It happens that a Toshiba external hard drive is not working in Windows, be it not showing up, not recognized, or not showing files. Given the varying situation, we will show you how to fix 'Toshiba external hard drive not working' according to your exact scenario and present you the Toshiba hard drive recovery tool to rescue your data on the storage medium.
1TB Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Not Working and Undetectable, Help!
'Hi there, do you know how to make external hard drive show up in PC when it failed to be detected? I have 1TB Toshiba external hard drive with almost 500GB data saved on it. It suddenly disappeared from my PC but the light of the drive is still on. What's going on with my drive? Do know you how to fix this issue?'
External hard drive not showing up or detected is just one of the many situations that indicate your Toshiba hard drive is not working. To help you fix your problematic device quickly, you should specify your situation according to the steps below before applying the fixes for 'Toshiba external hard drive not working'.
Step 1. Connect your Toshiba hard disk to your computer using the Toshiba cable.
Step 2. Go to 'This PC' > 'Manage' > 'Disk Management'.
Unlike case 1, USB or external hard drive sometimes is invisible in File Explorer or Disk Management, but it can be detected in Device Manager, for example, an external HDD won't show up in explorer, but it shows in Device Manager. To fix the issue, several methods can be listed below. Make sure the USB or external hard drive is available. If your Mac is booting up but is stalling on the progress bar or just won't load into macOS, then there's likely a software issue. One of the first things you should do is boot into Recovery Mode and try to repair your primary drive using Disk Utility. Make sure your Mac is shut down. Hold down the Command + R keys. Power up your MAc.
- Then check out whether the external hard drive shows up in My Computer/My PC or not. If it doesn't show up, reboot or restart the PC. If it shows up but disappears later, repeat the above steps and go to Disk Management, change the drive letter of your Toshiba external hard drive and reconnect it to PC to let the PC detect it again.
- Make Seagate external hard drive show up in disk management: The first thing you need to do is to.
- My macbook won't recognize my hard drive, telling me that I must eject it properly even though it doesn't show up on my desk top or in my hard drive for me to view or use. More Less MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1).
Then you will see yourself in one of the following cases:
- The Toshiba external hard drive is not showing in Disk Management or in This PC
- The Toshiba hard drive is showing up in Disk Management but not in This PC
- The Toshiba disk is showing up in both Disk Management and This PC but is inaccessible
- The hard drive is detected but not showing any files
- The Toshiba external hard drive light blinking but not working
Fixes for Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working
When your Toshiba hard drive is not working, you may find yourself in one of the situations listed above. Identify your situation and follow to see the possible causes and the solutions to fix your Toshiba hard drive.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Toshiba Not Showing Up | Check the hard drive connection > update Toshiba driver > send for manual repair.Full steps |
Fix 2. Toshiba Not in This PC | Update Toshiba driver > change driver letter.Full steps |
Fix 3. Detectable But Inaccessible | If you find your Toshiba disk isn't showing any files, you can.Full steps |
Fix 4. Detected But Not Showing Files | Try every USB port available; Determine you're using USB 2.0 or 3.0.Full steps |
Fix 5. Light Blinking But Not Working | This is a common issue that happens to external hard drives from all the brands.Full steps |
Situation 1. Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Not Showing Up in This PC and Disk Management
Possible causes: Connection issues, outdated Toshiba external hard drive driver, physical damage on the disk
Based on the possible reasons why your Toshiba external hard drive is not working, you have three methods to try:
Method 1. Check the Hard Drive Connection
There are many tips you can try to check the connection between your Toshiba external hard drive and your computer.
- Connect your Toshiba external hard drive to another USB port, including the rear ones, on your computer
- Use the original cable to connect your hard drive
- Use another cable to connect your Toshiba hard disk
- Connect your Toshiba hard drive to another computer
Method 2. Update the Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver
If the Toshiba hard drive is still not working, try to update the device driver. An outdated or corrupted hard drive driver will cause some problems while using the device. Since your hard drive is not detected by the PC, you cannot update the driver via Device Manager. Go to the official site of Toshiba, then download and install the latest driver by entering your model or the serial number of your disk.
Method 3. Send for Manual Repair
https://qdtl.over-blog.com/2021/01/posterino-3-7-a-photo-collage-in-minutes.html. If you are sure there is physical corruption on your Toshiba external hard drive or the disk is still not working after trying the methods above, you are recommended to send the Toshiba hard drive for manual repair.
Situation 2. Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Showing Up in Disk Management But Not in This PC
Possible Causes: Toshiba external hard drive driver issues, drive letter conflicts
A Toshiba external hard drive that is not working in such a case may be caused by a problematic device driver or a drive letter conflict between your Toshiba external disk and the partition on your computer. The solutions are easy:
Method 1. Update Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver
Since your device is detectable, you can update the driver via the Device Manager.
Step 1. Connect the Toshiba external hard drive to PC, right-click on 'This PC' (in Windows 10) and choose 'Properties'.
Step 2. Click 'Device Manager' then expand 'Disk drives'. Find and right-click the problematic USB drive and select 'Update driver' Samsung galaxy s7 mac file transfer.
Step 3. Click 'automatically search for driver software online'.
Step 4. Wait for the driver to be updated, then reboot your computer. Afterward, you can try to reconnect your USB drive to PC and check whether the USB drive shows up or not.
Method 2. Change Driver Letter
Step 1. Go to 'This PC', right-click it and choose 'Manage' > 'Disk Management'.
Step 2. Right-click the volume on your USB flash drive/external hard drive and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'.
Step 3. In the new window, click 'Change'.
Step 4. Assign a new drive letter to your USB and click 'OK'.
Situation 3. Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Detectable But Inaccessible
Possible causes: MBR corruption, I/O device error, file system errors.
You may see your Toshiba external hard drive state is 'Not Initialized' or 'No Media' in Disk Managemen, your disk shows RAW file system or the partition on it is lost (showing as unallocated space). All make your device inaccessible. To fix 'Toshiba external hard drive not working' in the last two situations, you can:
Method 1. Recover Data from the Toshiba External Hard Drive and Format It
If the partition on your Toshiba disk is RAW, don't worry. You can use the hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover data from the inaccessible disk and then format the device to assign a new file system to it, which will make it usable again.
To recover data from your RAW drive:
Step 1. Choose the external hard drive
Since you're going to recover data from the external hard drive, run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and under the External Devices tab, choose the exact drive where you lost data. Click Scan.
Step 2. Scan for lost data
The software will start immediately to scan all over the selected drive for all lost data. During the scan, you could see more and more data showing up in the results.
Step 3. Preview and recover data
After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. You can preview the file by double-clicking on it. Click Recover and choose another location to save the recovered data.
To format your Toshiba disk:
Step 1. Open 'This PC', right-click your RAW drive or RAW disk and choose 'Formatted'.
Step 2. Set a file system (NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT) according to your needs and click 'Start'.
Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to start formatting your storage medium.
Method 2. Recover Data from the Toshiba Disk and Create Partition
Download rar extractor star for mac. You may see your Toshiba hard drive shows up as unallocated space because the partition is lost. In such a case, you can also use the EaseUS data recovery software to recover data from your Toshiba external hard drive and then create new partitions on it to make it usable. Since the way to perform data recovery has been detailed already, here we will show you how to create new partitions on your disk only.
Step 1. Right-click 'This PC', choose 'Manage' > 'Disk Management'.
Step 2. Right-click the unallocated space and choose 'New Simple Volume'.
Step 3. Follow the wizard to finish the remaining process.
Situation 4. The Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Detected But Not Showing Files
If you find your Toshiba disk isn't showing any files, you can refer to the article about 'pen drive not showing data' to make your files show up again.
Situation 5. Toshiba External Hard Drive Light Blinking But Not Working
This is a common issue that happens to external hard drives from all the brands including Toshiba, Seagate, Samsung, and more. The solutions to 'Toshiba external hard drive not working' in such a case are the same as the ones to 'Seagate external hard drive light blinking but not working', regardless of the brands.
Other Fixes for Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working
In addition to the commonest cases, there are other situations in which your Toshiba external hard drive is not working properly. Thus, there are other tips worth trying if the methods above fail to bring your device back to normal.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Check Power Management | Click Start, type: devmgmt.msc and hit 'Enter'.Full steps |
Fix 2. Reboot to Safe Mode | Go to Settings, click on 'Update & security'. Tab on 'Recovery'.Full steps |
Fix 3. Use Partition Manager | Launch EaseUS Partition Master Free and right-click the partition.Full steps |
Fix 4. Run CMD | Press 'Win + R' to open Run dialog and.Full steps |
Fix 1: Check Power Management for USB Hub
- Click Start, type: devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.
- Open Device Manager and expand 'Universal Serial Bus controllers'.
- Right-click on theUSB Root Hub, click on'Properties'.
- Go to Power Management and uncheck'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
If this doesn't work, try Fix 2.
Fix 2: Reboot PC into Safe Mode
In order to thoroughly check out and find the exact problem, you can try to reboot the PC into Safe Mode to see where Toshiba external hard drive can work or not:
- Go toSettings, click on 'Update & security'.
- Tab on 'Recovery', select'Advanced Startup'and click 'Restart now'.
- PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen, pressF4to initiate PC reboot into Safe Mode.
- Then check whether the Toshiba external hard disk can be detected or not.
If the Toshiba hard drive is still not working, try to update the device driver. An outdated or corrupted hard drive driver will cause some problems while using the device. Since your hard drive is not detected by the PC, you cannot update the driver via Device Manager. Go to the official site of Toshiba, then download and install the latest driver by entering your model or the serial number of your disk.
Method 3. Send for Manual Repair
https://qdtl.over-blog.com/2021/01/posterino-3-7-a-photo-collage-in-minutes.html. If you are sure there is physical corruption on your Toshiba external hard drive or the disk is still not working after trying the methods above, you are recommended to send the Toshiba hard drive for manual repair.
Situation 2. Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Showing Up in Disk Management But Not in This PC
Possible Causes: Toshiba external hard drive driver issues, drive letter conflicts
A Toshiba external hard drive that is not working in such a case may be caused by a problematic device driver or a drive letter conflict between your Toshiba external disk and the partition on your computer. The solutions are easy:
Method 1. Update Toshiba External Hard Drive Driver
Since your device is detectable, you can update the driver via the Device Manager.
Step 1. Connect the Toshiba external hard drive to PC, right-click on 'This PC' (in Windows 10) and choose 'Properties'.
Step 2. Click 'Device Manager' then expand 'Disk drives'. Find and right-click the problematic USB drive and select 'Update driver' Samsung galaxy s7 mac file transfer.
Step 3. Click 'automatically search for driver software online'.
Step 4. Wait for the driver to be updated, then reboot your computer. Afterward, you can try to reconnect your USB drive to PC and check whether the USB drive shows up or not.
Method 2. Change Driver Letter
Step 1. Go to 'This PC', right-click it and choose 'Manage' > 'Disk Management'.
Step 2. Right-click the volume on your USB flash drive/external hard drive and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'.
Step 3. In the new window, click 'Change'.
Step 4. Assign a new drive letter to your USB and click 'OK'.
Situation 3. Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Detectable But Inaccessible
Possible causes: MBR corruption, I/O device error, file system errors.
You may see your Toshiba external hard drive state is 'Not Initialized' or 'No Media' in Disk Managemen, your disk shows RAW file system or the partition on it is lost (showing as unallocated space). All make your device inaccessible. To fix 'Toshiba external hard drive not working' in the last two situations, you can:
Method 1. Recover Data from the Toshiba External Hard Drive and Format It
If the partition on your Toshiba disk is RAW, don't worry. You can use the hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover data from the inaccessible disk and then format the device to assign a new file system to it, which will make it usable again.
To recover data from your RAW drive:
Step 1. Choose the external hard drive
Since you're going to recover data from the external hard drive, run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and under the External Devices tab, choose the exact drive where you lost data. Click Scan.
Step 2. Scan for lost data
The software will start immediately to scan all over the selected drive for all lost data. During the scan, you could see more and more data showing up in the results.
Step 3. Preview and recover data
After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. You can preview the file by double-clicking on it. Click Recover and choose another location to save the recovered data.
To format your Toshiba disk:
Step 1. Open 'This PC', right-click your RAW drive or RAW disk and choose 'Formatted'.
Step 2. Set a file system (NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT) according to your needs and click 'Start'.
Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to start formatting your storage medium.
Method 2. Recover Data from the Toshiba Disk and Create Partition
Download rar extractor star for mac. You may see your Toshiba hard drive shows up as unallocated space because the partition is lost. In such a case, you can also use the EaseUS data recovery software to recover data from your Toshiba external hard drive and then create new partitions on it to make it usable. Since the way to perform data recovery has been detailed already, here we will show you how to create new partitions on your disk only.
Step 1. Right-click 'This PC', choose 'Manage' > 'Disk Management'.
Step 2. Right-click the unallocated space and choose 'New Simple Volume'.
Step 3. Follow the wizard to finish the remaining process.
Situation 4. The Toshiba External Hard Drive Is Detected But Not Showing Files
If you find your Toshiba disk isn't showing any files, you can refer to the article about 'pen drive not showing data' to make your files show up again.
Situation 5. Toshiba External Hard Drive Light Blinking But Not Working
This is a common issue that happens to external hard drives from all the brands including Toshiba, Seagate, Samsung, and more. The solutions to 'Toshiba external hard drive not working' in such a case are the same as the ones to 'Seagate external hard drive light blinking but not working', regardless of the brands.
Other Fixes for Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working
In addition to the commonest cases, there are other situations in which your Toshiba external hard drive is not working properly. Thus, there are other tips worth trying if the methods above fail to bring your device back to normal.
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Check Power Management | Click Start, type: devmgmt.msc and hit 'Enter'.Full steps |
Fix 2. Reboot to Safe Mode | Go to Settings, click on 'Update & security'. Tab on 'Recovery'.Full steps |
Fix 3. Use Partition Manager | Launch EaseUS Partition Master Free and right-click the partition.Full steps |
Fix 4. Run CMD | Press 'Win + R' to open Run dialog and.Full steps |
Fix 1: Check Power Management for USB Hub
- Click Start, type: devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.
- Open Device Manager and expand 'Universal Serial Bus controllers'.
- Right-click on theUSB Root Hub, click on'Properties'.
- Go to Power Management and uncheck'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
If this doesn't work, try Fix 2.
Fix 2: Reboot PC into Safe Mode
In order to thoroughly check out and find the exact problem, you can try to reboot the PC into Safe Mode to see where Toshiba external hard drive can work or not:
- Go toSettings, click on 'Update & security'.
- Tab on 'Recovery', select'Advanced Startup'and click 'Restart now'.
- PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen, pressF4to initiate PC reboot into Safe Mode.
- Then check whether the Toshiba external hard disk can be detected or not.
If not, don't worry. Effective fixes and solutions are available to help to fix Toshiba external hard drive not working issue right now. Easy gif animator.
Disk check can effectively fix and repair some internal errors on your storage devices, even including the hard disk drive not working issue. Here you have two options to get this issue fixed:
Fix 3. Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working with Free Partition Manager
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master Free and right-click the partition that you want to check by clicking 'Check File System'. Sims 3 ultimate bundle mac.
Step 2. Click 'Start' to continue and let this program check and fix all found errors on the Toshiba external hard drive.
3. Click Finish to complete the process.
Hard Drive
Fix 4. Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working by Running CMD
- Press 'Win + R'to open Run dialog and type cmd to open Command Prompt by hitting 'Enter'.
- Type chkdsk /f c: ('C' is the drive letter of your Toshiba external hard drive) and hit 'Enter' to run the disk check process.
- Type exit to finish the process when the disk check process is finished.
Then you can check to see whether this has worked to repair your Toshiba external hard drive or not.
If you don't have any technical know-how and want to minimize data risks, using third-party software could be a better choice. The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.
EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.
To fix file system error or disk error:
Step 1: DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for Free and install it.
Step 2: Open the software and select the 'File showing' option.
Step 3: Choose the drive and wait for repairing. After the operation completes, click the 'View' button to check the drive.
- Click on Start and type devmgmt.msc to open Device Manager by hitting Enter.
- Expand'Universal Serial Universal Serial Bus controllers', right-click every USB device found there, and select 'Uninstall'.
Then check out whether any device shows up as unrecognized or not:
- If the Toshiba external hard drive shows as unrecognized, go to the driver's tab and delete/uninstall the driver. Then check out whether the external hard drive shows up in My Computer/My PC or not.
- If it doesn't show up, reboot or restart the PC.
- If it shows up but disappears later, repeat the above steps and go to Disk Management, change the drive letter of your Toshiba external hard drive and reconnect it to PC to let the PC detect it again.
The Botton Line
When your Toshiba external hard drive is not working, figure out the specific situation and then follow the corresponding solutions to fix it, which is more time-consuming than trying the tips one by one. If none of the fixes help to fix 'Toshiba hard drive not working', other than sending the device for manual repair, you can also get it replaced if it is still under warranty.
Get a data lifeguard for MacMost of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your Mac's USB port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. 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.
However, sometimes, an external hard drive doesn't show up. It's annoying, especially when you need to transfer something right then. 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.
Corrupt data can be one reason your Mac won't recognize an external drive, but there are other reasons too. 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.
How to fix an external disk drive that won't show up on a Mac
Why an external disk drive is not showing up? There could be a few reasons why a USB flash drive isn't making an appearance.
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
Start with the basics:
- Check whether the drive is properly plugged in. It sounds obvious, but since this relies on a wire - either a USB cable or HDMI cable - if it's not connected properly then it won't appear on your desktop.
- Faulty cable. Assuming it's plugged in correctly, not wobbly or loose, the cable could be at fault. Try connecting the same device with a different cable.
- Damaged USB or flash drive port. It could be a hardware issue with the Mac. If you've got another port, try connecting the device to that one.
- Reboot your Mac. Sometimes, if a USB disk won't boot, the cause is macOS issue. Hopefully, some data damage that can be fixed by restarting. Choose the Apple menu > Restart. Or press and hold the power button and, when a dialog box appears, click the Restart or press R. Restarting your Mac essentially clears your macOS's memory and starts it up fresh.
- Incorrectly formatted drive. Not every external drive is optimized for Macs. It could be that you are trying to connect something only fit to interact with Windows devices. If you've got a PC or laptop, it's worth connecting and seeing if you can access the files through another device. The best way to look for an incorrectly formatted drive is to go to
Apple (in the top toolbar menu) > About This Mac > Storage.
See if the external drive shows up here. For more information, go to the same menu option, then select System Report. - Mac not formatted to display external drives on the desktop. It could be that your Mac already recognizes the device, but just isn't showing its icon on the desktop screen. Even if that is the case, the drive will still appear in the left-hand column of the Finder menu under Devices. You should be able to access your drive that way, and, in the Finder menu under Preferences > General, you can check External Drives to ensure that from now on it shows up on your desktop too.
- Reset NVRAM. To do this, shut down or restart your Mac, switch it back on and immediately press these four keys together for at least 20 seconds: Option, Command, P, and R. It should look as though your Mac has started again; if it has, release the keys when you hear the second startup chime. Hopefully, the hard drive has shown up now.
- Check Apple's Disk Utility to see if an external drive is showing up. Disk Utility is within System Preferences, or you can find it using Spotlight. If it is visible, then click the option to Mount, which should make it visible on the desktop and in the External Drives option in the Finder menu.
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. But there might still be a way you can recover the data on the external drive.
How to show connected devices in Finder
- Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences (Cmd+comma).
- From General tab tick External disks to ensure that from now on it shows on the desktop.
In the Sidebar tab you can choose which folders and devices will be shown in the left-hand column of the Finder window.
How to add cloud storages to Finder
You can also mount cloud storage as local drive on your Mac. By connecting Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon to your computer, you get more space for securely accessing and sharing files. For your ease, add cloud drives to Finder with CloudMounter app, so that you keep them close at hand. You can read detailed instructions on managing cloud storage as local drives here.
Repair the failed external drives with First Aid
If your drive is having problems, you can try to fix them yourself with First Aid and therefore get access to your files. First Aid tool will check the disk for errors and then attempt a repair as needed. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive problems. Quarkxpress 13 1 1 – desktop publishing solutions. 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.
To run Fist Aid on an external hard drive:
- Open Disk Utility. You can searching for it using Spotlight Search or via Finder > Application > Utility
- Check on your external hard drive, click the First Aid tab and select Run to start running diagnostics.
If First Aid successful in fixing errors, the external drive should be available to mount. 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.
How to recover data from a crashed drive
Thankfully, there is an app for that. Disk Drill is the world's premier data recovery software for Mac OS X. Powerful enough to retrieve long-lost, mistakenly deleted files from Macs, external hard drives and USB drives and camera cards.
Get a file recovery app
With Setapp you get a pack of professional tools for file recovery and Mac maintenance.
An easy way to recover lost files on an external hard drive
Providing you already have Disk Drill Pro version, which you can get automatically by downloading from Setapp:
- Connect your drive to the Mac.
- Quit all other applications on the Mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive (e.g. iPhoto, Words)
- Launch Disk Drill.
- Click on the external drive that you are trying to recover files from. If it has partitions, you will see all of them. 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.
- To avoid the external drive being accessed during the recovery process, click Extras next to the drive or drive partition or file, then select Remount Volume As Read Only. A padlock will appear, protecting the drive during the process.
- Now click Rebuild (or Recover) next to the file(s) you are trying to recover. Once the scan is finished - it may take some time if the files are large - a list of files will appeal.
- Next, click Mount Found Items as Disk button on the bottom-left below the scan results.
- Disk Drill 'strongly suggest saving the files to a different drive than the one you are trying to recover files from. Saving to the same drive substantially lowers your chances of recovery.'
- 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. Drag them to another location, such as your desktop or a folder on your Mac.
- Open the files to ensure they have been recovered properly and safely eject the external drive.
Disk Drill does have other ways to recover lost files but assuming there aren't complications, this method is the most effective. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available from Setapp, along with dozens of Mac apps that will make your life easier. Never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive again.
A few more tips on getting your files back
- Macs and third-party apps that look after Macs, such as Disk Drill and iStat Menus come with a S.M.A.R.T. (also known as Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status monitor. If a SMART check reports errors, then it could mean the hard drive is at risk of failing completely. Within Disk Utility and Disk Drill, there are several solutions for this: Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk. If neither work, it's recommended that you backup all of the data from the disk, erase, then run a SMART check again. The external hard drive should show up as Verified.
- Partitions can get lost within hard drives, temporarily hiding all of the information contained within. Disk Drill can help to identify and restore this information.
- 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.
- CleanMyMac, another useful app available from Setapp, can help you identify external hard drive errors and repair them. It is an essential tool worth trying when you're having external hard drive difficulties.
Try all these apps for free
Get a huge set of top apps for keeping your Mac in shape. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go!
Alternative ways to recover data from an external hard drive
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) if your Mac shuts down when you plug in an external hard drive. Then use a different port to connect the external hard drive. If you've got a battery that you can't remove:
- Shut down and unplug the power adapter
- Press Shift-Control-Option and the power button at the same time. Do this for 10 seconds
- Release all keys
- Plug the power adapter back in and switch your Mac back on
For Macs with removable batteries, you need to switch them off, remove the battery, then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. After that, put the battery back in, plug in the power adapter and switch the power on again.
What's your file format? One reason your Mac isn't recognizing the hard drive is the file format. Windows uses NTFS file formats, while Macs, up until the introduction of Sierra, have used HFS+. Now, Apple has introduced the Apple File System (APFS) for newer operating systems. It is possible to format a hard drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows computers, providing you format using exFAT. 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.
How to make Ext2/Ext3 drives readable on Mac
The common issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on macOS. There are two ways to access such external drives on your Mac – via Linux OS or FUSE system. The easiest would be installing Linux to a secondary drive or virtual machine.
If you go with Linux installation, dual boot your Mac with Linux on another drive and use FAT32 as a transfer intermediary. If you don't have a drive to install Linux to, use virtual machine as an interface for it. Transferring can be done the same way – with FAT32, or via network.
Another option for reading Ext2/Ext3 disks is mounting disk with Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE). Basically, it works as an extra interface enabling file system access via specially installed modules. Here's how to mount drives with FUSE:
Clean My Hard Drive
- Install FUSE for macOS or MacFUSE as well as fuse-ext2 module.
- Use the following Terminal command to enable Disk Utility's debug menu and see all partitions: defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility DUDebugMenuEnabled 1
- Attach your Ext2/Ext3 drive and locate the device name via Disk Utility.
- In your user account, create a folder to be used as a mount point.
- Use the following Terminal command to mount the drive as read-only: fuse-ext2 /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint
- For write support, use the command: fuse-ext2 -o force /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint
And that's not the only case where Terminal helps you access external drive.
Make adobe default mac.
Employ the handy all-powerful Terminal, which always comes forward with solutions for difficult problems. 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.
- Once in the Terminal, type in the command diskutil list
- A list with information about volumes and drives should appear
- Look for a section labelled /dev/disk_ (external, physical)
- Make a note of the whole line after the word disk
- Now put the following command into the Terminal diskutil info disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
- 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 diskutil eject disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
- Physically remove the disk from you Mac
- Plug it back in and your Mac should recognize it
Console is also reliable when it comes to solving tricky problems, although it isn't always that easy to use. You can find Console under Applications > Utilities > Console. Console shows if an external drive or any error is detected under the Errors and Faults tab. If no errors show up, then the problem is not caused by the device.
To sum up, there are lots of potential solutions for a Mac not reading an external hard drive. 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. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available via Setapp, along with 150+ Mac apps that strive to make your life much much easier. At the very least, you'll never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive ever again.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
Read onSign Up