- Mac Won't Recognize External Drive
- Can't See Seagate External Drive
- Computer Won't Recognize External Hard Drive
How Do I Make My Seagate Work With a Mac? One thing you should know first. Format the Hard disk with ExFat file system. If you go for the first solution, simply backup all the.
Nov 23, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
While the external hard drive connected to the Windows computer or Mac, and the device did not show up. How to fix external hard drive not recognized? Don't worry, in this guide we will show you the best solution to fix the hard drive not recognized problem.
This problem will cause by some partition issues: the external hard drive partition got damaged, the file system got crashed, the drive errors in Windows computer, or the dead USB ports. You can try the hard drive on another computer or connect it with other USB ports. If it does not get working, you can follow the next solution to fix the external hard drive not recognized on Windows computer and Mac, and you can recover lost data from external hard drive with Recoverit Data Recovery.
Part 1. How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Windows
In windows, this problem can be because of partition issues, dead USB ports, driver windows conflicts, file systems, dead or outdated drivers. Here are the steps you can follow to fix this issue in case of USB flash or external hard drives:
Step 1You might be plugging in the USB cable in a dead USB port. Unplug your external hard drive and plugin it in some other USB ports. Now, see if it is present there in the My Computer window. If not, follow step 2.
Step 2Now, look for the external drive in the Disk Management Window. For this, click Start and then click Run or press windows key + r, press enter after typing diskmgmt.msc in the Run dialog. This will open the Disk Management Window. Now, look for the external disk in this window. In this window, you can find your drive even if it is not recognized because of no partition. If you cannot find the drive in the Disk Management window then you can go for step four.
Step 3If it is not recognized by plugging in some other port or it is not visible in the Disk Management Window, then there might be some issue with the external drive. Check it on some other computers. Now, follow step 1 to step 3 in that computer in case the external drive is not recognized. If the problem exists with another computer also then something is wrong with the drive, otherwise follow step 5:
Step 4If it is working in some other systems but not in yours, Windows is having some problem with the drivers. To diagnose a driver problem, open the run dialog by pressing Windows + r and type 'devmgmt.msc'? Now press enter. Expand Disk Drives and look for a device having a yellow exclamation mark. This yellow exclamation mark indicates a problematic driver. Now, right-click on that device and read the error message after selecting properties. This issue can resolve in the following two ways:
- Click on the update driver button for installing updated drivers.
- Uninstall the driver and restart your computer. After restarting, the Windows will automatically reinstall and reconfigure the driver.
Now, plug in the external drive again or follow step 6 if the drive is still not recognized.
Step 5Problem in partitioning and formatting can also be a cause of this issue. Partitioning and file system issues can be fixed by using Windows Disk Management tools. To create a new partition, right-click inside the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. You can create a new partition by following onscreen instructions. Sometimes, your drive is formatted with the ext4 file system of Linux, NTFS file system, HFS Plus file system, or FAT32 file system which is not recognized by your Windows. Reformatting of the drive can resolve this issue. For this, right-click on the partition, select format, and then select the file system. Here, it is important to know that all files in the drive will be deleted. Therefore, copy your files in some other systems before proceeding.
Video Tutorial on How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing Up
Part 2. How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Mac
Like Windows, Mac also detects an external drive automatically. If it doesn't, follow these steps:
Step 1 First of all, look for the external hard drive in the finder window. For this, click on File and then click New Finder Window. Now, look for the drive below the remote disk.
Step 2 If the external drive is not there, make sure that the USB cable is properly plugged in the external hard drive and the port.
Step 3 Sometimes, the drive is connected but not mounted. To mount a drive, open Disk Utility and look for the drive in the list. If it is there, check below it. Now click on the mounting button to mount it. Open a Finder window to see if the drive is mounted or not.
Step 4 If you still cannot find it in the finder, it might not be getting enough power. Single USB ports can provide only 5 V. In that case, make use of USB cable having one USB connection for the external HD and two for Mac. This will supply the power required by the external hard drive.
These steps for fixing an external hard drive not recognized on Windows and Mac are suitable for external hard drives of all capacities and manufacturers. However, if still the issue is not resolved, you can avail of professional help.
Part 3. The Best External Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
While the external hard drive got damaged and did not detect on the computer, after you fix the problem, you should your data back. We will introduce the best external hard drive data recovery to help you retrieve data back. Recoverit Data Recovery Software is a powerful data recovery program, it can help you recover data from external hard drives easily and effectively.
Recoverit External Hard Drive Recovery Software
Mac Won't Recognize External Drive
Recoverit Data Recovery is the best external hard drive recovery program, it can easily and effectively help you recover lost or accidentally deleted files from the hard disk drive, or another external storage device: USB drive, flash drive, SD card.
Steps on How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
Download and install Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer. Launch Recoverit Data Recovery and follow the next steps to perform external hard drive data recovery on a Windows computer, if you are a Mac user, you can download Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac to go on.
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to the computer, select it while the disk detected on the program.
Step 2. The external hard drive recovery software will start scanning the device to searching the lost files.
Step 3. In minutes� all recovered files will display on the result. You can preview photos, videos, music, Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF. Select your files and click the 'Recover' button to restore.
Can't See Seagate External Drive
When the external hard drive got damaged, you can try to fix it with the solution mentioned above. Also, get your data back with Recoverit Data Recovery in simple steps. Download and try it for now.
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
By default, after connecting an external drive to a Mac, it automatically appears somewhere on the desktop, in the left column of the Finder and in the left column of Disk Utility. If nothing happens after connecting the external hard drive to the Mac, this article will help you find possible solutions for displaying the drive correctly.
Check Disk Utility
When problems arise with a disk, regardless of the internal disk or removable disk, Disk Utility is the first place you need to check. If you are new to Disk Utility, it is highly recommended that you learn more about it if you continue to use the Mac. This is a built-in application with which you can mount, unmount, erase, partition, and restore volumes. But before you can perform any of the actions mentioned above, the drive must be listed in the left pane. If you don't even see that the external hard drive is listed in Disk Utility, the computer has not yet detected the drive.
Now you can verify that the USB port and cable to which the hard drive is connected are working. A damaged or dusty USB port or cable may cause macOS to not detect the USB drive.
If the external hard drive is finally detected, but looks gray, it means that it is not mounted and, as a result, will not be displayed on the desktop or in the Finder. You cannot open the drive and access the files on it. Do not worry. Here are the methods you can try to mount on your hard drive.
Use the mount option in Disk Utility
MacOS automatically mounts the inserted drive by default as soon as it detects the drive. However, if somehow macOS fails to mount the drive, you can also mount the drive yourself.
- Select the external hard drive in the left list in Disk Utility.
- Click on the 'Mount' button on the toolbar.
If you are unable to mount the drive manually, try the following method.
Run First Aid in Disk Utility
Computer Won't Recognize External Hard Drive
Mount failures can be caused by corrupted drive mount information so that macOS cannot recognize the drive. First Aid in Disk Utility - a handy utility that is used to fix minor errors on the disk. Many complain that it does little, but we think it's worth a try.
- Select the external hard drive in the left list in Disk Utility.
- Click 'First Aid' on the toolbar.
- Click 'Run'.
If you see a message that First Aid could not restore the disk, you have one last chance to fix the problem.
Format external hard drive
Formatting a disk will delete all stored information and assign a new file system to the disk, which can fix almost all disk errors that make the disk not working properly. However, this is the least requested method if people (possibly including you) do not have the latest copy of their sensitive and important files.
Here is an iBoysoft data recovery tool for saving files from a not working external hard drive on a Mac.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac (compatible with newest macOS 10.15) is one of the leading data recovery tools on the market. The tool is very effective in recovering images, documents, videos, music, email files and other files. You can recover data from external hard drives, Mac Macintosh HD, Pen drives, SD cards, and other media. Even if the storage device is corrupted, unreadable, not mounted, or completely formatted, the tool can also help to extract information from the disk.
The English-version interface contains only a few simple English words, and most people will not have problems using it.
The following are simplified instructions for using software to recover files from an external hard drive:
- Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac (or other data recovery software that you trust).
- Select an external hard drive in the drive list.
- Check 'Deep scan' and press the 'Scan' button.
- Filter found files and view recoverable files.
- Select the files you need and click the 'Recover' button.
Mac Won't Recognize External Drive
Recoverit Data Recovery is the best external hard drive recovery program, it can easily and effectively help you recover lost or accidentally deleted files from the hard disk drive, or another external storage device: USB drive, flash drive, SD card.
Steps on How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
Download and install Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer. Launch Recoverit Data Recovery and follow the next steps to perform external hard drive data recovery on a Windows computer, if you are a Mac user, you can download Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac to go on.
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to the computer, select it while the disk detected on the program.
Step 2. The external hard drive recovery software will start scanning the device to searching the lost files.
Step 3. In minutes� all recovered files will display on the result. You can preview photos, videos, music, Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF. Select your files and click the 'Recover' button to restore.
Can't See Seagate External Drive
When the external hard drive got damaged, you can try to fix it with the solution mentioned above. Also, get your data back with Recoverit Data Recovery in simple steps. Download and try it for now.
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
By default, after connecting an external drive to a Mac, it automatically appears somewhere on the desktop, in the left column of the Finder and in the left column of Disk Utility. If nothing happens after connecting the external hard drive to the Mac, this article will help you find possible solutions for displaying the drive correctly.
Check Disk Utility
When problems arise with a disk, regardless of the internal disk or removable disk, Disk Utility is the first place you need to check. If you are new to Disk Utility, it is highly recommended that you learn more about it if you continue to use the Mac. This is a built-in application with which you can mount, unmount, erase, partition, and restore volumes. But before you can perform any of the actions mentioned above, the drive must be listed in the left pane. If you don't even see that the external hard drive is listed in Disk Utility, the computer has not yet detected the drive.
Now you can verify that the USB port and cable to which the hard drive is connected are working. A damaged or dusty USB port or cable may cause macOS to not detect the USB drive.
If the external hard drive is finally detected, but looks gray, it means that it is not mounted and, as a result, will not be displayed on the desktop or in the Finder. You cannot open the drive and access the files on it. Do not worry. Here are the methods you can try to mount on your hard drive.
Use the mount option in Disk Utility
MacOS automatically mounts the inserted drive by default as soon as it detects the drive. However, if somehow macOS fails to mount the drive, you can also mount the drive yourself.
- Select the external hard drive in the left list in Disk Utility.
- Click on the 'Mount' button on the toolbar.
If you are unable to mount the drive manually, try the following method.
Run First Aid in Disk Utility
Computer Won't Recognize External Hard Drive
Mount failures can be caused by corrupted drive mount information so that macOS cannot recognize the drive. First Aid in Disk Utility - a handy utility that is used to fix minor errors on the disk. Many complain that it does little, but we think it's worth a try.
- Select the external hard drive in the left list in Disk Utility.
- Click 'First Aid' on the toolbar.
- Click 'Run'.
If you see a message that First Aid could not restore the disk, you have one last chance to fix the problem.
Format external hard drive
Formatting a disk will delete all stored information and assign a new file system to the disk, which can fix almost all disk errors that make the disk not working properly. However, this is the least requested method if people (possibly including you) do not have the latest copy of their sensitive and important files.
Here is an iBoysoft data recovery tool for saving files from a not working external hard drive on a Mac.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac (compatible with newest macOS 10.15) is one of the leading data recovery tools on the market. The tool is very effective in recovering images, documents, videos, music, email files and other files. You can recover data from external hard drives, Mac Macintosh HD, Pen drives, SD cards, and other media. Even if the storage device is corrupted, unreadable, not mounted, or completely formatted, the tool can also help to extract information from the disk.
The English-version interface contains only a few simple English words, and most people will not have problems using it.
The following are simplified instructions for using software to recover files from an external hard drive:
- Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac (or other data recovery software that you trust).
- Select an external hard drive in the drive list.
- Check 'Deep scan' and press the 'Scan' button.
- Filter found files and view recoverable files.
- Select the files you need and click the 'Recover' button.
Mac address to ipv4 converter. Once you have returned all your important files, you will not have to worry about formatting the external hard drive.
- Select an external hard drive in Disk Utility.
- Click 'Erase' on the toolbar.
- Define the name, format, and layout of the external hard drive.
- Click on the 'Erase' button.
After formatting is complete, disconnect and reconnect the external hard drive. By now, the disk should be able to work.
If you have the same problem with an SD card, pen, or other storage devices, the solutions in this post may also help.
