Encountered a similar problem with 2010 MacBook pro & 2TB WD HFS+ My Book. The actual folder that showed up under 'devices' was completely inaccessible & the permissions for admin, system, & everyone were set to deny access to all & couldn't be changed even with my admin password. I was able to access backup capabilities via time machine & the smart backup software the drive came with, but it turned out I'm only able to access the drive drag & drop files via the icon for the drive that /sometimes/ appears on the desktop. Utterly confusing especially since the instructions included with the device was a tiny 3 page Ikea guide equivalent.
Designed for Mac and ready to be used with Time Machine, the 4TB My Passport for Mac USB 3.0 Type-C External Hard Drive from WD can be used to create system backups, store your photos and videos and much more. The drive comes preformatted in HFS+ for Mac and works out of the box; simply plug the drive in and begin transferring your files quickly using the USB 3.0 port with a maximum data transfer rate of up to 5 Gb/s. Aug 05, 2013 More and more people are finding themselves using both Macs and Windows based PCs. While compatibility is almost a non-issue now days between Macs.
For future reference, anyone with a better knowledge of these things care to explain why I was unable to change access settings for the drive as a device folder?