Just picked up my iMac 27' from Apple Store today for DVD drive replacement. On top of a mechanical malfunction, it often times did not show up in the system report. I didn't expect to continue to have that problem, but it is still an issue. Backup your Mac with a portable or desktop hard drive. Safekeep all of your music, photographs, movies and more. Buy online with fast, free shipping. Subscribe Now:More:the CD/DVD player in your MacBook Pro will not.
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.
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.
Fix external hard drives not mounting issue on Mac
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.
- 4. 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
- Recover lost data from unmountable, formatted, inaccessible, unreadable, corrupted external hard drives.
- Supported storage devices: external hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, SD cards, etc.
- Supported file types: photos, videos, audio files, documents, emails, etc.
- Suppported Mac OS: macOS Big Sur 11/10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
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 your computer, and then restart your 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.
- 5. Have a check to ensure you have got all lost data back.
Note: You need to save the recovered files to another usable drive.
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.
- A damaged file system: If your external hard drive is attacked by virus or if you abruptly eject this drive, it's likely that the file system of this disk would be damaged or corrupted. As a result, the operating system is unable to recognize this disk, and the disk will not be mounted or read by macOS.
- Connection problems: Another reason that hard drive won't mount on Mac could be a dirty or loose connection between your cable, USB-C multi-adapter, Thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports. A clear, clean, snug and fit tightly connection is the premise of mounting an external hard drive successfully.
- Hardware issue: Also, problems related to hardware could also make the disk unmountable, especially when your external hard drive has too much bad sectors or have been physically damaged.
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. Best ftp chrome extension. 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.
As a gadget owner, you should be akin to the rare occasion of uncontrolled fit and rage you can experience once your device chooses to have a mind of its own. A recent glitch we noticed with certain Mac computer owners running macOS Sierra was the complaint that mac recovery mode not working.
The first complaint we received was from a user running a Mac mini 2014 who replaced his Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with a Solid State Drive (SDD), he complained of not seeing the Apple logo appearing on the screen to signify his PC was loading. In a bid to fix this glitch, he tried various shortcuts to start the computer in Safe Mode and Recovery Mode to no avail. Hence we pen this article as a detailed solution to the mac recovery mode not working issue.
What is MacBook Recovery Mode?
It would be erroneous to believe all Mac users know what the Mac Recovery Mode is, hence we begin with a basic description of the mode. Mac Recovery Mode is a dedicated partition of the disk that contains a recovery image and an OS X installer duplicate. It is a multifunctional inbuilt Mac utility that enables Mac users safely recover or restore their data from Time Machine, fix or wipe their hard disk, access online help and even to reinstall macOS. Also, with the advent of a software malfunction or issue, the MacBook Recovery Mode helps Mac recover as its name implies. To access macOS Recovery on your Mac, follow the procedure below:
1. Power on your Mac by clicking the Power button.
2. Immediately after 1. above, long press the Command + R key combination on your keyboard until the spinning globe or the Apple logo appears.
3. Wait till you see the macOS utility tab appear then select your preferred course of action.
4. To exit the macOS recovery, select the Shut Down option from the Apple menu.
What to Do when MacBook Recovery Mode won't Work?
In some instances, when it is pertinent for users to restart their MacBook via the recovery mode, they might be distraught to discover that the mac recovery mode is not working. Whenever this happens, more recent Mac computers automatically switch to starting up the macOS from the internet and when this occurs you see the spinning globe in place of the Apple logo.
To save time and to manually induce the macOS recovery over the internet, during startup long press the Option-Command-R buttons or the Shift-Option-Command-R buttons. Should in case the mac recovery mode not working problem still persist, consider executing the following steps:
Method 1: Use Your Time Machine Backup
As a Mac user, it is possible you have Time Machine connected the Backup external drive. If so, follow the below procedure to use its inherent Recovery Mode:
1. Restart your Mac. Click the Options tab when you hear the startup music.
2. Connect your Time Machine and wait. The connected Time Machine should boot after a while.
3. Select the Recovery Drive to boot your Mac.
Method 2: Use a Bootable Disk Drive Utility
It is essential for all Mac users to possess a dedicated USB for this reason that would contain a bootable OS X installer to fix their Mac should the need ever arise. To use a bootable drive in Recovery Mode, follow the steps below:
1. Restart your Mac. Continuously tap the Options button until you hear a chime sound.
2. Connect the bootable installer drive to your Mac.
3. Select the drive from the popup list. Mac will restart then you can repair Mac.
Method 3: Use Mac Internet Recovery
If you have internet connectivity on your mac, then you can successfully try this procedure:
1. Restart your Mac.
2. When you hear the startup music, long press Option + Command + R until you see a globe appear and a status bar.
3. If you use Wi-Fi, select your available Wi-Fi.
4. Wait for the status bar to load completely then follow the prompts to complete the process.
Imac Disk Repair
Method 4: Use Third-Party Solutions
Imac Disk Drive Not Working Mac
Backing up can be a major data for Mac users because its usefulness only becomes important when danger strikes. Hence, certain third-party solutions exist that encourage users to have complete backups as failsafe for their cherished data. An endless myriad of such software exists and can be accessed by using the internet help option in safari upon reboot.
Method 5: Reinstall OS X
Should the frustration of not be able to access your Mac Recovery Mode persist, it might be logical to reinstall your OS X to fix the bugs. This can be achieved by clicking the Reinstall OS X tab and agreeing with the subsequent prompts.
Imac Disk Drive Not Working Tool
In conclusion, the value we place on our data is only truly felt when we lose them without a backup or failsafe, whether online or on a bootable disk. This highlights that the Mac Recovery Mode not working problem can be solved by accessing your data in the various devices storage entities used before the incidence occurred.
