Drive shows in Finder, but finder shows not files

I searched this Community Forum, but didn’t find an answer to this dilemma.

I’m running Catalina on an iMac. My WD My Book for Mac is connected. The drive shows that it is there in the Finder window but after some time, say the iMac has gone to sleep, the Drive stills shows as there but when I try to see the files on the drive, it doesn’t show any. Also, at this point, trying to eject the drive doesn’t work. The only thing that fixes it is to remove the power to the drive, get a drive improperly ejected notice, and then re-power the drive. It connects and then Finder show the drive and the files. I can also eject the drive at this point normally. I don’t imagine this method is good for the drive and it is certainly annoying.

The other thing is that the drive seems to be spinning constantly even when there is nothing being written to or read from the drive.

The My Book has the latest firmware as does the iMac. Any thoughts on how to resolve this?

Thanks! Matt

I just experienced this same issue of being able to see the drive and access it but no files were visible in Finder. I just did a restart and when my Mac (running Catalina 10.15.2) rebooted the WD Unlocker software came up. Unlocker crashed once or twice like usual and then once it decided to remain open I was able to login and access my 8TB Duo with no problem.

Apparently, this has been a problem for many years with no solution

Happening to me too with my 3TB MY Passport and 4TB EasyStore. Wonderful. :frowning:

Hi Mattsb99, did you find a solution for your problem in finder? I experience the same problem. Do not know how to fix it. I restart my Mac every time this problem occurs. But this should not be the fix for it…
thank you in advance

It’s 2023 now and I have a Mini Mac 2 and am having the same problem with a WD My Passport storage drive with USB port. I can access the files fine while I’m active on the computer. Then when I go to sleep, get up the next morning - no files show up in the finder window and I have to shut the computer down and replug in the drive in to access the files again. What a pain technology is!

It sounds like there may be an issue with the power management settings on your iMac or with the drive itself. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve the issue:

  1. Check your power management settings:
  • Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver.
  • Make sure that “Put hard disks to sleep when possible” is unchecked.
  • Also, uncheck “Wake for network access” if it’s checked.
  • Restart your iMac and see if the issue persists.
  1. Reset the SMC:
  • Shut down your iMac.
  • Unplug the power cord.
  • Wait for 15 seconds.
  • Plug the power cord back in.
  • Turn on your iMac and check if the issue persists.
  1. Check the WD My Book for Mac power settings:
  • Check the user manual for your WD My Book for Mac for information on its power settings.
  • Make sure that the drive is not set to enter sleep mode too quickly.
  • Also, make sure that it’s not set to power down when not in use.
  1. Try a different cable and port:
  • Try using a different USB cable to connect your drive to your iMac.
  • Also, try connecting the drive to a different USB port on your iMac.
  1. Test the drive on another computer:
  • Connect your WD My Book for Mac to another computer and see if the issue persists.
  • If the drive works fine on another computer, then the issue may be with your iMac.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, it may be best to contact WD customer support for further assistance.

If the drive still does not work properly, you may need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your iMac. This can help to resolve power-related issues with your computer.
Here’s how to do it:

  • Shut down your iMac.
  • Unplug the power cord and any other cables from the back of the computer.
  • Wait 15 seconds.
  • Plug the power cord back in and wait another 5 seconds.
  • Press the power button to turn on your iMac.
    Regards

I have similar issues with an easy book 18tb, except that nothing brings back the list of files. nothing. I can unmount the drive by dragging the icon on the desktop to the trash can. But from there nothing seems to help. once I remount the drive, I still cannot see the files. nada. nothing. zilch. don’t know whether to be angry with Apple or WD or with myself - for being a ■■■■■■.