How to use Disk Utility or ReFormat if Hard Drive wont mount?

Hard drive unplugged as I was unable to eject it. Now it wont show up in Finder on my Mac Book Pro.

The light comes on, hard drive makes a whirring noise.

If it wont show up in Finder, How can I format it or run disk repair???

I did an upgrade to Mavericks at some stage as well.

Macbook Pro 15" Retina 512 Gig + WD My Passport 1Tb.

Now I maybe need to replace this unit and am looking at the 2TB Passport, but am concerned this will happen again. I read so many stories like this - they all include WD Passport, Mac, Mavericks, ejection issues etc etc.  Searched so many forums - must be a case of where there is smoke there is fire. Surely Mac and WD should address this.

I have just this morning ordered a new WD 2TB Passport and have now discovered all these problems. So now I have a 1TB that wont mount and a 2TB on the way that will most probably crash - or has this problem been resolved. Please could you assist.

Try running a Disk Utility test first, check the link below. 

How to test a drive for defects or problems on a Mac 

If the problem continues follow the steps to format your drive.

How to partition and format a WD drive on Windows (8, 7, Vista, XP) and Mac OSX 

Ichigo.

Thanks for reply, but without wanting to be negative, if you had read my post, you would realise that I cannot follow your reccomendation.

The drive does not show up in Finder or in Disk Utility. If it does not show up, how can I do anything??

When I plug the drive in - and it is plugged in directly to my Mac - the light comes on, the disk starts spinning, you can hear the click click sound of the “needle reading the disk” and a small, but distinctive ping noise can be heard - all this happens in first 10 seconds of plugging in.

However, that is as far as it goes = disk just keeps on spinning and spinning, but never shows up in Finder.

I really need this info of this drive. My new 2TB Passport is on its way to me and I sincerley hope this problem is dealt with as I simply cannot afford another fiasco like this. I upgrade to Mavericks and lose all my info. Shocking.

So sorry, no kudos or “Accept as Solution” today.

Thank you.

Hi again, sorry for the confusion, note that you only specify that your Passport is not mounting and it does not show on finder, even when these two situations happen the Passport could still be recognized on the Disk Utility. In this case since the Passport is not recognized in any way, you can try using another USB cable, also be sure to connect the Passport USB cable directly to the Mac, since USB extension cables or USB hubs can cause power inconsistencies. 

Ichigo

Thank you for reply.

As per my original post, I have plugged the drive directly into my computer.

I have tried - different cables, I have tried the drive on a second computer. In neither machine does the drive show up - my personal machine is a Mac - drive does not show in Finder.

The second machine I tried is Windows - drive does not show in My Computer.

To be clear - this was a drive that was working well and was unplugged manually once as it would not eject. Since then it will not work.

When plugged in - it starts to spin, makes needle on disk noises, a small beep, light is on - but does not show up in Finder or My Computer.

Rgds.

Good day.

WD - please shine up. I have posted a legimate query on your official forum, I have had 2 replies from someone who has not really bothered to read and understand and offer a solution to my problem.

What must I do. Your external drive you sold me has a problem since Mac upgraded to Mavericks. I agree that the fault may well be with Mac, but this is your hard drive that I have paid good money for that is not working.

Please could you read my complaint and offer valid and usefel advice to fix the problem.

Rgds, LLTHB.

LLTHB wrote:

Good day.

 

WD - please shine up. I have posted a legimate query on your official forum, I have had 2 replies from someone who has not really bothered to read and understand and offer a solution to my problem.

 

What must I do. Your external drive you sold me has a problem since Mac upgraded to Mavericks. I agree that the fault may well be with Mac, but this is your hard drive that I have paid good money for that is not working.

 

Please could you read my complaint and offer valid and usefel advice to fix the problem.

 

Rgds, LLTHB.

Hi LLTHB, please note that the WD Community is meant for user-to-user interaction. Staff members may post once in a while, but Western Digital has official, direct support channels for addressing technical issues. Users should not expect constant, steady, and/or direct responses from WD Staff members while on the forum. I escalated your post so tech support can assist you directly.