hard drive.
Step 3: Click the 'First Aid' button.
Step 4: Click Run.
If Disk Utility reports that the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive appears to be OK or has been repaired, you're done. Otherwise, you have to retrieve as much of your data as possible.
How to fix WD My Passport for Mac hard drive not mounting error without losing data?
However, if First Aid is unable to fix WD My Passport for Mac hard drive not mounting error, the last solutions is to reformat the hard drive. But reformatting will delete all data stored on the hard drive, and most of the time, many important files are stored on the WD My Passport for Mac hard drive. If you haven't backed up important files, it's high time to recover data from the unmounted hard drive first.
Step 1: Recover data from unmountable hard drive with iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery
As for Mac data recovery, iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery is highly recommended. iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery is a free Mac data recovery software that can easily recover data from not mounting WD My Passport for Mac hard drive, recover data from unreadable hard drive, recover data from unrecognized hard drive, recover data from corrupted hard drive, recover data from unmountable hard drive, recover data from inaccessible hard drive, recover data from uninitialized hard drive, etc. on macOS Catalina 10.15/Mojave 10.14/High Sierra 10.13/10.12 Sierra and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
Besides, iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery is also best APFS data recovery software that can recover data from formatted APFS hard drive, recover data from unmountable APFS drive, recover data from unreadable APFS hard drive, recover data from corrupted APFS drive, recover lost data from encrypted APFS volume, recover deleted/lost APFS partition, etc.
1. Free download and install iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery.
2. Launch iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery and select the unmounted WD My Passport for Mac hard drive.
3. Click 'Next' to search for all lost files on this drive.
4. Preview the listed scanning results, choose files we want, and click 'Recover' button to get them back.
Step 2: Fix WD hard drive not mounting error by reformatting
After getting lost files back, you can fix WD My Passport for Mac hard drive not mounting error by reformatting without worrying about losing data.
1. Launch Disk Utility from Utilities.
2. Select the unmounted WD My Passport for Mac hard drive on the left part of the window.
3. Click the 'Erase' on the top of the Disk Utility window.
4. Complete the related information (name, format, scheme, etc.), then click the 'Erase' button.
Conclusion
This article mainly talks about a WD My Passport for Mac hard drive not mounting issue, analyzing why this issue occurs and how to repair this disk error without losing files on this drive. You can also easily recover data from external hard drive with iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery if the drive is corrupted due to virus attack, corrupted file system, power failure, etc.
For any questions or suggestions, please email us below. Thanks a lot!