Wd My Passport For Mac Slow

My Passport for Mac portable hard drive, with the WD Security and WD Drive. Utilities software. Slow flashing, approximately every 2.5 seconds.

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Both hardware- and software-related issues can cause a delay in your computer recognizing an external hard drive. By using built-in disk utilities, you can rule out most of the hardware-related issues and correct many software-based issues as well. Choosing a different method of connecting the hard drive and making sure the external drive gets a proper power supply can also improve the speed of the drive.

Hardware Issues

Provided your hard drive works properly and doesn't suffer from physical defects, you shouldn't expect to see unusual slow downs in performance. External hard drives usually don't support the S.M.A.R.T (an acronym for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status that can warn you of a pending hardware failure. However, you can check to see if your hard drive supports the feature. Click the 'Go' menu, select the 'Utilities' folder and open 'Disk Utility' to check the status. Select the external hard drive and check the S.M.A.R.T Status section. A normally functioning disk should show as 'Verified.' If the hard drive doesn't support the technology, it shows as 'Not Supported.'

Software Issues

Permission and file issues can create problems and slowdowns on an external hard drive. You can repair your file permissions and fix some problems with your hard driving using the built-in Disk Utility. Open Disk Utility, choose your external drive and select the 'Repair Disk' and 'Repair Disk Permissions' options, if available. If these options are greyed out, click 'Verify Disk Permissions' and 'Verify Disk.' Reboot your computer and try accessing your hard drive again once the permission repair is complete.

Power Supply

Some external hard drives work while not connected to a power supply, but function more efficiently when not reliant upon the computer to draw power. Firewire, USB and Thunderbolt cables can run off your MacBook when it runs on battery power or while plugged in to a wall charger. If you have several components that draw power connected simultaneously, it could create more drain on your power supply and cause less than optimal performance with your externally connected hard drives. When possible, connect your hard drive to an external power supply for the best performance.

Connecting Components

Check the connectors on the ends of the power supply cords, the inside of the connecting jacks on the computer, and the ends of any cords running to and from the hard drive. Turn the computer off, disconnect it from all power sources and use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust or debris on the jacks and in the computer ports. If you see any corrosion on the cords, use a small amount of pure isopropyl rubbing alcohol to remove the damage.

Hard Drive Defragmentation

If you have enough free space on your computer's internal hard drive, you can also try moving all of the files from the external hard drive to your computer, then formatting the external hard drive and move the files back. This defragments the files on the hard drive. Normally, you don't need to format files on a Mac since the operating system does it automatically. If you consistently work with large files, have little available free space and conduct video or audio editing, though, your computer could benefit from defragmentation. Solid state drives don't suffer from fragmentation, and defragmentation of an SSD drive only reduces its life span.

About the Author

Avery Martin holds a Bachelor of Music in opera performance and a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian studies. As a professional writer, she has written for Education.com, Samsung and IBM. Martin contributed English translations for a collection of Japanese poems by Misuzu Kaneko. She has worked as an educator in Japan, and she runs a private voice studio out of her home. She writes about education, music and travel.

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