Unable to View Files on External Hard Drive on Mac [Solved]

A quick fix for when you can't view files on an external hard drive on your Mac:

• Restart your Mac
• Reconnect the external hard drive to your Mac
• Use data recovery software to restore missing files on your Mac
• Show hidden files on the external hard drive
• Mount the external hard drive in Disk Utility
• Use First Aid to repair the external hard drive
• Format the external hard drive on your Mac

User scenario: Unable to access files on an external hard drive

This is a real question from a user on an Apple forum:

External hard drives are often used for data backups or as portable drives for personal use. Many people have encountered the issue where their Mac won't show files on external hard drive even though they're present. In this article, we'll explain why you can't see files on an external disk and how to fix this problem.

How to Fix the Issue of Not Being Able to See Files on an External Hard Drive on Mac: 5 Ways

When your external hard drive files not showing on Mac, the basic troubleshooting step that you should try is to reconnect the external drive to your Mac. Unplug the disk and plug it in again to your Mac. Check if the files are appearing now. If not, restart your Mac to resolve any Mac issue.

If both of these quick methods fail to access files from your external hard drive, try the additional steps separately.

Method 1: Recover Invisible Files on Mac with a File Recovery Software

Losing a file that's crucial to your work, school, or life can be a disaster! So roll up your sleeves and do everything you can to get it back.

Firstly, try to retrieve files with Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool, which uses advanced algorithms to find the most complete data. It can quickly recover data from an external hard drive on your Mac, whether the lost data is images, videos, or documents.

Plug the external hard drive into your Mac. When it mounts, run the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool to scan for all data on the drive. Check if any of the missing files show up in the scan results.

Step 1: Search for the Missing File

Connect the external hard drive to your Mac correctly. Launch the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool, and select the external hard drive. Then, click “Search Lost Files” to look for lost or deleted files on the external device.

Note: Before you recover data, it's recommended to click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar and create a backup of the external hard drive to prevent further data loss. After backing up the external hard drive, the software can recover data from the backup of the external hard drive. You can then remove the external hard drive and use it again.

Step 2: Filter and locate the missing file

When the scan is over, all file types will be displayed in the left panel. Choose the file type to look for the needed files on the external device.

Step 3: Preview and recover

Preview the files and select the ones you want to restore. Click on the “Restore” button to save your data to either your local drive or cloud drive.

Method 2: Unhide Files and Folders on an External Hard Drive

It could also be that the files are hidden which causes files disappeared from external hard drive on Mac. You can unhide files or folders from an external hard drive on your Mac via Terminal with these steps:

1. Click on “Applications” → “Utilities” → “Terminal” to open the Terminal program.

Step 2: Type the following command and press Return: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Step 3: Type killall Finder and press Return to restart the Finder. Your hidden files should now be visible.

(This line is empty, possibly due to an input error.)

Method 3: Mount the External Hard Drive Using Disk Utility

Sometimes, your external hard drive won't mount properly in Disk Utility on your Mac, so its files won't show up. Here's how to remount it so that its files display as they should.

Step 1: Open a new Finder window, click on “Applications,” and then open “Utilities.”

Step 2. Double-click “Disk Utility” to open it. Find your external hard drive in the “External” section on the left.

You should see the external drive appear gray and labeled “Untitled” (on a Mac, this indicates that it isn't mounted).

Step 3: Select the unmounted external drive, and then click the “Mount” button in the Disk Utility pane.

Step 4: Restart your Mac. If there were still files on the external hard drive, you should be able to see them now.

Method 4: Use Disk Utility to Repair an External Hard Drive

It's often helpful to run Disk Utility's First Aid and repair the disk if you see any of these issues:

• System crashes or app quit unexpectedly
• Missing or corrupted files
• Startup issues with your Mac
• External hard drive not working on your Mac

Step 1: Connect the external drive to your Mac, and then open Applications > Utilities.

Step 2: In the sidebar, select the external hard drive that you can't see, and then click “First Aid” at the top and hit “Run.”

Step 3: When the scan is finished, the health of your external hard drive will be displayed on the screen, and Disk Utility will attempt to repair any issues it finds.

Method 5: Format an External Hard Drive on a Mac

A damaged file system can also cause this error. External drives for the Mac are usually formatted as exFAT or HFS, and if either of these is corrupted, macOS might not detect it, or be able to open it or read its files. A general solution to this problem is to try reformatting the external drive.

Caution: Formatting the drive will delete all the data. If you want to keep your data, you can later use a Mac Data Recovery Wizard tool to recover data from formatted external hard drive on Mac.

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your Mac and open “Applications” > “Utilities” and double-click on “Disk Utility.”

Step 2: In Disk Utility, select the external drive, and then click Erase in the top pane.

Step 3: Next to “Format,” set the external drive to “Mac OS Extended (Journaled).”

Step 4: If you like, give the drive a new name, then click “Erase” to confirm.

Why can't I see files on an external hard drive on my Mac?

Solutions are there, but it's also important to figure out the potential reasons that might have caused the loss of files from your Mac external hard drive, right? When you are unable to see your files at their original location, try recollecting some activities that could have harmed your files and the device.

Do you use the external HDD or USB drive on different computers or operating systems frequently? Do you always safely eject the storage drive before disconnecting it? Have you reformatted the drive recently or changed its file system? How does it sound when it's spinning? Does it make any clicking sounds or loud noises? The most common causes of external hard drive failure and data loss are as follows.

• Accidental deletion or formatting without backup
• Virus and malware infections
• Files hidden by macOS
• Damaged file system
• Damaged disk drive

Final Thoughts

If you can't see files on an external hard drive on your Mac, or files have suddenly disappeared from an external hard drive on your Mac, this guide will help.

Sometimes, precious data files on your storage device might go missing without your knowledge. In such cases, a Data Recovery Software for Mac can be of great assistance. It retrieves lost files to the maximum extent from any device under various data loss disasters. Importantly, it's very user-friendly, requiring just three simple steps to restore all your lost data.