External hard drive not showing up on a Mac – How to fix it

External hard drive not showing up on a Mac – How to fix it

In most case scenarios, connecting an external drive to a Mac will work like a charm

T

Technobezz Editorial

Editorial Team

Apr 25, 2021
4 min read

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In most case scenarios, connecting an external drive to a Mac will work like a charm. All good. But sometimes, you may find yourself in a situation when an external drive is not showing up on a Mac. Here are the things you may try.

See also: How to zip a file on Mac

If your external hard drive is not showing up on a Mac:

  • Is the drive properly plugged? – before going any further and trying anything else, make sure the drive is plugged properly. Check the HDMI cable or the USB cable and see if everything is in its place. If not, you won’t see the drive in the Finder on your Mac.
  • The cables should be in great condition. In addition, make sure the drive port or the USB are not damaged.
  • Many times, the issue pops up due to some glitch or a bug. The easiest way to get rid of any bugs on your Mac is by rebooting it. Click on the Apple menu and then click Restart. By rebooting your Mac, you will give it a fresh start because the memory will be cleared. Once the Mac is back on, connect the external hard drive.
  • If you don’t see external hard drives on the desktop, you need to make some changes in Finder Preferences. Open Finder > Preferences, then click on General. Click on the options listed below “Show these items on the desktop”.
  • NVRAM reset – to do this, turn off your Mac, then turn it on and press and hold the following keys right away: Option, Command, R, and P. Keep holding the keys for around 20 seconds and then release.

You may also read: How To Fix A Frozen Cursor On Macbook Pro

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