Summary: External hard drive not mounting on Mac means that you can't access data stored on it. This page helps you mount external hard drives, as well as SD cards and USB flash drives, etc. on Mac. If the external hard drive won't mount on Mac, you can download iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to recover lost data from unmountable external hard drives.
People use external hard drives as extended storage for computers or backup disks for important files, as a result, frequent file sharing, and modification are needed.If external hard drive suddenly shows read-only after you attach it to your Mac device, it is definitely very inconvenient to use this external hard drive. IBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is the best free Mac disk recovery software that can recover lost data from formatted, unmountable, inaccessible or even corrupted hard drive, external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card. It recovers deleted or lost partition, recover deleted files even emptied from Mac Trash, etc.
The Check Disk utility we use for repairing corrupt flash drives and SD card also works for rotating hard drives and SSDs. It can be accessed in the Properties of a connected hard drive.
How to Repair Hard Drive using Command Prompt: Step 1: Open Command Prompt. You can Simply press Windows Key+R, then type CMD in the Run window to open Command Prompt. Another way to open it is. Step 2: Type help chkdsk on the command prompt and press Enter. This displays the help menu of the. Part 1: How to Fix Corrupted Hard Drive with Disk Repair Software. Recommend hard disk repair tool: Wondershare LiveBoot Boot CD/USB. Reason: Generally speaking, hard disk repair is related to many scenarios, such as partition can't be accessed, the disk cannot be detected, the boot sector damaged, the computer fails to boot, etc. This LiveBoot disk repair software program can fix almost all these hard drive problems, as well as restore any hard drive data.
Usually, an external hard drive will appear (aka mounted) automatically on your Mac once you plug it in, and you can access data on this drive. So, it's annoying when you find that your external hard drive is not mounting or recognized by your Mac, just like the user below.
'I have a 500 GB LaCie external hard drive, formatted as macOS Extend journaled on MacBook Pro 2014 and I have been using it to do Time Machine backups. Now after updating, macOS is not mounting this external hard drive. The main drive is greyed out in Disk Utility and the partition is not showing up. I can't do First Aid as my LaCie external drive does not mount on the MacBook Pro. Any ideas? Thanks!'
Wondering 'why my external hard drives won't mount on Mac'? This post explains the reasons and teachs how to fix this disk problem without losing data.
Dos and Don'ts When External Hard Drive Not Mounting on Mac
Before you go further, it's better to know what you can do and can't do.
1. Do not go straight to reformat this not mounted external hard drive, especially when you have important files on it. Reformatting will wipe the data on this disk and cause serious data loss.
2. Do not run First Aid to directly repair the disk, any further operation is very likely to overwrite your original files and make them unrecoverable.
3. Check if you have a copy of a data backup. If not, recover important files from this unmountable external hard drive first to avoid data loss.
Now, let's make the external disk accessible on Mac.
How to fix external hard drives not mounting on Mac issue without data loss?
To access your external hard drive on Mac, try solutions suggested in this part one by one. Hopefully, you'll be able to open this external hard drive on Mac again.
First, try some simple tricks to mount external hard drive on Mac
In case you miss anything necessary, you can first have some basic checks as following:
1. Re-plug your external hard drive to another port or try another USB cable. A faulty connection, though it is foolproof, might be the key fix if LaCie thunderbolt drive is not mounting, in that users always forget to check if the port is wobbly or if the cable is broken.
2. Try a super slow jam. Strange but true, some users found that their external will mount properly when they plug it in exceptional slow motion. However, if they try and plug in the external hard drive normally, the Mac doesn't recognize the disk.
3. Check your Finder Preferences. When your external hard drive does not appear on the desktop, you can open Finder, choose 'Preference' (or press Command +, ) and check 'External disks' both in General tab and in Sidebar tab to show your external hard drive on your Mac computer.
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).
Here is how to mount an external hard drive on Mac:
1. Click Go at the upper left of your desktop and go to Utilities, then launch Disk Utility on your Mac computer.
2. Click on 'Show All Devices' in View option to list or connected drives.
3. Choose the grayed external hard drive in the left sidebar.
3. Select Mount in the top center of Disk Utility.
However, if you find that your external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Utility (not a single volume but the whole disk disappears), it is very likely that your disk is suffering some physical damage. In this case, you need to send it to a local data recovery service. But if the Mount option is grayed out and you can see this external hard drive in Disk Utility, you can try another solution then.
Solution 2:Repair this unmountable external hard drive with First Aid
The second suggestion is First Aid in Disk Utility if you are unable to mount the external hard drive on Mac. First Aid is a very simple tool that is built in your Mac, and it is able to detect and repair directory damage and other disk errors. You are advised to run the tool more than once to ensure you are receiving a consistent result.
Follow the instructions and repair the external hard drive that is not accepted by your macOS or Mac OS X.
1. Go to Utilities and launch Disk Utility on your Mac computer.
2. Select the unmountable external hard drive on the left sidebar.
3. Select First Aid in the top center and click Run.
Solution 3:Reformat the unmounted external hard drive
If your external hard drive still can't be mounted in Disk Utility after you perform First Aid, or if First Aid failed to repair it like the situation below, your drive should have some serious errors like file system corruption.
• Disk Utility can't repair this disk, what do to?
• How to format external hard drives on Mac?
In this case, you need to back up your important data on the external hard drive, such as family photos, valuable work documents, or any other files. If you don't have a copy of a data backup in hand, the following guide can help you recover lost data from this unmountable external hard drive. And then, you can reformat your exteranl hard drive to make it work again on Mac.
How to recover data from an external hard drive that won't mount?
As long as your external hard drive doesn't have any hardware problem, fortunately, you can retrieve your files with professional Mac data recovery software - iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac with no fuss.
Best External Hard Drive Data Recovery - iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac
Read-only & risk-free
Tutorial for external hard drive data recovery on Mac with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac
1. Free download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on Mac.
2. Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
3. Select the external hard drive that is not mounting and click Scan button to scan for all lost data.
4. Preview the searching results, choose files you need, and click Recover to get them back.
Note: You need to save the recovered files to another usable drive. By this means, you will not lose them again when you move forward to the steps to fix not mounted external hard drives in the following part.
5. Have a check to ensure you have got all lost data back.
After having successfully restored all data on this drive, you can set out to erase this external hard drive to fix the disk not mounting on Mac issue.
Tutorial to reformat unmountable external hard drives on Mac
1. Launch Disk Utility.
2. Click the icon of your unmountable external hard drive on the left sidebar.
3. Click on the Erase button function on the top of the Disk Utility window.
4. Complete the related information (name, format, scheme), then click Erase button to finish reformatting.
After reformatting, your external hard drive will be assigned with a new file system so that you can mount this unmountable hard drive again.
Then, why we can't access the external hard drive on Mac?
Probably, the user above would never know why his MacBook is not mounting the external hard drive. As a matter of fact, this problem could be caused by many factors, such as damaged file system, virus attack, unsafe ejection or any other improper operations.
Here are some common ones.
Knowledge Base: What does 'Mount' mean on Mac?
Mounting an external hard disk means the macOS gives a mount point (entrance) to read and access information on the hard drive. Information is accessed by the disk file system and partition table. So, it's a necessary step before the operating system can access a disk (including read from and write to).
Therefore, if an externalhard drive won't mount on Mac, it means the system gets into trouble in recognizing the file system or other information of this hard drive.
Conclusion:
If your external hard drive is not mounting on your Mac, don't panic. Most of the time, you are going to fix this disk problem with the solutions above. Moreover, if you worry about data loss when the disk becomes unmountable, you can use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to recover your files first. Remember that, no matter what disk problem you meet, you should perform hard drive data recovery in case of losing data.
2)List of 6 Most Commonly Faced Mac Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Problems with Solutions
2.6)#6)Hard Drive Isn’t Booting
![]() Mac Hard Drive Problems and Their Solutions- 100% Working
Summary: Hard drives are used for storing files, but it can stop working, suddenly. This can cause you to lose important data. In case you have encountered such an issue, this is just the right article for you. Here, we are going to discuss the worst hard disk failure issues and the solutions to them. MacBook and iMac are powerful computers. However, it isn’t insusceptible to hard drive problems. Various problems can impact Mac’s SSD, hard drive, or hybrid drive that can make it difficult for you to recover data.
List of 6 Most Commonly Faced Mac Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Problems with Solutions
https://rlycro.weebly.com/blog/mac-photos-app-storage-location. To make sure that you don’t face such problems, we have come up with 6 worst Mac hard drive issues and their solutions.
So, let’s dive in.
#1)Hard Drive is Slow
These problems commonly arise due to prolonged usage or aging. However, other factors can slow down the Mac startup disk such as,
What is the Solution of Mac Hard Drive is Slow Error? Best productivity apps for the mac.
There are various steps that you can take to boost Mac’s performance. Check them out below.
This list of actions might appear to be simple but they are not. You need time and patience to clean the hard drive manually and perform the tune-up jobs. This can be frustrating at times.
#2)Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Utility
At times, the Mac storage might fail to show up in the Disk Utility space.
What is the Solution for Mac Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Utility Error?
One of the worst problems that you can face with Mac is the Disk Utility Window not showing Mac storage drive. Most of the time than not, the storage device is dead, either partially or entirely. If it is a case of an unmounted Mac hard drive, it is still going to appear in the Disk Utility window. However, it is going to be greyed out.
Luckily, TechSoftwareLogic Mac Data Recovery Tool can rescue files that are stored on the unmounted media that you can erase later for reuse.
In the case of the dead Mac hard drive, you have the option to replace the device after you recover the lost data using the Mac data recovery software.
#3)Hard Drive Space DisappearsBest Mac App To Fix Hard Drives Windows 10
Mac users can encounter the problem of low free space when they use a low capacity SSD like 128 GB. In that case, they often see the error message ‘Your startup disk is almost full’. Even when you store multimedia files in an external storage drive and important data in iCloud, the Mac storage drive is going to disappear automatically. The low storage problems might be caused due to junk file buildup, caches, temporary files, and leftovers of applications.
What is the Solution to Mac Hard Drive Space Disappears Problem?
To solve the problem of drive space disappearing, you have to create more space on the startup disk by erasing temporary files.
For removing caches, follow the steps given below.
a)From ‘Dock’ open ‘Finder’
b)Now, from the ‘Menu Bar’ click on ‘Go’ and then click on ‘Home’.
c)Next, just click on the ‘cog’ icon present at the top pane and choose ‘Show View Options’.
d)On the pop-up window, choose the ‘Show Library Folder’ checkbox and then just close it.
e)Go to ‘Library’ and then ‘Caches’.
f)Erase all the caches.
You also have the option to do the following.
a.From ‘Dock’ open ‘Finder’
b.Now, click on ‘Go’ from the Menu Bar and then click on ‘Go to Folder’.
c.Type ‘~/Library/Caches’ from the dialog window and then click on ‘Go’.
d.Now, erase all the caches.
Delete the temporary files from the particular folders present in the Library folder like Application Support Files, Logs, and unrequired iTunes files. When you remove temporary files frequently, it will create space on mac and keep the drive from disappearing.
#4)External Hard Drive Unrecognized or Not Mounting
Often as you connect the external hard drive to Mac, it will mount and will show up on your Desktop. It might also appear in ‘Finder’. Nevertheless, at times, the disk might fail to mount when you connect it. In circumstances like this, it will not even appear in ‘Finder’.
What is the Solution of External Drive Not Recognized or Mounting on Mac?
To fix this problem, some of the common methods you can try are given below.
4.1)Set the Mac to show the mounted drive on its Desktop
4.2)Try connecting it with some other cable
4.3)Unplug and then re-plug the drive
Best Backup Drive For Mac
4.4)Try connecting to some other Mac
4.5)Use a different USB port for connecting it. Mac notes app highlights.
In case none of these work, there may be something wrong with the external hard drive. You can create a backup of the hard drive using Disk Utility or third-party software. Thereafter, you can erase and reform the drive using a new file system. Nevertheless, in case there is no backup of the data, you cannot clone the hard drive with problems. In that case, you will have to choose Mac data recovery software like TechSoftwareLogic.
#5)Disk Utility is Unable to Repair Mac Hard Drive
By using the Disk Utility ‘First Aid’ tab, you can fix the hard drive or some other storage drives for bad sectors, errors, etc. However, this doesn’t always help. At times, you will see the message ‘Disk Utility cannot repair this disk’. You will see this when Disk Utility fails to repair Mac hard drive.
![]()
What is the Solution of Disk Utility is Unable to Fix Corrupted Mac Drive?
To check the basic structure of the storage drive, use the ‘fsck’ or ‘file system consistency check’ command in the ‘Single User Mode’. However, make sure that you back up the drive for some other external storage medium. This way you will not lose data while troubleshooting the error. After this, you will have to follow the steps given below.
a)Restart or start the Mac and then press and hold the Command and S button simultaneously. As soon as you see the white text button appearing on the screen, release the button. This will boot up Mac in the ‘Single User Mode’.
b)Next, type ‘fsck-fy’ on the command prompt and then press ‘Return’. Make sure you do not interrupt till the command is done with, as it might lead to data loss.
c)If you see the message ‘The volume Macintosh HD couldn’t be repaired’ or ‘The volume was modified’, use the command once more.
d)You have to use the command several times until you see the message, ‘The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.’ Following this, you need to type ‘exit’. This will restart the Mac.
#6)Hard Drive Isn’t Booting
Sometimes, the Mac hard drive will not boot. This problem might happen because of file system corruption, electronic component damage, bad sectors, or hard drive problems. This can cause you valuable videos, photos, documents, etc. stored on Mac hard drive become inaccessible.
What is the Solution of Mac Hard Drive Isn’t Booting Error Message?
You can use the methods given below to get back the data from a non-booting Mac.
#a)Access the Non-Booting Mac Using Target Disk
You have to connect the non-booting Mac to a Mac that is working fine using Thunderbolt or FireWire cable. First, power on the working Mac, and then the non-booting Mac. After this, immediately, press the T button and hold it. When you see the Thunderbolt or FireWire icon appearing, release the T button. Now, you will be able to access the hard drive of the non-booting Mac from the working Mac.
#b)Use Time Machine Backup
In case you have Time Machine backup, you have to connect to a non-booting Mac. Following this, power on the Mac, and press and hold Command and R keys, simultaneously. As soon as the Apple logo appears on the screen, Mac will enter the Mac operating system Recovery Mode. From the Utilities Window of the Mac operating system, click Restore from Time Machine Backup and then click on ‘Continue’ for performing the on-screen instructions for erasing Mac hard drive, reinstalling macOS, and restoring from Time Machine Backup drive.
#c)Boot the Non-Booting Mac Using Recovery Drive
For this, you have to download and install the TechSoftwareLogic Mac Data Recovery Software on another Mac device. Next, you have to create a recovery drive using the thumb drive of a minimum of 8GB. Now, connect the boot drive to the non-booting Mac. Switch on the Mac and then press and hold the ‘Option’ key. Release the keys when the ‘Startup Managers’ opens up. Choose the Recovery Drive. From the windows of ‘macOS Utilities’, choose TechSoftwareLogic recovery software, click on ‘Continue’. Follow the instructions given onscreen for recovering the data from the non-booting Mac system.
Related Posts:Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |