WD Elements 4TB not working

Hello,

I own a WD Elements 4TB which comes with external power source. I connect it to the power, I connect it to my mac/my dell, the led indicator it’s on, but I can’t see it on any of my devices. I would also let it just sit there in hope it’s just slow, but I left it untouched for like an hour and still no answer. What should I do? I have important docs on there…

  • Things I’ve tried: changing the port, plugging it with a adaptor/without adaptor, reconnecting it, restart my computer. None of these worked.

Thank you

Hi @danhepai ,

Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for the best assistance and troubleshooting:

If your WD Elements drive isn’t showing up on your Mac/Dell? Don’t panic! Here’s a quick fix:

  1. Double-check connections: Make sure both cables are secure and try a different USB port.
  2. Verify power: Ensure the external power source is plugged in and working (WD Elements specific).
  3. Look for the drive: Open Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Dell) and check the “Locations” section for the drive.
  4. Try Disk Utility (Mac): If on Mac, launch “Disk Utility” and look for the drive. If it’s there but grayed out, try mounting it.
  5. Check Device Manager (Dell): Right-click “This PC” and go to “Device Manager.” Look for the drive under “Disk Drives” and update drivers if needed.

Still no luck?

  • Stop using the drive! Further use might worsen data recovery chances.
  • WD Support: Visit WD Support for troubleshooting specific to your model.
  • Data recovery software (risky): Use only as a last resort.
  • Professional services (expensive): Consider this for critical data.

Remember, the sooner you act, the better the chances of recovering your documents.

On Mac computers, you need to first unlock the WD drive before accessing it usually. After the macOS Big Sur update or when connecting to an Apple Silicon M1 MacBook, you might even see an error message saying, “You must run the WD Drive Unlock application from the WD Drive Unlock CD associated with the drive you want to unlock.” If you’re in this situation, download and install the latest WD Discovery Desktop App from the official website.
And you said your WD Elements didn’t show up on any devices, is that means in Mac Disk Utility, Finder, or Desktop? You can launch Disk Utility, hit the “View” symbol in the action pane’s top left edge and “Show All Devices”.
If none of these methods work, your hard disk may be damaged physically, preventing you from reading data. You can contact a data recovery services to retrieve your data; if the data is not essential, consider just sending your WD drive for repair.