External drive not showing on your Mac or MacBook: how to fix it

You connect an external hard drive or SSD to your MacBook and nothing happens: no icon on the desktop, nothing in the Finder. An external drive that does not show on your Mac usually has a simple cause: a setting, a cable, too little power or a format the Mac cannot write. This article explains step by step how to fix it, and what to do when the drive really seems faulty.

Blue Apple repairs MacBooks in Amsterdam. If no USB device works on your MacBook, the port may also be the cause; more at the end.

Step 1: the Finder settings

Open the Finder and choose Finder Settings (Command + comma). Under General check whether External disks is ticked for the desktop, and under Sidebar whether external disks are shown. Sometimes the drive is there but simply not displayed.

Step 2: Disk Utility

1. Open Disk Utility and choose Show All Devices in the View menu.
2. If the drive is greyed out, select it and click Mount.
3. If it is there but will not mount, click First Aid to repair errors.
4. If it is not there at all, go to step 3.

Step 3: cable, port and power

• Try another cable. With drives the cable breaks more often than the drive.
• Try another port on your MacBook, and connect the drive directly instead of via a hub.
• A spinning hard drive without its own power supply sometimes needs more power than a hub delivers. Connect it directly, or use a hub with its own power.
• If you hear the drive click or beep, or it does not spin, the drive itself may be faulty.

Step 4: the format

• NTFS (Windows): a Mac can read such a drive but not write to it. You see your files but cannot add anything. Format it as ExFAT if you want to use it on both systems (that erases the files; copy them first).
• An unknown format: then the Mac offers to initialise it. Do not just click Initialise if there are files on it you need.

More about formats in formatting a drive on a Mac.

A Time Machine drive that does not appear

A drive you use for Time Machine sometimes does not appear in the Finder sidebar, but is still in use. Check in System Settings, General, Time Machine whether the drive is listed and when the last backup was. If it is no longer there, follow the steps above.

Step 5: test on another computer

If the drive works on another computer, the problem is your Mac (settings or port). If it works nowhere, the drive or the cable is the problem.

Important files on a drive that no longer works

If a hard drive clicks, or Disk Utility reports errors it cannot repair, stop trying. Every attempt can make the damage worse. Have the drive examined first before you erase or reformat it.

Your MacBook recognises no USB device at all

If USB sticks, mice and chargers also fail on every port, there may be something with the ports or the logic board, for example after liquid or a drop. Also read dock, hub or adapter for your MacBook.

What we do at Blue Apple in Amsterdam

We test your MacBook's ports and replace a damaged port. For an external drive with important files we check what can be saved. More on our pages about MacBook port repair and data recovery.

Frequently asked questions

Why can I not put anything on my external drive?

It is probably formatted as NTFS. A Mac can only read that.

My drive keeps appearing and disappearing. What is that?

Often a bad cable or too little power. Try another cable and connect it directly.

Can I just unplug a drive?

Preferably not. Eject it in the Finder first, otherwise files can get damaged.