Requirements: OS X 10.8+ , 13.1Mb free space
Version 3.3.1 (October 20, 2020) | Support macOS Big Sur | Category: Mac Uninstaller
[macOS Big Sur] How To Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac
By
Spencer Mcfadden, on October 15, 2020, in
macOS Problems | SOLVED
Summary: [macOS Big Sur Problems] Find your External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on your Mac after plugging it in? Check out our complete tutorial on how to fix external hard drive not showing up on Mac problem. Get Omni Remover Free >
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In computing, an external hard drive device is for storing information outside a computer. You can permanently attached an an external hard drive device to your Mac, or you can use it when you need (What Is Other On Mac Storage). Usually when you plug an external hard drive into one of your Mac's USB port, you can see it shows up on the desktop of your Mac (or mount this external hard drive on the Mac desktop).
However, sometimes you may find an external hard drive doesn't show up on your Mac desktop after plugging it in. It would be quite annoying when you need to use or backup data on this external hard drive. There are several ways to cause an external hard drive not showing up on your Mac, for instance it has not been formatted correctly, the hardware has been corrupted, or your Mac Finder settings are faulty (How To Clear Cache on Mac). In this macOS Big Sur Manual article, we will discuss how to fix external hard drive not showing up on Mac issue.
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Part 1: Check External Hard Drive and Cable Usability
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac (Diagnosis): On Mac computers, USB is available with Type USB-A (commonly called USB, USB 2 or USB 3 ports) and Type USB-C (either standard USB-C ports or Thunderbolt 3) ports, depending on your Mac model. To get your external hard drive showing up on your Mac, you need to fulfill its specifications with proper USB cable and power (How To Connect An iPhone 11/11 Pro To iTunes). Check things below to fix your External Hard Drive not showing up on Mac issue.
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac Problems (Solutions):
- Step 1 - Check all external hard drive connections: Unplug the external hard drive device from your Mac, then plug it back in, and make sure that all cables and adapters are securely connected at both ends. Test with another cable or adapter, if available.
- Step 2 - Don't use USB hub: Plug the external hard drive device directly into your Mac instead of a USB hub or other device, and if necessary test with a different USB port on your Mac or device.
- Step 3 - Use an AC power adapter if available: If your external hard drive device came with an AC power adapter, you should use it. Some external hard drive devices can be powered solely by the USB port on your Mac, while others may need more power than your Mac can provide.
Part 2: Edit Finder Preferences To Show External Disk On Desktop
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac (Diagnosis): Normally when you connect an external hard drive to Mac, you can see it on your Mac Desktop. However, if you find multiple external hard drive devices are all not showing up, it's possible that you have modified the macOS preferences that disabled your Mac to display all external hard drive devices. You can follow steps below to have a fix.
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac Problems (Solutions):
- Steps - Open the Finder > Click on Finder in the menu at the top of your screen > Choose Preferences > General and make sure that there is a tick beside External Drives.
Part 3: Use Disk Utility To Access Your Mac External Hard Drive
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac (Diagnosis): Disk Utility is a system utility for performing disk and disk volume-related tasks on macOS (How To Uninstall Programs on Mac). Since Disk Utility also functions as mounting, unmounting and ejecting disk volumes (such as your hard disks, removable media, and disk volume images), you may troubleshoot your external hard drive not showing up on Mac issue by using Apple's Disk Utility program to access the disk and fix malfunctioning parts that're causing the issue.
How-To Steps To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac Issue:
-
Step 1:
On macOS Big Sur, Catalina or other recent Mac OS X, Open the Disk Utility app on your Mac > Choose View > Show All Devices.
Step 1: Disk Utility > View > Show All Devices -
Step 2:
In the sidebar, select the external hard disk or volume you want to mount on your Mac, then click the First Aid button.
Step 2: First Aid -
Step 3:
Click Run > Click Continue. If Disk Utility reports that this external hard drive disk appears to be OK or has been repaired, you may now be able to see this external disk on your Mac Desktop.
Step 3: Run Disk Repair
Part 4: Reformat External Disk To Mac Friendly HFS+/APFS Format
How To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac (Diagnosis): If the Disk Utility is unable to repair this external hard drive disk to let it show on your Mac, it's possible that it's formatted using a Windows oriented file system that the Mac cannot read. In that case, you'd better go find a Windows PC computer, offload and backup your data to your PC hard drive, and using macOS Disk Utility to reformat it as Apple HFS+/APFS format.
How-To Steps To Fix External Hard Drive Now Showing Up On Mac Issue:
-
Step 1:
Open Disk Utility > If you have backed up your data or you don't need the data on this external hard drive, select the disk and click Erase.
Step 1: Disk Utility > Select Disk > Erase -
Step 2:
Before Disk Utility starts to erase your external hard drive disk, it will pick a format for you. You can change this if you click on the Formatting options.
Step 2: Reformat External Disk On Mac
The Bottom Line
Now can you fix your External Hard Drive Disk Now Showing Up on macOS Big Sur issue with our suggestions above? If you still have further macOS Big Sur problems or bugs, feel free to contact us and we are happy to help. In addition, we will keep updating our macOS Big Sur Porblems list so that to cover all upcoming software/hardware glitches on your Apple devices.
