HD plugged into PC, now doesn't show up on Mac

[goatprincess]

My roommate plugged our WD passport HD which is formatted for our mac, into his PC without realizing he shouldn't have done that. It didn't show up on the pc and now when we plug it into the mac it doesn't show up. Doesn't show up in System Profiler, or Disk Utility. It lights up indicating it is on when it is plugged in. We tried both usb ports. We tried a different usb cable. Any suggestions? We can't even find it on the computer to do anything for it.

 

[sullij]

If it doesn't show up in disk utility, I think you have got a physical problem. if it were only the boot index screwed up, it would still show up. If it was formatted in a windows or unix in error, it would probably still show up.

I hope you have it backed up

 

[GregR]

My roommate plugged our WD passport HD which is formatted for our mac, into his PC without realizing he shouldn't have done that.

There is zero harm in plugging a device into a compatible interface. There is no way that this would damage the device. Provided no process was run on the PC that could adversely affect the drive's firmware (i.e., a firmware upgrade), then your issue is coincidental.

Physically moving a HDD around is probably the best way to damage it, especially when it's spinning. Since WD external drives aren't exactly industrial quality, there is chance that a connection became loose while moving the drive, or that the drive itself was damaged.

 

[harryb2448]

And if you have a room mate, lock your gear up and password protect everything.

Windows users just l-o-o-o-ve getting their hands on Mac gear to experiment.