- When you view the partition scheme using Disk Utility (select drive, click on Partition tab) take a screensnap and post it here - COMMAND-SHIFT-4; select the portion of the screen to snap; release mouse. Image is saved on the Desktop. Use the Camera icon in the message window's toolbar to upload the image.
- I purchased a MacBook Pro last weekend. I have an Iomega 250 Gig external USB/Firewire hard drive. I have been able to connect it through USB and Firewire to my Mac. I have video clips in windows media player, quicktime and real player formats on the hard drive. All of my word files and music are showing up on my Mac but the video files do not.
Transferring Data From a Mac to PC via an External Hard Drive. Mac OS X and Windows can both read and write to disks in the FAT or ExFat format. Because Mac OS X Mountain Lion does not natively support writing to an external NTFS drive, you must erase your hard disk and format it using a compatible file system. This post is not only useful when your WD external hard disk is not showing up on Mac, but applies to any external hard drive or SD card not showing up situation on Mac including but not limited to Seagate external hard drives, Samsung external hard drives, and Toshiba external hard drives.
By Nathan E. Malpass, Last updated: August 8, 2020
I use an external hard disk drive in order to save most of my pictures, videos, and music. I store my documents in my external hard drive too. The problem right now is I'm connecting my external Hard drive on my MacBook Pro but it's not showing up. How do I fix this?
~External HDD User
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Part I: Why isn't my external hard drive showing up mac
You might be panicking right now because your external hard drive cannot be recognized by your Mac device. But you really don't have to go crazy.
Most likely, nothing has happened to your files within the external Hard drive. All of it will still be intact within the storage device. But, whatever the reason may be, you simply cannot access these data.
Lucky for you, there are methods you can implement in order for your Mac device to recognize the external Hard Dick Drive and keep you back on your feet. Let's get started on why your external hard drive or flash drive isn't showing up on your Mac device.
Part II: Reasons For Disk External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On A Mac Device
There are cases wherein you plugged your external hard drive or flash drive on your Mac and the device cannot recognize it. This could be caused by a broken cable or a faulty USB port. Before you delve into some methods for troubleshooting your system, you should begin with the basics first.
First, you have to make sure that the external hard drive is really plugged into the device. It might not be plugged properly. After which you have to notice the structure of your USB connector. Is it damaged? Is it misshapen? Ensure that the cable is in perfect condition. There might be exposed wires or it might be frayed.
If you plug your external hard drive into an outlet, you should try a different one. It might be the wall outlet that's faulty. You can also try using another USB cable. The USB cable might be broken even though it's not obvious or physically damaged.
You can also opt to plug the external hard drive to another Mac device. If it works on other Mac devices, your USB ports on the previous Mac might be broken. There might be cases wherein your hard disk drive is formatted to work on Windows computers.
That's why you should test it out on a laptop or computer with Windows in it. It might be possible that your external hard drive is formatted to work on Windows PCs and not on Mac devices.
Another thing you can do is to simply turn off your Mac device and turning it on again. Simple rebooting can do wonders on your Mac. You can also try to reboot USB drives.
First, turn off your Mac device, after which, restart it. While in the process of restarting, hold the keys CMD + P + R + Option. Release the said keys when a sound comes up and the screen flashes. Then, let your Mac devices boot itself up as it normally would.
If you have done everything that we have listed above-- inspected your device visually, tested the external hard drive on different power outlets, cables, and computer devices, and implemented various systems-- and nothing happened, then it's high time to follow our guide below:
Part III: Methods To Help Your Mac Device Recognize The HDD
There are different ways to let your HDD show up within your Mac device. The first thing would be to modify the settings of Finder. The next would be mounting the external HDD on your Mac device and so on. Let's get started with the first one:
Method 01: Modifying Settings Of Finder
There is one common reason why Mac doesn't display or recognize an external hard drive. The reason we're stating here is the state wherein the Mac device' system is not set up to actually show external hard drive within its Desktop.
This can be fixed easily by following the steps below:
- Launch a Finder window.
- Visit the Preferences.
- After which, visit General.
- Make sure that the feature External disks are activated.
But what if it doesn't work after you have done this? Well, the next thing you should do is to mount the external hard drive manually on your Mac device.
Method 02: Manually Mounting Your External Hard Drive Within The Mac Device
If Mac still doesn't recognize the external hard drive you plugged into it, the next thing you should do is to force it to recognize the said storage item. Here are the steps you should follow:
- Go towards System Preferences.
- Visit Disk Utility.
- Examine if the external hard disk drive is shown on the sidebar towards the left.
- Select the hard drive and make sure it is highlighted.
- Choose Mount. Now, the external hard drive should be seen within the Finder window under Devices.
Again, what if forcing your Mac drive to display external hard drive doesn't work? Well, the next step is to utilize First Aid.
Method 03: Running First Aid Through Your External HDD
Mac has a built-in utility called First Aid. This is utilized for the verification and repairing of a wide variety of issues especially with those that are related to apps and files that are corrupted. It also fixes issues with regards to startup and of course, external hard drive.
The steps below are for one type of issue. This issue is with that of a hard disk drive that is displayed on your Mac but doesn't give you access to data. First Aid would be the tool you would use if you have to fix this issue. Simply follow the steps below:
- Visit System Preferences.
- Launch Disk Utility.
- Make sure the external hard drive is highlighted or selected.
- Press First Aid.
- Choose Run. This will now start the process of diagnosing the Mac for any issues and fixing the corresponding problems.
If your attempt to fix this problem with First Aid is a success, your hard disk drive would now be available for mounting. If this doesn't work again, you should try the option below:
Method 04: Removing Incompatible Or Conflicting Applications
Did you experience the problem of not having an external hard drive show up just recently? If it was okay a few days before (just a couple of days), then the problem might be with an application that is in conflict with it.
Think about it. Have you downloaded and installed apps just recently? These might be culprits. What you can do is to uninstall or remove these programs one by one.
Connect your hard disk drive towards your Mac device after you uninstall each program. Check out which app is causing conflict.
You can simply delete these applications by utilizing Launchpad. Or, for a very simple process, you can drag these apps towards the Trash Bin. However, we do not recommend each of the two methods.
It's because of the fact that even when an app is deleted, leftovers and associated files are still kept intact in your system. These leftover files might be the ones preventing you to access the hard disk drive.
What we do recommend is for you to useFoneDog's Mac Cleaner. It has a module called Mac Uninstaller that you can use to uninstall applications without leaving any leftover behind. Here are the advantages and the steps to use the tool:
* It gives you the ability to make your Mac device perform faster by freeing up more space within the said device.
* It scanning mode is very powerful and helps locate duplicate files, system files, junk files, unnecessary applications, clutter, etc.
* It gives you the ability to clear up junk files. It helps you locate and remove duplicate files. It helps you find and clear up similar images. It helps you delete large files and old files. The Mac Cleaner helps you delete unnecessary applications without leaving any leftovers behind. Plus, it helps in securing redundant searching history. Finally, it helps in the management of extensions, shredding of files, and cleaning of browsers.
* All of the features of the Mac Cleaner can be implemented with just a few clicks.
* Scanned results of the Mac Cleaner can be sorted on a variety of factors including date, time, size, etc.
* The Mac device status is displayed by the device including disk usage, CPU status, memory usage, etc.
* It helps you locate and detect files that are identical. Thus, more space is freed up within your device because no two files are exactly the same. Redundancy is removed within your device.
Here's how to use FoneDog's Mac Cleaner step by step (The following screenshots are under dark mode on Mac):
Step 01 - Download the tool.
Step 02 - Launch it within your Mac device. The main interface will show a variety of the device' system status.
Iomega Hard Drive Not Showing Up Macbook
Step 03 - Select Uninstaller, the tool under the ToolKit module. Thus, please click the ToolKit icon and select Uninstaller.
Step 04 - Press Scan button. The tool will now do a comprehensive scan of your device.
Step 05 - Once the process of scanning is complete, click View. This will allow you to check scanned results.
Step 06 - Choose a particular application. In this case, Uninstaller will begin to remove the application you select by clicking the Clean button.
Step 07 - Confirm the cleaning operation. How to check the hard drive space on a mac.
Step 08 - Wait until the cleaning process is finished.
Note that you simply have to select the Mac Uninstaller tool on Step 03. Select the module Cleaner to scan for unwanted files and clean them afterward.
Now, if you have gone through every installed application in your device and still nothing works, it might be because your hard disk drive has already crashed.
Or maybe, it can be completely broken. What you have to do in cases like these is to use a utility called Disk Drill. This tool will help you rescue your files.
Method 05: Disk Permissions Repair
Disk permissions are very important in keeping your files safe and secure. Every single file and folder within your Mac device has permissions associated with it. But sometimes, these permissions can become messed up.
You won't even realize it. These messed up permissions can lead to a big problem. You can actually fix this on your own using a tool for repairing permissions.
Part III: Conclusion
External hard drives can be great for storage. If it is not showing up on your Mac device, you could try out our guidelines above for you to fix it.
The best thing, though, is to back up your data all the time to avoid losing files. Finally, you can use FoneDog's Mac Cleaner to uninstall programs and applications using the Mac Uninstaller Module.
It helps you get rid of applications without leaving any leftover files behind.
Are you unable to access your Seagate external hard drive when connected to your PC? Well, I must say that you have come to the exact right webpage because here you will definitely be going to know how to fixSeagate external hard drivenot detected error.
Also, you will get to know how to recover data from Seagate external hard drive not recognized, if the data gets deleted while fixing this error.
But first, let's get started with its fixes…
How To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized or Not Detected Error
You can try the below solutions to fixSeagate external hard drive unrecognized or undetectable error. These solutions will definitely help you resolve this error now.
Important Note: The below-mentioned solutions are not only applicable to fix Seagate external hard drive driver not recognized the problem but also to fix Seagate external hard drive light not blinking and therefore it is not detecting.
Besides that, these solutions can also be used to fix all other external hard drives such as Samsung, Hitachi, Toshiba, LaCie, Thunderbolt, eSATA, Firewire, etc that does not get recognized by your Windows computer.
Solution #1: Connect External Hard Drive To Another PC or Mac
Sometimes, the USB port of your system does not work properly or the USB port itself is damaged.
So, if you notice that external hard drive light is blinking but it is not getting read by the system, then you can try to connect the hard drive to another system and check if it is getting recognized. Or you can try another USB port to connect the drive to your PC.
You can also try to reboot the PC and retry to connect your hard drive once again.
If it works – it is good. If it does not, then follow the next solution.
Solution #2: Scan External Hard Drive With Virus Cleaner/Anti-Virus Software
If you are confident enough that the virus has infected your Seagate external hard drive and because of this reason, the drive is not getting readable by the system, then you can use Virus Cleaner or Anti-virus software. This software will help you to scan and remove all viruses from your hard drive and PC. After this, you can format the hard drive to make it recognize.
Note: Apply this solution only when you are confident that virus infection has made your external hard drive unrecognizable, or else skip this solution.
Solution #3: Unhide Hidden Devices To Make Seagate External HDD To Get Recognized
- On your PC click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- Hover mouse to View and select Show hidden devices.
- Next, expand all notes just by clicking on the + (plus) symbol.
- If you find any greyed entries, then right-click on it and select Uninstall.
- Now Reboot PC and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #4: Uninstall Hard Drive Driver to Solve External Hard Drive Undetectable Error
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and check if any device is showing as unrecognized.
- If it shows unrecognized, then delete or uninstall the drive by going to the driver tab and then check whether external hard drive displays up in My Computer or not.
- If it doesn't display up, then restart or reboot your PC. If external hard drive shows but later it gets disappeared, then open Disk Management and change the name of your external hard drive only.
This will solve all the problems.
Solution #5: Switch ON Root Hub to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized Issue
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right-click on USB Root Hub > Properties > Power Management > uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
- Repeat the process for all USB Root Hub shown in the list and then restart/reboot system and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #6: Make Changes In Registry To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized Error
Note: Follow this solution very carefully.
- On your PC click Start and in search address bar type regedt32 and then click on Yes.
- After this backup your registry. Go to File>Export.
- On the left panel go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlClass{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
- On the right panel, if you see any lowerfilters or upperfilters, then delete
- After this re-try to connect external hard drive again.
Solution #7: Format And Repartition Seagate External Hard Drive
Another solution you can try is to format and repartition the Seagate external hard drive. It is possible to format this hard drive using the drive management or any third-party tool. But, here, you can try these below steps to format and repartition Seagate external hard drive in Disk Management:
- First of all, you have to go to Start menu on your Windows PC ad then type there ‘CMD'.
- Now, you have to make a right click on Command Prompt and then simply select Run as administrator and click there Yes to confirm if it prompts.
- Now, type the below commands one after another and then hit Enter key after each command you type in the command prompt window:
diskpart
list disk
select disk # (replace # with the letter of the USB drive)
clean
- Next, you have to go to Start menu and then simply type there ‘create and format disk partitions' and then open it.
- Now, you have to choose there ‘New Simple Volume….'
- Now, in the next step, you have to follow the steps by step instructions directed to finish the creation. Next, you will be prompted to format the external hard drive to access it.
After performing the above steps, your Seagate hard drive not recognized will be easily fixed.
Recover Data From Unrecognized or Undetectable Seagate External Hard Drive
Many people have asked – how to recover data from Seagate external hard disk which is not detecting? So, when your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized by Windows or Mac computer, then the first thing that will worry you – is the data stored within the hard drive.
So, the first precaution you must take is to restore data from Seagate external hard drive. For this, you can use External Hard Drive Recovery Tool which is suitable and perfect hard drive data recovery. It will allow you to restore almost all file formats of photos, videos and audio files from your Seagate external hard drive on Windows or Mac.
This recovery software for external HDD can easily detect your unrecognized external hard drive and deeply scan and extract digital media files. These media files recovery include pictures, photos, videos, movies, music, songs and other audio files from any external hard drives, including Seagate external HDD as well.
Important Note:As soon as you notice that your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized on your Windows or Mac computer, then you must stop using it and do not add any new data on it. Because adding new data will overwrite the existing data and you will lose the chance for recovering files from it. After this, immediately apply the External Hard Drive Recovery Tool, scan it and recover digital media files from it.
* Free version of the program only scans and previews recoverable objects.
Here, you can go through the step by step guide to recover deleted data from Seagate external hard drive in just three simple steps.
What Is External Hard Drive
In the era of today's world, the external hard drive has major benefits in storing huge amount of data and hence many people would like to buy an external hard drive with a USB port so that they can store lots of data with ease.
Among several external hard drives, Seagate external hard drive is mostly used by a large number of people all across the world, because of its good performance.
However, sometimes when you plug Seagate external hard drive into the USB port of PC or Mac then the hard drive is not detected by the system. If your Seagate external hard drive is brand new, then you can directly go to manufactures to deal with the problem or you can replace it with another hard drive.
Reasons: Why Seagate Hard Drive Not Detected Error Occurs?
There could be several reasons that can make your Seagate hard drive not detected. Some of the common reasons are mentioned below:
- The hard drive might have got damaged
- The USB port of a PC or Mac computer might be damaged or Seagate external hard drive not working
- Maybe your external hard drive has got infected with virus or malware
- Hard drive driver installed on your system might have been outdated
- Hard drive failure or maybe hard drive contains bad sector or it has gone bad or corrupt itself
These are some common problems. So, what you can do to fix these problems when your Seagate hard disk not detected or not recognized?
Just Relax! Below you will find the solutions that will help you to effectively fix these problems and makes your Seagate external hard re-usable once again.
Related External Hard Drive Issues And Solutions
Why Is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up?
Many people have also asked that – why is my external hard drive not showing up?
Well, the reasons could be various such as in some cases when you try to connect your drive to PC with a USB port you will find that hard drive is not detected. The issues could be caused by partition issue on your external hard drive, wrong file system usage, driver issues, dead USB ports or other issues. In worst situations, the drive itself might be simply dead.
So, how to make external hard drive to show up? Below follow the steps to do so:
- Press Windows Key + R to open RUN dialogue box.
- In RUN Box type diskmgmt.msc and hit ENTER.
- Here, you can see the external hard drive listed in the Disk Management Window, even if it doesn't show up in My Computer since it doesn't contain any partitions, it should show up here.
How Do I Fix My External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
There are many people out there asking for a solution – how do I fix my external hard drive without formatting?
Well, you can follow the above-motioned solutions 1- 6, in order to fix external hard drive issues without formatting. However, if you are looking to format the external hard drive but getting the not formatted error then learn here – How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Formatted Error.
If you are looking to recover inaccessible data from drive without formatting it then please visit – How To Recover Files From USB Drive Without Formatting It?
Conclusion
Here I have provided several solutions and I am sure that it will help you to fix Seagate external hard drive not detected or not recognized error.
However, it is also important to recover digital media files from the external hard drive if the data has been deleted from it unintentionally.
You can try External Hard Drive Recovery Tool to do so and keep safe your data then by keeping a regular backup.
So, just try all the solutions mentioned here and use your external hard drive without any interruption.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in June 2018. This updated version is completely revamped for comprehensiveness, freshness, and accuracy.If you have found this post helpful and useful, then please do not forget to share it.
Also like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to get the latest updates.
Alex is an expert technical writer with 7+ years of experience. His in-depth knowledge about data recovery and fascination to explore new DIY tools & technologies have helped many. Alex has a great interest in photography and loves to share photography tips and tricks with others.
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