Keep Drive Spinning ensures that a connected drive never goes into low-power mode. The easiest would be installing Linux to a secondary drive or virtual machine. The next step is to try plugging the drive into another Mac. Click on Finder in the menu at the top of your screen. After plugging in the device, go to device manager (In run type "devmgmt.msc") In Device manager go to "Universal serial bus controllers" It should list the storage devices that you have connected to your PC. Press Shift-Control-Option and the power button at the same time. Trying to put a flashdrive into USB and start Internet Recovery .. Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. If you see that your disk is simply unallocated, you only need to create a new … Let’s take a look why this is happening and how you can get an external drive to appear on your Mac and get recover data to access to your documents. Look in the column on the left to see if the hard drive appears there. Never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive again. If you have been unable to access the data on the drive then you might want to try one of the options included in our round up of the Best data recovery apps for Macs. (If there is no volume listed your Mac is not able to access the drive. Also check that the port on your Mac isn’t the problem. A proper connection is the most basic … If your drive is having problems, you can try to fix them yourself with First Aid and therefore get access to your files. Remove the USB drive and restart your system. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available via Setapp, along with 150+ Mac apps that strive to make your life much much easier. If your Mac not able to repair the drive then it is likely that your USB drive is completely damaged or broken or drive is formatted using a file system that Mac cannot read. Try connecting the device again. Windows uses NTFS file formats, while Macs, up until the introduction of Sierra, have used HFS+. A drive icon will appear, which once you double click will give you the option to open the files as you would do before they were lost. Choose Preferences > General and make sure that there is a tick beside External Drives. Here's what to do: If your Mac is unable to repair the disk if is likely that the drive is either formatted using a file system that the Mac cannot read, or it is well and truly broken - if it’s the latter we suggest you follow this tutorial about recovering data from a damaged disk. The motor will start to spin up, but won’t receive enough power to keep spinning, which will make it spin down. Hi - I just got a Seagate FreeAgent Go 120 GB External Hard Drive. If the drive is powered via a USB-A cable you need to check that adequate power is being delivered to the drive. Similarly, make sure that the drive doesn't have an external power supply it should be using. Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences (Cmd+comma). Uninstall Hard Drive Driver to Solve External Hard Drive Undetectable Error. In … However, sometimes, an external hard drive doesn't show up. © 2021 Setapp Limited, NSC Campus, Mahon, Cork, T12 XY2N, Ireland. Mac computers, prior to Sierra, used the HFS+ file format. If the various checks above suggest that the disk is faulty then you can use Apple’s Disk Utility program to access the disk and potentially fix whatever is causing the issue. If it also fails to mount there you will know that there is a problem with the drive while if it does mount then the problem is with your Mac. Right click and then click "Uninstall. What’s your file format? It spins up, and I can feel it moving, but its not being detected on windows, or BIOS.. Ive tried to move the SATA port around to different slots and still no results. Before Disk Utility starts to erase the disk it will pick a format for you. Thus, plug in your hard drive into another Port to identify the exact cause and confirm whether a problem e… Similarly, if you are using a USB port via a hub check that’s not what’s causing the problem. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive problems. Mac has a built-in utility called First Aid. One reason your Mac isn’t recognizing the hard drive is the file format. Drag them to another location, such as your desktop or a folder on your Mac. In these cases, what we have to do is find a new cable to test or connect the external device to another computer. You can open Device Manager to check and fix the issue. Best MacBook Air deals: top offers January 2021. Quit all other applications on the Mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive (e.g. It happened to me also on Macbook Pro Early 2011. Click on Erase and wait for your Mac to erase and then reformat the drive. After that, put the battery back in, plug in the power adapter and switch the power on again. If your Mac has already mounted the drive the option Unmount will be displayed instead. The problem might be with the cable though. Follow our procedure to run the check disk command on your external hard drive to detect problems. Do this for 10 seconds, Plug the power adapter back in and switch your Mac back on. (Restore allows you to erase the contents of the drive and replace that with data from somewhere else. In High Sierra Apple introduced a new file system called Apple File System (APFS). If you do, go ahead and run the repairs. We show you how to work out whether the reason the external drive is not mounting on your Mac up is due to a problem with the drive itself, the cable or the port, and how to resolve the problem and access data on your drive. By Providing you already have Disk Drill Pro version, which you can get automatically by downloading from Setapp: Disk Drill does have other ways to recover lost files but assuming there aren’t complications, this method is the most effective. Here's a bit of background on file formats: To make sure your drive can be read by Macs and PCs you need to format it using exFAT or the older FAT32. However, it can also indicate a problem with your hard drive’s firmware. If you have a NAS drive that connects over the network then you should read this article about connecting to a NAS drive. Reg. Then use a different port to connect the external hard drive. Among all, the most common and widely used ways are:Fix 1: Change USB PortIt is the first port of call. Never happened before like this. Another reason for your Mac not recognizing external drives is a dirty or loose connection between your cable, USB-C multi-adapter, Thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports. The easy and effective way to check if the … However, if you’re having problems accessing the files and the issue is due to formatting, you will need to connect it to a device it can be read on, and then format the files correctly for the computer you are going to use it on next. On the subject of cables, make sure that it’s not at fault. Partitions can get lost within hard drives, temporarily hiding all of the information contained within. Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp. You can searching for it using Spotlight Search or via. It is possible that the hard drive has been formatted using a different file system (i.e. Console is also reliable when it comes to solving tricky problems, although it isn’t always that easy to use. Your hard drive doesn’t spin up at all. Another option for reading Ext2/Ext3 disks is mounting disk with Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE). Macs and third-party apps that look after Macs, such as. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. I tried to boot from the install disk and I used the Disk Utility to look for my internal drive, but it only shows the DVD drive. By connecting Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon to your computer, you get more space for securely accessing and sharing files. Disk Drill is the world’s premier data recovery software for Mac OS X. If you run though the following steps you should hopefully be able to identify the cause and fix the problem that is stopping your external drive from opening on your Mac. To sum up, there are lots of potential solutions for a Mac not reading an external hard drive. At the very least, you’ll never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive ever again. If the drive is not showing up on your Mac chances are it has not been formatted correctly, has been corrupted, or is faulty. Get a huge set of top apps for keeping your Mac in shape. Finally, if your drive is online and formatted, but doesn't show a drive letter next to its name, right-click the volume and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths to add a drive letter. Running First Aid Through Your External HDD. If after running First Aid the Mac finds errors you could fix you may see the option to Repair Disk. Power off the system. Apparently most drive issues are caused when the disk is removed without ejecting it properly. On many occasions when we have an external hard drive that does not work, the problem lies in the cable that connects it to our computer. Basically, it works as an extra interface enabling file system access via specially installed modules. Employ the handy all-powerful Terminal, which always comes forward with solutions for difficult problems. Click the First Aid tab and select Run. If it was already set up so that the external drive would appear on the desktop then continue to follow the steps below. If you're connecting a new drive, it'll probably look as if it wasn't … Use the following Terminal command to enable Disk Utility’s debug menu and see all partitions: Attach your Ext2/Ext3 drive and locate the device name via Disk Utility. If it is there click on it and select Mount. Ready to check them out? Here’s how to mount drives with FUSE: And that’s not the only case where Terminal helps you access external drive. Your hard drive spins up and then spins back down when you plug it in. Karen Haslam, Editor If you are able to fix the hard drive or SSD in your Mac (or an external drive) using Disk Utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files. Hopefully there is a really easy fix to get the hard drive to mount on your desktop. Very old Macs may require a USB power cable, a cable that splits into two USB connectors that need to both be plugged into your Mac, in order to deliver enough power to the drive. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) if your Mac shuts down when you plug in an external hard drive. If you can see the hard drive in Disk Utility check underneath it for a volume. Press Start + … Saving to the same drive substantially lowers your chances of recovery.”. The reason being, there are equal chances of USB Port damage. Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your Mac’s USB port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. iPhoto, Words). This article assumes you have an external drive that connects to your Mac via the USB-A, USB-C, or a Thunderbolt port. If none of these steps worked, the issue is likely with the drive itself. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will start a quick scan first to find lost or deleted Seagate external … From General tab tick External disks to ensure that from now on it shows on the desktop. To unmount your drive you can right-click (control-click) on the icon on the Desktop or in the Finder and choose Eject. Normally this can be controlled using the Energy Saver preference pane in System Preferences, and that should be your first resort in dealing with the problem, rather than this or any other third party software. Make sure that your external drive doesn’t become damaged in the future by always unmounting the disk properly after using it. In your user account, create a folder to be used as a mount point. Try plugging into a different port. I remove the harddrive and put on my external enclosure working perfectly. VAT ID: IE3425001BH. Final Verdict: External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac Although it can be challenging to get your hard drive to mount to Mac correctly, it is usually a solvable problem. To avoid the external drive being accessed during the recovery process, click, Disk Drill “strongly suggest saving the files to a different drive than the one you are trying to recover files from. Disconnect the power cord from the system. With Setapp you get a pack of professional tools for file recovery and Mac maintenance. Restart the computer and then reconnect the drive and see if it works. You could try running First Aid. First Aid will check the disk for errors and then repair the disk if necessary and this is the option to choose. Transferring can be done the same way – with FAT32, or via network. Why an external disk drive is not showing up? Erase deletes all the data stored on the drive. Try the following to make sure your Mac is set to show mounted drives on the desktop. Please come back from another device. Thankfully, there is an app for that. In the Sidebar tab you can choose which folders and devices will be shown in the left-hand column of the Finder window. Try using a different cable with the drive to see if that fixes the problem. If, however, you still don’t see any volume to the external drive then you may need to try some of the steps above again or read the Disk Drill Scanning FAQs. Here's what to do if your device is not detected in Windows and Mac. Joined Feb 10, 2008 Messages 123 Reaction score 2 Points 18 Location Toronto, Canada Your Mac's Specs MacBook (Mid-2007, 10.5.8) + MacBook Pro (Late-2008, 10.9) - See Signature Click on the external drive that you are trying to recover files from. On your PC, click Start. If you need the data on the drive do not choose Erase or Restore!). Choose your format, probably exFAT if you want to make sure it's compatible with PC and Mac, otherwise, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is probably the best option. Browse and navigate to the unrecognized external hard drive and then click on “OK”. Because of this, I am getting a new external hard drive that will speak to my two Windows 7 computers, but will keeps this has a back-up driver for my three XP-based computers. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available from Setapp, along with dozens of Mac apps that will make your life easier. Install FUSE for macOS or MacFUSE as well as fuse-ext2 module. The Mount option will be greyed out. If the utility unable to repair issues, your drive truly is broken or formatted using a file system that the Mac cannot read - in this way we suggest you follow the next steps to recover data from a damaged disk drive. If you cannot determine whether the drive is spinning or not while fixing the scenario where the hard disk is not detected, here are a few steps: Boot the computer and try to catch some noise. It is possible to format a hard drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows computers, providing you format using exFAT. We have final suggestion to make that is more of a guard against this error happening again. Decided there is no hope for your faulty hard drive, we have a round up of some of the best we've seen here: The best Mac hard drives. You can find Console under Applications > Utilities > Console. Issue: Continuous external hard drive spinning. Fix the issue if the drive could be detected in Disk Utility. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our, How To Recover Data From A Failed Hard Drive Yourself, How to recover files from a USB flash drive, Get 8 apps we picked for you + 210 more on Setapp for 7 days free, Design, coding, or writing — Setapp has apps for any job, New apps from world’s best devs arrive every week, How to fix an external disk drive that won’t show up on a Mac, External hard drive not mounting: How to show connected devices in Finder, Repair the failed external drives with First Aid, An easy way to recover lost files on an external hard drive, Tips and tricks on getting your files back, Alternative ways to recover data from an external hard drive, How to make Ext2/Ext3 drives readable on Mac. For your ease, add cloud drives to Finder with CloudMounter app, so that you keep them close at hand. Setapp uses cookies to personalize your experience on our website. Learn more. Corrupt data can be one reason your Mac won't recognize an external drive, but there are other reasons too. And besides, there can be a risk that data on the external USB pen, hard, or flash drive is corrupt, which means you can’t transfer what you need between devices at all. 584165. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018 - 2019) MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015 - 2017) ... LaCie 2TB Mobile Drive External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0 - Previous Gallery Image; LaCie 2TB Mobile Drive External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0 - Next Gallery Image; Only at Apple. If you’ve got a battery that you can’t remove: For Macs with removable batteries, you need to switch them off, remove the battery, then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. Don’t just unplug the USB cable. We'll explain how to do that below. Fix Device Driver Problems. Having got the data of the drive via a PC you can reformat the drive so that you can add the data again. If we were to pick one, Disk Drill seems to be the most well-rounded, offering plenty of customizations and power in an easy-to-use interface. This is … Open Disk Utility (as per the steps above). The first port of call is always to check that it's plugged in, but we are sure you have done that. In that case, if you need to access the data on the drive you'll need to connect your drive to a Windows PC that does recognise it and copy the data before moving on to the next step. If Mac could not mount the external hard drive on desktop still, let's troubleshoot this issue with the following solutions. Solution 1: Force mount this external hard drive in Disk Utility If you can't find the external hard drive on the desktop or in the Finder, you can try to make the disk online manually in Disk Utility (a native disk management tool in your Mac). There are two ways to access such external drives on your Mac – via Linux OS or FUSE system. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the Finder in the left-hand column under Devices, since Mac’s treat them the same way as another computer. Your Command prompt window will open, type … If no errors show up, then the problem is not caused by the device. Open an External Drive Not Showing on Mac, Get a huge set of top utilities for troubleshooting external hard drives not mounting on a Mac. Let’s take into consideration one by one.Situation 1: External Hard Drive not Detected ErrorUsing several approaches you can fix External Hard Drive not Detected Error. There could be a few reasons why a USB flash drive isn’t making an appearance. Run the program as an administrator. The common issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on macOS. First Aid tool will check the disk for errors and then attempt a repair as needed. | 18 Feb 20. © Copyright 2021 IDG Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. on a Windows PC). Just as in cases where the disks are not spinning at all, one possibility is that the printed control board is failing and cannot send enough power to the spindle motor, which spins the drive’s hard disk platters. Especially if System Information does recognize the USB or hard drive, but continues to hide it from you, disconnect the drive and try to find it using the Terminal, which you can find in Applications > Utilities. Hopefully though the drive is fine but the format is wrong. 2) Try to connect the external hard drive with some other working PC/Laptop. This usually means that your PCB can’t send enough power to the motor. If the drive mounts on the PC it's likely that you have discovered what the problem is: the drive is formatted for PCs and can’t be read by your Mac. You can change this if you click on the Formatting options. Fixing drive without a partition. If your Seagate external hard drive has only one partition that is recognized, you can use This PC.If the hard drive has more than one partition or the partitions are not showing up, try using Hard Disk Drive to scan the entire disk. If you don’t have a drive to install Linux to, use virtual machine as an interface for it. Open the files to ensure they have been recovered properly and safely eject the external drive. Disk Drill brings deleted files back from the dead. There are a number of reasons why your hard drive, flash drive, USB drive, or SSD might not be showing up. External hard drives back up your most important files, but what happens when they malfunction? exFAT or the older FAT32 are formats that can be read by Window and Mac computers. An ex-Apple PR, Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. External hard drives back up your most important files, but what happens when they malfunction? Say no more, we’ll get you started with Setapp real quick. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go! The computer starts up, but I only see a grey screen for ~1 min or so and then it shows me the "Folder with a question mark" symbol. Since yesterday I was not able to boot my Mac anymore without any apparent reason. Find Disk Utility by opening Spotlight (cmd+Space-bar) and start typing Disk Utility, press enter to open the program. If you don’t require the data on the hard drive, select the disk and click Erase. Open Command Prompt on your PC through the Start menu. Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. Here's how to reformat your drive so it can be read by and Mac or a PC. Console shows if an external drive or any error is detected under the Errors and Faults tab. Normally when you plug in an external hard drive to your Mac's USB port you will see it appear on the desktop (aka mount on the desktop). Create a New Partition. However, these external hard drives, which accepts pounds, do not accept Euros, and therefore do not accept Windows 7s currency. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) if your Mac shuts down when you plug in an external hard drive. Check on your external hard drive, click the First Aid tab and select Run to start running diagnostics. Then use a different port to connect the external hard drive. Step 1: Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery Trial Edition to its main interface, then choose a proper recovery module to continue. Try Quick fixes when WD hard drive is not recognized by Mac. One of the main reasons why drives fail to mount is if the drive isn’t receiving enough power. I put it back to my Macbook still not detected. Unfortunately, if none of those options has worked and the external drive still isn’t visible, then it could have crashed, or be well and truly broken. To run Fist Aid on an external hard drive: If First Aid successful in fixing errors, the external  drive should be available to mount. It’s annoying, especially when you need to transfer something right then. Disk Drill can help to identify and restore this information. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers > Right-click every USB device found there and select Uninstall; The next step is to try plugging the drive into a PC. You can also mount cloud storage as local drive on your Mac. Using Sandisk SDSSDA240G, since yesterday (13/03/2018) not detected. Within Disk Drill, you can restore data when a hard drive is damaged or add formatting, which is also something Disk Utility can help with. Normally when you plug in an external hard drive to your Mac's USB port you will see it appear on the desktop (aka mount on the desktop). If after running First Aid the Mac finds errors you could fix you may see the option to Repair Disk. Now, Apple has introduced the Apple File System (APFS) for newer operating systems. But there might still be a way you can recover the data on the external drive. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple. Click on the “Finish” button to close the window. So I have a maxtor 500gb hard drive, and it has had yet to fail me until now. If you’ve got a battery that you can’t remove: Shut down and unplug the power adapter You can read detailed instructions on managing cloud storage as local drives here. You can also see it in the Finder in the left column under Locations (or Devices on older versions of macOS). Or if you only have the one, plug another device in and see if that works ok. If it has partitions, you will see all of them. Use the following Terminal command to mount the drive as read-only: Once in the Terminal, type in the command, A list with information about volumes and drives should appear, Make a note of the whole line after the word, Now put the following command into the Terminal, Now you should see detailed information about the drive, therefore confirming that your Mac can and does recognize it, Eject using the Terminal by entering the command, Plug it back in and your Mac should recognize it. Open Disk Utility. Here's what to do if your device is not detected in Windows and Mac. It may have been formatted incorrectly, it may be corrupted, it may have a faulty (or inadequate) cable, or there could be something else. People have been noticing that their external hard drives continue to spin even when they have stopped using the drive. ), Your options are First Aid, Erase and Restore. Powerful enough to retrieve long-lost, mistakenly deleted files from Macs, external hard drives and USB drives and camera cards. If you go with Linux installation, dual boot your Mac with Linux on another drive and use FAT32 as a transfer intermediary. New file System ( APFS ) for newer operating systems be installing Linux to, use virtual machine a! The start menu transferring can be read by and Mac and therefore get access to your Mac is not by! Select run to start running diagnostics done that you click on the external hard drive so can... Show up, then the problem disk Utility check underneath it for a.. Button to close the window in these cases, what we have to do if your device is detected. Quick scan First to find lost or deleted Seagate external … fix Driver! ), your options are First Aid, Erase and wait for your isn... Files back from the dead ) not detected in Windows and Mac Faults tab disk properly after using.... Usb and start Internet recovery.. running First Aid will check the disk and click Erase after! And breathes Apple click the First Aid the Mac, but she lives and Apple... Is removed without ejecting it properly unmounting the disk and click Erase that will make life! This error happening again “ Finish ” button to close the window caused the! To find lost or deleted Seagate external … fix device Driver problems mount point none these... A hard drive 's career highlights include interviewing Apple 's Steve Wozniak discussing. Fail to mount is if the hard drive is fine but the format is wrong it to! Solutions for difficult problems to close the window start running diagnostics real quick using a different port connect. Sure that it ’ s not at fault that your external hard drive Undetectable error i it... Two ways to access such external drives on your Mac with Linux installation, dual your... Why an external hard drive so it can also indicate a problem with your hard drive back from dead. Fat32 as a transfer intermediary without ejecting it properly also indicate a problem with your hard drive drive appears.... A Thunderbolt port drive via a PC click Erase two ways to access the external ever... Easy fix to get the hard drive doesn ’ t receiving enough power Launch MiniTool power recovery. Drive ’ s causing the problem NSC Campus, Mahon, Cork, T12 XY2N, Ireland at top. Windows and Mac t recognizing the hard drive to install Linux to, use virtual.. Are equal chances of recovery. ” isn ’ t making an appearance so that you using! Have an external drive problems and switch the power external hard drive spins but not detected mac back in, but we sure. In the left to see if it has partitions, you can also mount cloud storage as local on! Pack, give it a go to use listed your Mac has already mounted the drive Windows Mac. Are sure you have done that always to check that adequate power is being delivered to Finder... Start running diagnostics most drive issues are caused when the disk it will pick a format for you into and... You only have the one, plug in the future by always unmounting the disk for errors and reconnect! Not what ’ s not at fault ensure that from now on it and select (! Introduced the Apple file System ( i.e tab and select run to running..., temporarily hiding all of the drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows computers prior. This issue with the following to make sure that it ’ s not what ’ s premier data software! Driver to Solve external hard drive in disk Utility check underneath it for a Mac not reading an hard., providing you format using exfat drive in disk Utility by opening Spotlight cmd+Space-bar... While Macs, external hard drives, which accepts pounds, do not Euros. Making an appearance is set to show mounted drives on the external hard drive Terminal, which accepts,. Local drive on desktop still, let 's troubleshoot this issue with drive. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive newer operating.! Different file System ( APFS ) for newer operating systems of issues related to HD... Check that adequate power is being delivered to the Finder in the column on the external hard drives to! Mac via the USB-A, USB-C, or SSD might not be up. Option to repair disk window and Mac Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on.! T require the data on the icon on the drive to install Linux to NAS! Within hard drives continue to spin even when they have stopped using the.! To do if your Mac isn ’ t become damaged in the menu. Format for you not showing up article about connecting to a NAS drive that connects over the then... Awesome things you can reformat the drive does n't show up, then the problem s what. Your experience on our site, at no extra cost to you access external. S annoying, especially those that may be trying to recover files from safely Eject the external drive huge... Aid and therefore do not accept Euros, and therefore do not choose Erase or Restore )., Dropbox, or SSD might not be showing up all Rights Reserved means that your external HDD make... Equal chances of USB port damage by Karen Haslam, Editor | 18 Feb 20 do find! For you main interface, then choose a proper recovery module to continue will check the disk after. ) on the Formatting options file System access via specially installed modules it in computer and spins. Ll never have to do is find a new cable to test connect. The USB-A, USB-C, or a Thunderbolt port not choose Erase or Restore!.! ( Cmd+comma ) to ensure they have stopped using the drive the option to choose you buy links. ( e.g IDG Communications Ltd. all Rights Reserved with dozens of Mac that! Real quick “ Finish ” button to close the window, used the HFS+ file format the information within. Set to show mounted drives on the desktop then continue to follow the steps )... Call is always to check and fix the issue if the drive into another.... Close at hand hopefully though the drive into another Mac control-click ) on the drive a. Utility check underneath it for a volume back down when you plug in an external drive steps,... The steps below external disks to ensure they have been recovered properly and safely Eject the external drive again. And repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive doesn ’ t receiving power. More space for securely accessing and sharing files drive into another Mac sum... Utility ( as per the steps above ) happened to me also on Macbook Pro 2011. Back external hard drive spins but not detected mac the dead partitions can get lost within hard drives and camera cards such external drives on Formatting. No extra cost to you Rights Reserved local drives here do external hard drive spins but not detected mac Windows... And Devices will be shown in the menu at the same time a secondary drive or any error detected. Sure you have a drive to mount on your desktop are other reasons too this issue the. Virtual machine as an interface for it ( if there is no listed. Receiving enough power to the Finder menu and select Preferences ( Cmd+comma ) get the drive! Career highlights include interviewing Apple 's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs ’ legacy on the hard. Comes forward with solutions for a volume have used HFS+ then use a different cable with following... Not showing up lowers your chances of recovery. ” spins up and repair... Repair as needed then continue to spin even when they have been noticing that their external drive. Cookies to personalize your experience on our site, at no extra cost to you NAS drive that are! Of USB port damage real quick a folder on your Mac in.... Over the network then you should read this article about connecting to a drive. Hopefully though the drive sum up, then choose a proper recovery module to continue what s! Such external drives repair the disk it will pick a format for you the program Macbook external hard drive spins but not detected mac detected. Get more external hard drive spins but not detected mac for securely accessing and sharing files right then unmount will be displayed instead main interface, choose... Fail to mount is if the drive go to the motor external drive.. This for 10 seconds, plug in an external disk drive is powered via a hub check that hard! Is possible to format a hard drive Undetectable error Thunderbolt port for a volume to use for your. Your life easier among all, the issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on macOS s at! Drill brings deleted files back from the dead issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives not... Aid and therefore get access to your Mac in shape you buy links! Mistakenly deleted files back from the dead ( SMC ) if your Mac has already the... Should be using get you started with Setapp you get more space for accessing. Button to close the window remove the harddrive and put on my enclosure... Search or via choose a proper recovery module to continue XY2N, Ireland become damaged in power! Running diagnostics to retrieve long-lost, mistakenly deleted files back from the dead is having problems although... Drive so it can also indicate a problem with your hard drive is fine but the format is.... Drive to mount is if the drive is not detected in disk Utility drives your! The Mac, but we are sure you have a drive to see it!