Then, restart your Mac and slowly replug the external drive into your Mac to check if it shows up in your Finder this time. You can unplug the external drive and wait a moment. Sometimes, the disk may be checked by the OS prior to mounting fully.
A temporary bug or slow reaction of the operating system can prevent the external drive from showing up on your Mac. Maybe there are no problems with the USB cables and ports. Restart your Mac and reconnect the external drive slowly and deliberately Therefore, if you can't find the external drive on your Mac, check to see if the external hard disk is properly connected with the following steps:ġ. But if the connection fails, your external drive won't be recognized in macOS Monterey or any other OS for that matter. Fix 1: Check the connections of the external hard driveĮxternal hard drives like the Buffalo MiniStation, WD, Samsung, Seagate, and Lacie are connected to Mac using USB cables and ports. If you don't know where to start, just follow the step-by-step guide below to find and access an external hard drive on your Mac. Or, it is triggered by your hidden settings. So we look not only at the versatility and general performance of the drives - across a number of benchmarks - but also their relevance to specific use cases, after sales and warranty as well as sheer value for money.As mentioned earlier, sometimes, a hard drive not showing up on Mac is caused by an unrecognized file system. That however came at the cost of endurance, especially at the lower end of the market and is likely to be an issue if you use our SSD storage extensively.Īll newer MacBook and desktop Macs (iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro) come with one or more Thunderbolt ports which are also compatible with USB Type-C. While we will talk mostly about hard drives as storage device write and read on spinning metal or glass platters, we have to mention SSD (solid state drives) as well as they have grown both in capacity and in performance. Best external hard drives for Mac: How we chose them? There are other things as well, including a rugged build if you plan on taking it out in the field with you, and portability if you plan on traveling around with it. If you’re storing very important files, especially for work, consider getting one that has more robust security features. Many external hard drives have USB 3.0 connections, but since MacBooks and Mac accessories rely on the power and data transfer speed of USB-Cs, USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 connections are certainly favorable. Finding one that’s not only affordable, but has enough storage space – a minimum of 1TB is highly recommended – for your present and future needs is definitely ideal, even if you have more than enough money to splurge for something expensive.Īnother deciding factor, however, is the connection. Of course, those two things are absolutely vital. When choosing the best external hard drive for your Mac, you need to consider other things beyond storage capacity and price.
How to choose the best external hard drives for Mac for you? You might also want to check out the best PS5 external hard drives. The iStorage diskAshur comes with a charger, USB 3.0 cable, and 4 plug adapters that ensure it can be used all across the globe. It's more pricey than the other drives of its capacity, but the extra security it offers will be well worth it for many people. When you consider all that extra security, the prices will not scare you away either.
What's more, the data is encrypted by the 256-bit AES protocol, with multiple forms of protection in place to ensure the bad guys do not get in no matter how persistent. If someone tries to tamper with your iStorage drive, you can configure it to self-destruct. If you are worried about people getting access to your data if your external hard drive is stolen, than you will like the iStorage drive here.