If your external hard drive is not showing up on your Mac, here are the main causes and step-by-step solutions to try:
Common Causes
- Faulty or loose cable connection
- USB port issues
- Finder preferences hiding external drives
- Drive not mounting or corrupted file system
- Drive formatted in an unsupported format (e.g., NTFS without proper drivers)
- NVRAM or system glitches
- Power supply issues for the drive
How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing on Mac
1. Check Physical Connections
- Ensure the drive is properly plugged in and the cable is not damaged.
- Try a different USB or Thunderbolt cable.
- Use a different USB port on your Mac
2. Restart Your Mac
- Restarting can resolve minor software glitches preventing drive recognition
3. Adjust Finder Preferences
- Open Finder > Settings (Preferences).
- Under the General tab, check "External disks" and "Hard disks" to show drives on the desktop.
- Under Sidebar, also check "External disks" and "Hard disks" to show in Finder sidebar
4. Reset NVRAM/PRAM
- Shut down your Mac.
- Turn it on and immediately press Option + Command + P + R for about 20 seconds.
- Release keys after the second startup sound or Apple logo appears twice
5. Use Disk Utility
- Open Disk Utility (via Spotlight or Applications > Utilities).
- See if the external drive appears in the sidebar.
- If visible but not mounted, select the drive and click "Mount".
- Run "First Aid" to check and repair disk errors
6. Check System Information
- Go to Applications > Utilities > System Information.
- Under USB or Thunderbolt, check if the drive is detected at hardware level.
- If detected but not mounting, it may indicate a file system or corruption issue
7. Stop Disk Repair Process if Stuck
- Sometimes macOS runs a disk check process (fsck_hfs) that can hang.
- Open Activity Monitor, search for fsck_hfs, and quit it.
- Then check Disk Utility again
8. Consider Drive Format and Compatibility
- macOS supports APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT32 natively.
- NTFS drives are read-only by default; you may need third-party drivers to write or mount properly
9. Try on Another Computer
- Test the external drive on another Mac or Windows PC to rule out hardware failure
10. Additional Tips
- Avoid daisy-chaining USB hubs; connect drive directly.
- Ensure the external drive has sufficient power, especially if it requires external power
If none of these steps work, the drive may be physically damaged or corrupted beyond simple repair, and professional data recovery might be necessary. These steps cover the most common and effective solutions to fix an external hard drive not showing up on a Mac.
