Western Digital WD10SPZX User manual

Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive

Important: There are many reasons an Operating System (OS) does not recognize a WD drive. The

instructions below are designed to assist in troubleshooting issues related to drives and devices not

being recognized by a computer. Please try one solution at a time and test for resolution before

continuing with the next item.

Windows OS

macOS

Direct Attached Storage (DAS) on Windows

Click here for Instructions

Direct Attached Storage (DAS) on macOS

Click here for Instructions

Internal Hard Drives and Solid State Drives on

Windows

Click here for Instructions

Internal Hard Drives and Solid State Drives on

macOS

Click here for Instructions

Network Attached Storage (NAS) on Windows

Click here for Instructions

Network Attached Storage (NAS) on macOS

Click here for Instructions

How to access Disk Utility on macOS

Disk Utility is the name of a utility, created by Apple, for performing disk-related tasks on macOS. These

tasks include:

The creation, conversion, compression and encryption of disk images from a wide range of formats read

by Disk Utility to .dmg or .cdr, which is identical to the .iso format

Mounting, unmounting, and ejecting disks (including both hard disks, removable media and disk images)

Enabling or disabling journaling

Verifying a disk's integrity, and repairing it if the disk is damaged

Verifying and repairing permissions

Disk erasing, formatting and partitioning

Secure deletion of free space or disk using a 35-pass Gutmann algorithm

Adding or changing partition table between Apple Partition Table and GUID Partition Table

Creating, destroying, and repairing RAID sets

Restoring volumes from scanned for ASR images

Burning disk images to CD or DVD in HFS+ format

Erasing CD-RWs and DVD-RWs

Checking the S.M.A.R.T status of a hard disk

Please follow the directions below to access Disk Utility on macOS

Click on the Spotlight icon from the menu

Type Disk Utility in the search field

Double-click on Disk Utility - Utilities

Spotlight is a convenient tool for quickly locating and accessing data and programs on a macOS PC.

Please know there are other methods of accessing programs on a macOS PC. Follow the steps outlined

below for locating and opening Disk Utility from Finder.

Click on the Finder Icon from the dock

Locate and click to open Applications within the left pane of the Finder window. This is usually above

the users home folder Icon

Scroll to the bottom of the Applications window to locate and click to and open Utilities

Locate and click to open Disk Utility

How to check if a WD drive is damaged or defective

Special handling is required to protect hard drives from damage. Hard drives can be damaged by

excessive physical force or from Electrostatic Discharge (ESD).

Critical: ESD damage is usually invisible to the eye and may not be discovered until much

later, either through intermittent performance or failure. For more information on how to

avoid ESD damage please see Answer ID 16889: How to properly handle Western Digital

internal hard drives

Please follow the instructions below to check a WD drive for damage:

With the drive disconnected, examine the drive for physical signs of damage such as dents or broken

pins

Ensure that the power cable (if applicable) and data cable is securly connected on both ends

Verify the power cable (for Desktop and My Cloud drives) or data cable is connected to a working outlet

or port

Verify the data cable is in working condition. Try using the cable on a working drive

Connect the drive to a different computer or a different port on the motherboard/controller card

Test the drive with a diagnostic tool

Internal Drives - Windows users: Use Data Lifeguard Diagnostics.

For assistance, please see Answer ID 6226: Testing a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics

for Windows

Internal Drives - Mac Users: Use the built-in tools within the Operating System.

Please see Answer ID 14800: How to test a drive for defects or problems on a Mac for assistance testing

your drive.

External Drives - Please use WD Drive Utilities, or Data Lifeguard diagnostics to test your drive.

Please see knowledge base articles Answer ID 13880: Setting up and using WD Security and WD Drive

Utilities and Answer ID 6226: Testing a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.

External SSD Drives - Please see Answer ID 24684: How to Handle and Check if a WD External SSD is

Damaged or Defective

My Cloud Drives - Run a System Diagnostic Test (Full Test) using the Dashboard.

Please see Answer ID 6754: How to run a System Diagnostics test on a My Cloud for assistance running

this test.

If the drive is defective or damaged, please do the following:

If data recovery is required, please visit one of our data recovery partners.

WD does not provide data recovery services.

Check the drive's warranty.

If the drive is in warranty, create an RMA

How to update Windows and macOS drivers

WD hard drives use drivers that are built into the operating system (OS). It is extremely rare for the

built-in drivers to become damaged or corrupted. The most common reason the operating system fails

to recognize a drive is that the drive is defective or damaged.

Please see Answer ID 12455: Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive for troubleshooting assistance

Note:

Newer SES Drivers are distributed through Windows and macOS Updates and are installed

automatically with WD Security, WD Drive Utilities and WD Smartware.

To download the WD Legacy SES drivers for Windows, WD Security, Drive Utilities or WD

Smartware, please click here Downloads.

To update the drivers, please use the tools provided by the operating system publisher:

Microsoft (Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7)

Apple (Mac OSX)

If updating the built-in drivers does not resolve the issue, please follow the steps below:

Check if the drive is defective.

Please see Answer ID 12452: How to check if a WD drive is damaged or defective

If the drive is damaged or defective, Warranty Status to see if it is eligible for replacement (RMA)

If data needs to be recovered from the drive, please visit one of our preferred data recovery partners.

Please note WD does not provide data recovery services.

If eligible for replacement, create an RMA on Support Portal

If ineligible for an RMA, the drive will need to be replaced.

Please visit the WD Online Store or a local retailer to purchase a replacement.

How to low level format or write zeros (Erase) to a WD hard drive or SSHD

Western Digital provides software utilities that can erase all the data on a hard drive. Erasing a drive is

recommended any time an operating system is to be reinstalled on a boot drive or whenever a blank

drive is desired.

All of the methods described below can be performed on a PC, but some are not available to be used on

Mac OSX. In order to low level format a hard drive on a Mac, please contact Apple for assistance.

Select the desired method to perform a low level format to the drive:

WD Utility

Display

Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows

Click here for Instructions