Summary: This blog explains five best ways to resolve the "external hard drive not mounting" issue on Mac.
It also shares a reliable software-based method to recover data from unmounting (or un-mountable) USB hard drive on Mac. Free evaluate the best Mac external drive recovery software from the below.
When you connect an external hard drive on Mac, it will show up on Desktop, Finder, and Disk Utility. But sometimes the external drive won’t appear on any of these places. Consequently, data inside the unmounted external hard drive turns inaccessible. The contained files and the external drive’s integrity comes to a stake.
Don’t worry, read and apply the below fixes to resolve Mac unmounted external drive issue.
1. Change macOS Settings
Ensure Finder preference to show external disks on Desktop or Finder is enabled.
Ensure Disk Utility’s View menu has “Show All Devices” option selected.
2. Reset Mac Firmware Settings
Reset NVRAM (Non-volatile RAM) & PRAM (Parameter RAM).
Reset SMC (System Management Controller) on your Mac.
3. Fix External Hard Drive Connectivity Issue
Ensure proper connectivity of your external hard drive to your Mac.
Read Case Study: Whooping 94% data recovered from unmounted external drive on MacBook Pro
4. Troubleshoot External Hard Drive
Mount the external hard drive from Disk Utility.
Repair hard drive from Disk Utility.
Check the SMART status of the external hard drive if it unmounts intermittently.
5. Recover Data from Non-Mounting External Mac Hard Drive
Ensure the external hard drive is detected in Disk Utility, then fulfill the following data recovery prerequisite.
Leverage the Mac external drive recovery software to recover data from the not-mounting external storage drive.
Note: *Trial software allows you to scan storage drive and preview scanned files. Activate Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac by using its activation key and recover the files.
Watch the next video to know more about the software and its usage.
Conclusion
This blog presented 5 different methods to troubleshoot ‘external hard drive not mounting’ issue on Mac. You can begin with fixing the external hard drive connectivity issue, changing macOS settings, resetting Mac firmware settings, troubleshooting the drive, and finally recovering data from the hard drive.
If the external hard drive is not detected in Disk Utility, then it may have a hardware issue. And if the basic hard drive connectivity fixes don’t resolve the problem, then you need to try Stellar Data Recovery software for Mac.
We hope this blog post helped you understand the possible reasons, as to why macOS can’t mount the external drive on Mac and how to troubleshoot and recover the unmounted Mac external drive. For any query, write to us in the comments section below.
Vishal is a data recovery expert @Stellar. He addresses data loss scenarios on a Mac. He intends to help people solve their macOS problems. Besides, Vishal prefers to read about astronomy and autobiography, and his favorite is Steve Jobs - The man who thought different written by Karen Bluementhal.
Earlier my seagate external drive was not mounting on mac, however, I tried & applied your suggestions mentioned in the above article and finally able to resolve the issue! Kudos to Stellar team for helping a lot of mac users here!
Thanks for your kind words and for sharing your experience with us, Marcus!
Can I recover the data using trial version or I need to purchase the software???
Hi Vince,
The trial version of the software allows you to preview all the recoverable data such as photos, videos, docs, emails, audio files. To save the data you need to register the software. However, you can also try the free edition software here https://www.stellarinfo.com/free-mac-data-recovery.php that can recover up to 1 GB of Data.
I have WD portable external hard drive that is not mounting on mac. I will definitely give a try to the given fixes and hope it will resolve the issue and hopefully get my drive mounted on my mac system.
Hello, I am grateful for this article, Vishal. It saved me the grief and panic I felt after updating my Mac from Catalina to Big Sur. My APFS (encrypted) drive with three encrypted volumes could be seen in Disk Utility but were not mounting despite the password prompt. Resetting NVRAM (and perhaps SMC) and checking the external drive volumes in Recovery mode helped my Mac mount these drives again. Thank you.
Hi Calvin, We are delighted that this blog helped you to resolve your problem. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Hi, StumbleUpon post lead me here, keep up nice work.
Hello Jarin,
Thanks for checking the post.
I mounted my 1 TB WD Essential successfully on MacBook Pro and check trash multiple times. Sadly, I couldn’t found those files which I moved from WD to trash. Any further help from your side?
Stellar Mac Data Recovery software will recover your files from empty trash. Stop using the drive immediately and use the software to retrieve your files. Download Here
I have downloaded trial version of your software to check if my deleted files from Seagate external drive are recoverable or not. The software listed all the recoverable files. But the software is professional and I want to buy the home edition but i didn’t find one. Can you help me?
Deleted file recovery from external hard drive on Mac is really difficult task. Thanks for sharing your suggestions to recover file from external hard drive on Mac.
Hello Liz,
We really appreciate that you provide your feedback from your busy schedule.
My Mac had 4.07 GB of productive files and I retrieved them with Stellar Mac data recovery software. Excellent work!
Hello Christopher,
We feel glad that our mac data recovery software helps you.
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