Oct 26, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
- External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On Macbook
- Macbook Pro External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
- Macbook External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
Instead, if the Mac doesn't display your external hard drive, you can check 'External disk' in this tab also to make it visible. If the 'Hard disks' option is ticked but internal hard drive is not showing up in the Finder still, open the Finder, put your mouse at Locations in the left sidebar and see if it displays 'Show' or 'Hide'.
Sometimes, an external hard drive not showing up on Mac just because the USB cable or the USB port on your Mac is bad. In addition, the following reasons may also lead to WD My Passport for Mac not showing up or not working. Recent macOS update issue; System failure; Virus infection; Motherboard issue; WD My Passport drive damage or corruption. Keep your devices fully charged, and your USB ports and Hubs working correctly and be patient using your machines. Hope it solves external hard drive not showing up on mac issue. We hope these three ways to fix external hard drive not showing up on MAC helped you to resolve your problem.
While the external hard drive connected to the Windows computer or Mac, and the device did not show up. How to fix external hard drive not recognized? Don't worry, in this guide we will show you the best solution to fix the hard drive not recognized problem.
This problem will cause by some partition issues: the external hard drive partition got damaged, the file system got crashed, the drive errors in Windows computer, or the dead USB ports. You can try the hard drive on another computer or connect it with other USB ports. If it does not get working, you can follow the next solution to fix the external hard drive not recognized on Windows computer and Mac, and you can recover lost data from external hard drive with Recoverit Data Recovery.
Part 1. How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Windows
In windows, this problem can be because of partition issues, dead USB ports, driver windows conflicts, file systems, dead or outdated drivers. Here are the steps you can follow to fix this issue in case of USB flash or external hard drives:
Step 1You might be plugging in the USB cable in a dead USB port. Unplug your external hard drive and plugin it in some other USB ports. Now, see if it is present there in the My Computer window. If not, follow step 2.
Step 2Now, look for the external drive in the Disk Management Window. For this, click Start and then click Run or press windows key + r, press enter after typing diskmgmt.msc in the Run dialog. This will open the Disk Management Window. Now, look for the external disk in this window. In this window, you can find your drive even if it is not recognized because of no partition. If you cannot find the drive in the Disk Management window then you can go for step four.
Step 3If it is not recognized by plugging in some other port or it is not visible in the Disk Management Window, then there might be some issue with the external drive. Check it on some other computers. Now, follow step 1 to step 3 in that computer in case the external drive is not recognized. If the problem exists with another computer also then something is wrong with the drive, otherwise follow step 5:
Step 4If it is working in some other systems but not in yours, Windows is having some problem with the drivers. To diagnose a driver problem, open the run dialog by pressing Windows + r and type 'devmgmt.msc'? Now press enter. Expand Disk Drives and look for a device having a yellow exclamation mark. This yellow exclamation mark indicates a problematic driver. Now, right-click on that device and read the error message after selecting properties. This issue can resolve in the following two ways:
- Click on the update driver button for installing updated drivers.
- Uninstall the driver and restart your computer. After restarting, the Windows will automatically reinstall and reconfigure the driver.
Now, plug in the external drive again or follow step 6 if the drive is still not recognized.
Step 5Problem in partitioning and formatting can also be a cause of this issue. Partitioning and file system issues can be fixed by using Windows Disk Management tools. To create a new partition, right-click inside the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. You can create a new partition by following onscreen instructions. Sometimes, your drive is formatted with the ext4 file system of Linux, NTFS file system, HFS Plus file system, or FAT32 file system which is not recognized by your Windows. Reformatting of the drive can resolve this issue. For this, right-click on the partition, select format, and then select the file system. Here, it is important to know that all files in the drive will be deleted. Therefore, copy your files in some other systems before proceeding.
Video Tutorial on How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
Part 2. How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Mac
Like Windows, Mac also detects an external drive automatically. If it doesn't, follow these steps:
Step 1 First of all, look for the external hard drive in the finder window. For this, click on File and then click New Finder Window. Now, look for the drive below the remote disk.
Step 2 If the external drive is not there, make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in the external hard drive and the port.
Step 3 Sometimes, the drive is connected but not mounted. To mount a drive, open Disk Utility and look for the drive in the list. If it is there, check below it. Now click on the mounting button to mount it. Open a Finder window to see if the drive is mounted or not.
External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On Macbook
Step 4 If you still cannot find it in the finder, it might not be getting enough power. Single USB ports can provide only 5 V. In that case, make use of USB cable having one USB connection for the external HD and two for Mac. This will supply the power required by the external hard drive.
These steps for fixing an external hard drive not recognized on Windows and Mac are suitable for external hard drives of all capacities and manufacturers. However, if still the issue is not resolved, you can avail of professional help.
Part 3. The Best External Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
While the external hard drive got damaged and did not detect on the computer, after you fix the problem, you should your data back. We will introduce the best external hard drive data recovery to help you retrieve data back. Recoverit Data Recovery Software is a powerful data recovery program, it can help you recover data from external hard drives easily and effectively.
Recoverit External Hard Drive Recovery Software
Recoverit Data Recovery is the best external hard drive recovery program, it can easily and effectively help you recover lost or accidentally deleted files from the hard disk drive, or another external storage device: USB drive, flash drive, SD card. How to edit a document on macbook.
Macbook Pro External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
Steps on How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
Download and install Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer. Launch Recoverit Data Recovery and follow the next steps to perform external hard drive data recovery on a Windows computer, if you are a Mac user, you can download Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac to go on.
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to the computer, select it while the disk detected on the program.
Step 2. The external hard drive recovery software will start scanning the device to searching the lost files.
Step 3. In minutes� all recovered files will display on the result. You can preview photos, videos, music, Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF. Select your files and click the 'Recover' button to restore.
When the external hard drive got damaged, you can try to fix it with the solution mentioned above. Also, get your data back with Recoverit Data Recovery in simple steps. Download and try it for now.
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
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External hard drives are not only important for their data storing capability but also for their portability function. Whenever you connect your external hard drive or USB to your Mac computer it shows up not only on the desktop but also in the Finder menu on the left-hand side under Locations or Devices.
If you have found that the external hard drive is not showing up on Mac then, the problem could be due to various reasons like the external hard drive or USB corruption, faulty USB connector, hidden drive, physical damage to the drive, improper formatting, etc.
Regardless of the reasons for the issue of external hard drive not showing up on Mac, by following the proven methods given below you can fix it with ease.
Macbook External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
How to Fix External hard drive not showing up on Mac?
Here is a complete guide on what to do if Mac does not recognize the external hard drive. And also find out how to safely recover data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac using the Remo Recover tool.
Fix issue related to External hard drive and USB cable connectivity
Method 1: Connect the External Hard drive Properly
The first and foremost thing to do after your external hard drive doesn't show up on Mac is to check if the external hard disk is properly connected to the Mac or not. Once, it is confirmed that the external hard drive is properly connected to your Mac, then your Mac will easily recognize the external hard drive and the data present on it or else move on to the next method.
Method 2: Fix issues with the USB cable
Plug-in the unrecognized external hard drive to a different USB port of your Mac system to check for any hardware issues. It might look like child's play but inserting an external hard disk to other USB port can help you understand whether the issue is pertaining to the hard drive failure or USB cable.
If there is an issue with the USB cable or HDMI cable connecting your external hard drive to Mac then, it is obvious that external hard drive won't show up. If your MacBook such as MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is having USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 ports then, you need to make use of USB-C to USB adapter to connect the external hard drive to your Mac.
Fixing the damaged USB cable becomes a priority to connect your external hard disk to the Mac system. You can easily figure out the issue by making use of a different USB cable to connect your external hard drive with a Mac computer.
In case, if you still find out that the external hard drive is not showing up on Mac despite using different USB cables then, it can be resolved by changing the preference settings on Mac.
But before you move on to the next method, try to restart your Mac computer once. Apple dj software.
Fix logical problems related to Mac not recognizing external hard disk
Method 3: Reset Mac computer
Resetting a Mac computer can reboot a few system settings to its default and ensure any issue with respect to it is resolved. To Restart your Mac computer,
Go to the Apple menu and click Restart. (or) Press and hold the power key until a dialog box displays and hit the Restart or press R key.
Method 4: Change Show Preference Settings to Make external hard drive visible on Finder
One of the reasons for Mac not recognizing your external hard drive is due to Show Preference settings. If you have not allowed your Mac to find the external hard disk in the preference setting then, your Mac computer won't show up external hard disk on the desktop. To allow your Mac to show up an external hard drive, follow the below steps to edit preference setting;
- Open a Finder window.
- Go to Preference and select General.
- Under 'Show these items on the desktop', check the External disks option.
Adobe premiere pro software for windows 10. If this setting is already setup or your external hard drive is still not showing up on the Mac desktop after the above changes then, here is what it is recommended for you.
In most of cases, the above-mentioned tips will help you resolve the issue of external hard drive not showing on Mac desktop or Finder menu. Despite performing the above steps if the external hard drive does not show up on Mac then, continue reading the further section.
Method 5: Use different Mac Computer
If you still find your Mac not recognizing hard drive then, try connecting the external hard disk to a different Mac system, sometimes there might be a problem with your Mac computer itself.
Run First Aid Utility to repair unrecognized or corrupt external hard drive
Method 6: Repair external hard drive not showing on Mac using Disk Utility
(It is recommended to perform this method to run first aid utility to fix external hard disk only after performing the above methods.)
Make use of the Disk utility function to check if your external hard drive is showing up or not and fix some common USB or external hard drive errors on Mac.
- Navigate to Go > Utilities > Applications > Disk Utility
- If your external hard drive appears in the Disk Utility, right-click on the drive and select Mount. This will make your external hard drive option available on the desktop and in the Finder menu. Thus, you can access all your files present on the external hard drive.
(Note: If the Mac has already mounted your external hard drive (volume) then, the option Unmount will be displayed.) - If the drive is not accessible then, the Mount option will be greyed-out.
(Note: To repair your inaccessible or not showing external hard drive Run First Aid.) - Now, choose the First Aid option and click Run.
- After running the First Aid, if the Disk Utility detects any issues or errors on the external hard drive then, click Repair Disk.
With the help of the above method, you can easily repair the minor external hard drive errors to mount it on the Mac computer to access data from it. In case, if the first aid utility fails to repair the external hard drive or SSD, this indicates the following reasons;
- Your external drive is severely corrupt or broken
If First Aid Disk Utility fails to repair the drive, it could be due to the RAW or broken drive. The file system registry that holds the information of the data present on the drive gets broken or damaged then, Mac would not recognize the external hard drive connected to it. - The external hard drive file system is not compatible with Mac
External hard drive or USB is formatted using a file system that your Mac cannot read. For example, if an external hard drive is formatted using the NTFS file system then, no Mac computer can read or write the external hard drive. In the same way, if the external hard drive or USB is formatted with the HFS+ file system then, no Windows operating system can support it.
ExFAT and FAT32 are the two most common file systems that can be easily supported by both Windows and Mac operating systems.
The only method available to fix this issue of external hard drive not showing up on Mac is to format the crashed external drive on Mac using exFAT, FAT32, HFS+, or APFS, etc.
Note: It is recommended to copy all your external hard drive data by connecting it to you a Windows computer if it is visible on it. In case, if the external hard drive is neither showing up on Widows computer due to severe malfunction. Then, the below method can help it.
Recover Data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac without formatting the drive
Utilize Remo Recover Mac, a specialized data recovery tool designed to recover data from an external hard drive that is corrupt, unreadable, or inaccessible on Mac devices. With the help of advanced scanning algorithms, the tool safely recovers data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac. The tool also supports data recovery of more than 300 file types such as photos, videos, PDF files, audio files, raw-images, excel files, etc. Download this tool now!
Recover data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac using Remo Recover Mac software:
Download and install Remo Recover (Mac) software > Launch the tool and click on Recover Volumes/ Drives > choose Volume Recovery > Select the external hard drive to be recovered > click on Advance Scan > Select the files which you want to recover and click Save button to restore the data on any location of your choice.
Watch this video to know how to restore data from unrecognized or corrupt external hard drive on Mac
Format external hard drive not showing up on Mac safely
Method 7: Reformat your unrecognized External hard drive to exFAT, Mac OS Extended (Journaled), FAT, or APFS File system
Before you reformat your external hard drive on Mac to fix the issue of not showing external hard drive on Mac, it is suggested to recover data from it using the Remo Recover Mac tool.
- Navigate to Disk Utility
- Select the external hard drive not showing up on Mac and click the Erase option
- Now, give a new name to your external hard drive (optional)
- Click the Format button to choose the format type you want to perform on it. (Select exFAT if you want to make sure it's compatible with PC and Mac, otherwise, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is probably the best option)
- Click on the Erase optionand wait until the Disk utility function removes all the files present on the external hard disk and then reformat it with the selected file system.
However, by formatting the drive you would lose all the data on the disk. Hence, you would have to recover the data from the drive. The only way to recover files from the external hard drive not showing up on Mac is by using a professional data recovery software like Remo Recover Mac.
Conclusion
But before you move on to the next method, try to restart your Mac computer once. Apple dj software.
Fix logical problems related to Mac not recognizing external hard disk
Method 3: Reset Mac computer
Resetting a Mac computer can reboot a few system settings to its default and ensure any issue with respect to it is resolved. To Restart your Mac computer,
Go to the Apple menu and click Restart. (or) Press and hold the power key until a dialog box displays and hit the Restart or press R key.
Method 4: Change Show Preference Settings to Make external hard drive visible on Finder
One of the reasons for Mac not recognizing your external hard drive is due to Show Preference settings. If you have not allowed your Mac to find the external hard disk in the preference setting then, your Mac computer won't show up external hard disk on the desktop. To allow your Mac to show up an external hard drive, follow the below steps to edit preference setting;
- Open a Finder window.
- Go to Preference and select General.
- Under 'Show these items on the desktop', check the External disks option.
Adobe premiere pro software for windows 10. If this setting is already setup or your external hard drive is still not showing up on the Mac desktop after the above changes then, here is what it is recommended for you.
In most of cases, the above-mentioned tips will help you resolve the issue of external hard drive not showing on Mac desktop or Finder menu. Despite performing the above steps if the external hard drive does not show up on Mac then, continue reading the further section.
Method 5: Use different Mac Computer
If you still find your Mac not recognizing hard drive then, try connecting the external hard disk to a different Mac system, sometimes there might be a problem with your Mac computer itself.
Run First Aid Utility to repair unrecognized or corrupt external hard drive
Method 6: Repair external hard drive not showing on Mac using Disk Utility
(It is recommended to perform this method to run first aid utility to fix external hard disk only after performing the above methods.)
Make use of the Disk utility function to check if your external hard drive is showing up or not and fix some common USB or external hard drive errors on Mac.
- Navigate to Go > Utilities > Applications > Disk Utility
- If your external hard drive appears in the Disk Utility, right-click on the drive and select Mount. This will make your external hard drive option available on the desktop and in the Finder menu. Thus, you can access all your files present on the external hard drive.
(Note: If the Mac has already mounted your external hard drive (volume) then, the option Unmount will be displayed.) - If the drive is not accessible then, the Mount option will be greyed-out.
(Note: To repair your inaccessible or not showing external hard drive Run First Aid.) - Now, choose the First Aid option and click Run.
- After running the First Aid, if the Disk Utility detects any issues or errors on the external hard drive then, click Repair Disk.
With the help of the above method, you can easily repair the minor external hard drive errors to mount it on the Mac computer to access data from it. In case, if the first aid utility fails to repair the external hard drive or SSD, this indicates the following reasons;
- Your external drive is severely corrupt or broken
If First Aid Disk Utility fails to repair the drive, it could be due to the RAW or broken drive. The file system registry that holds the information of the data present on the drive gets broken or damaged then, Mac would not recognize the external hard drive connected to it. - The external hard drive file system is not compatible with Mac
External hard drive or USB is formatted using a file system that your Mac cannot read. For example, if an external hard drive is formatted using the NTFS file system then, no Mac computer can read or write the external hard drive. In the same way, if the external hard drive or USB is formatted with the HFS+ file system then, no Windows operating system can support it.
ExFAT and FAT32 are the two most common file systems that can be easily supported by both Windows and Mac operating systems.
The only method available to fix this issue of external hard drive not showing up on Mac is to format the crashed external drive on Mac using exFAT, FAT32, HFS+, or APFS, etc.
Note: It is recommended to copy all your external hard drive data by connecting it to you a Windows computer if it is visible on it. In case, if the external hard drive is neither showing up on Widows computer due to severe malfunction. Then, the below method can help it.
Recover Data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac without formatting the drive
Utilize Remo Recover Mac, a specialized data recovery tool designed to recover data from an external hard drive that is corrupt, unreadable, or inaccessible on Mac devices. With the help of advanced scanning algorithms, the tool safely recovers data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac. The tool also supports data recovery of more than 300 file types such as photos, videos, PDF files, audio files, raw-images, excel files, etc. Download this tool now!
Recover data from external hard drive not showing up on Mac using Remo Recover Mac software:
Download and install Remo Recover (Mac) software > Launch the tool and click on Recover Volumes/ Drives > choose Volume Recovery > Select the external hard drive to be recovered > click on Advance Scan > Select the files which you want to recover and click Save button to restore the data on any location of your choice.
Watch this video to know how to restore data from unrecognized or corrupt external hard drive on Mac
Format external hard drive not showing up on Mac safely
Method 7: Reformat your unrecognized External hard drive to exFAT, Mac OS Extended (Journaled), FAT, or APFS File system
Before you reformat your external hard drive on Mac to fix the issue of not showing external hard drive on Mac, it is suggested to recover data from it using the Remo Recover Mac tool.
- Navigate to Disk Utility
- Select the external hard drive not showing up on Mac and click the Erase option
- Now, give a new name to your external hard drive (optional)
- Click the Format button to choose the format type you want to perform on it. (Select exFAT if you want to make sure it's compatible with PC and Mac, otherwise, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is probably the best option)
- Click on the Erase optionand wait until the Disk utility function removes all the files present on the external hard disk and then reformat it with the selected file system.
However, by formatting the drive you would lose all the data on the disk. Hence, you would have to recover the data from the drive. The only way to recover files from the external hard drive not showing up on Mac is by using a professional data recovery software like Remo Recover Mac.
Conclusion
In most cases, selecting External disks under Show these items on the desktop fixes the issue. However, if the issue is related to the external hard drive corruption then, it requires formatting the drive with compatible Mac file systems like exFAT or APFS.
Remo Recover Mac, not only recovers data from corrupt external hard drive on Mac but also recovers data from formatted internal and external devices like external hard drive, SSD, USB, memory card, etc.
