


Get into the habit of doing this with any computer issues, as it can save time, money, and hassle in the long run. Troubleshooting an External Drive with a Mac First, we will check the basics, and from there, we make sure that macOS is set up to display external drives, can mount the drive, and that the drive has no errors on either the disk itself or its file structure. If your external drive still doesn’t appear, we have a couple of simple troubleshooting tips to fix an external hard drive not showing up on Mac.

Then, use the Search bar in the upper right-hand corner and search for Disk Utility.įrom there, you can troubleshoot the problem and usually fix it. If you have trouble finding it, simply open Finder (the icon that looks like a blue and grey face) and click on Applications on the left-hand side.This is a sub-folder within the Applications folder, with a crossed screwdriver and wrench on the folder icon, while Disk Utility looks like a hard drive being examined with a stethoscope.If it doesn’t show up in Finder, though, it will surely show up in the Disk Utility within Utilities. From here, Finder should open, showing your external drive.You can use the Thunderbolt, USB, or even the USB-C port, depending on the model you’re using. All you need to do is connect the external hard drive to your Mac or MacBook.
