


Try connecting the hard drive to another USB port. More often than not, it could simply be a bad USB port. Implement each solution in the listed order of this article to ensure you don’t miss any details. The below methods will guide you through making your external hard drive visible and accessible on your computer.
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Also, if your drive requires external power, ensure it’s plugged into a power outlet when being used.ħ Proven Methods to Fix External Hard Drives Not Showing Up or Being Recognized on Windows 10/11 A USB 2.0 port may not be able to supply enough power to support operation.
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Or, your existing drivers may have become corrupted, rendering them unusable. If the drivers are outdated, you may be missing out on important compatibility updates. 🔧 Outdated or corrupted drivers – Drivers enable your operating system to communicate with your external hard drive and other devices.If there’s one hardware component that’s no longer working, it could be affecting the performance of the entire drive. 💥 Faulty hardware – This could be anything from a faulty cable all the way to a busted hard drive.While your external hard drive not showing up on Windows 10/11 may seem random at first, there’s a good chance that there are some underlying problems that have caused the drive to become unreadable when you plug it into your computer. Always click the Eject button on the Finder Sidebar next to the drive icon.Reasons Why External Hard Drives Become Unreadable or Unrecognizable It’s never a good idea to just unplug the drive without ejecting it first. When finished, eject the drive safely from your Mac. It’s a good idea to place items in similar folders on your Mac – for example, you can move all the Documents files into the Documents folder on the Mac. Next, open the location you wish to copy the file to, then select Edit > Paste to move a file copy to that location. On the USB hard drive, use the mouse to select the folder or file you wish to copy. Still holding down the mouse button, drag the files from the external USB drive to your Mac’s Documents folder.

The cursor will change to show the number of files selected. Position the mouse cursor over one of the highlighted files, then click and hold the mouse button. When the external hard drive files are visible in Finder, you have several ways to move them to your Mac’s own built-in hard driveĬlick the mouse button, then drag the selection rectangle around the files you wish to move and release the mouse button. Click to select it and show its contents in Finder. First, connect the drive by USB.Įxternal hard drives can be accessed from several places on a Mac:ĭouble-click the USB hard drive icon to open up a Finder window and browse its contents.Ĭlick Finder > Devices to see a small icon of the external hard drive when plugged in. If you’ve stored your files on an external hard drive, migrating them to a new Mac is simple. If your new Mac is a replacement for an older Mac, or you’re switching from a Windows PC, the odds are that you’ve accumulated a library of documents, photos, videos and files that you’d like to move onto your new Mac.
