How to Fix SSD Not Showing Up Issue on Mac (Support SanDisk/Samsung SSD)

SanDisk External SSD Not Showing Up on Mac Desktop

The SanDisk Extreme SSD (external) should be compatible with both Windows and Mac computers. However, when I connect it to my MacBook Pro (November 2017, USB-C), the navigation bar reads 'Non-local drive.' It does not allow access in the same way as a standard drive visible on the desktop.

Oddly, the SanDisk drive works fine with both my MacBook and iMac, both of which have USB-A ports. Any suggestions about how to get this SSD to work via USB-C would be appreciated.” - from the Apple Community

Please provide the English content you want translated, and I'll do my best to translate it into Chinese.

Why isn't my SSD showing up on my Mac?

Whether new or used, an SSD might not show up on your Mac for various reasons. Some users have reported purchasing a Samsung 840 EVO drive for an upgrade, only to find that their MacBook wouldn't detect the drive. The same issue can occur with SanDisk and Crucial SSDs. Here are some possible reasons why your SSD isn't showing up on your Mac:

• Connection Issue: The most common reason an SSD doesn't show up on a Mac is due to a loose, worn, or damaged connection cable. Connection issues can be quickly resolved.
• USB Port Issue: Another possibility is a faulty USB port. If your USB port isn't functioning, the SSD won't appear.
• macOS Issue: If the above reasons don't apply to your situation, it's necessary to examine potential issues with your macOS.
• SSD Problem: Although not a common cause, your SSD might be damaged or malfunctioning, preventing it from working properly and thus not displaying.

6 Ways to Fix SSD Not Showing Up or Being Detected on Mac

Most of the time, you can fix SSD connection or recognition issues on your own. Usually, your data won't be affected when fixing SSD connection or recognition issues. However, due to some troubleshooting processes, your SSD data might be at risk sometimes. To prevent this, you should back up the unrecognized external storage first. In such cases, if you don't have a backup at hand, you need to find a reliable and powerful Mac data recovery tool to scan and export your important data.

The following solutions will help you address the issue of an SSD not showing up.

Solution 1: Check if the USB connection is loose

Step 1: Try the SSD with a different USB cable to make sure the cable is working properly.

Step 2: Check your adapter's compatibility to see whether your SSD uses SATA I, II, or III.

Step 3: Try using a different SATA USB adapter and make sure it works with another drive.

< strong > Step 4. < /strong > If it's a Type-C connection, try connecting the SSD directly to your Mac.

If the unrecognized SSD is a Samsung T5 or T3 SSD, and you see the messages System Extension Blocked and No Samsung Portable SSD is connected, go to System Preferences, then click Security & Privacy. Next, beside the message System software from developer “Samsung Electronics” was blocked from loading, click Allow.

Solution 2: Restart your Mac and reconnect the SSD to make it appear

A frozen external SSD drive on a Mac can be frustrating, but you can usually fix it by restarting your computer. This refreshes the memory in its operating system and gives it a clean slate, which is especially effective if its USB port was busy. Just select “Apple menu” > “Restart.”

Solution 3: Mount the SSD using Disk Utility to Get It Recognized

When an SSD isn't showing up on your Mac, first check Disk Utility to see if it detects the SSD. If it's there, ensure the drive has no hardware issues and you can mount and repair the SSD from within Disk Utility. However, if the SSD doesn't appear in Disk Utility's list, it could be physically damaged.

Step 1: Go to “System Preferences” > “Disk Utility.”

Step 2: Make sure your external drive appears in the left sidebar.

Step 3: Select the drive and choose “Mount.” It should now appear under “Devices” in Finder.

If the SSD has been used on another computer for a while and is now not showing up on macOS, the file system might be corrupted or unsupported. You'll need to recover lost data from the SSD and reformat the drive.

If the SSD is new and does not show up, you don't see partitions of the SSD in Disk Utility, and get the message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer", make sure that there is no data on the drive, and initialize it in Disk Utility by erasing it.

Note: If your SSD is formatted with the Windows NTFS file system, macOS won't mount the drive in read/write mode. You can download an NTFS tool for Mac to write to NTFS drives.

Solution 4: Use a Repair Tool to Fix SSD Errors and Solve the Undetected SanDisk SSD Problem

If the SSD is installed but still isn't showing up on your Mac, it's possible that there's a hardware issue. In this case, you can use the built-in “First Aid” feature on your Mac to diagnose any SSD errors. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Launch Disk Utility.

Step 2: Select the gray SSD on the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click “First Aid” at the top.

Solution 5: Perform Advanced SSD Repair in Terminal

When Disk Utility can't fix your SSD, you can try terminal commands to address the issue. Here are the steps you can attempt.

Step 1: Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities.

Step 2: Double-click “Terminal” to launch the application.

Step 3: Type diskutil list in the Terminal, and press Return. Note the identifier for your SSD.

Step 4: Type diskutil verifyVolume SSD_ID and press Return.

If the SSD is your startup disk, use "disk0" instead. Otherwise, type in the SSD identifier that you wrote down earlier. If it doesn't show any errors, then the SSD doesn't need to be repaired. However, if your Mac's hard drive needs to be repaired, type in diskutil repairVolume SSD_ID, then hit Enter.

Fix 6: Format Unrecognized SSD on Mac

If all else fails, you can try formatting your SSD as a last resort. However, note that formatting will delete all data on the SSD, so make sure to back up or recover all important files beforehand.

Step 1: Open Disk Utility.

Step 2: Select SSD in the top-left corner.

Step 3: Click “Erase.”

Step 4. Fill out the relevant information, then click Erase.

How to recover data from formatted SSD on Mac?

As mentioned above, formatting the disk on Mac would lead to the loss of all your data. If you didn't have a chance to back up your SSD, what else can you do to retrieve your data? This is where a data recovery tool like tools Data Recovery Wizard for Mac comes in.

What can Data Recovery Wizard for Mac do for you?

Mac Data Recovery Wizard is a reliable data recovery software to scan and restore lost or deleted files from hard drives, external drives, fusion drives, USBs, cameras, memory cards, or any other storage device. It allows every user to perform scanning and recover lost data with just three simple steps. Moreover, the tool automatically repairs damaged images or videos during the scanning process.

After all, Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is worth a shot. Download the software by clicking the button below and follow the guide to learn how to recover your lost data.

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 the recovery, it is recommended that you click “Disk Backup” on the left sidebar to back up your external hard drive to prevent further data loss. After backing up the external hard drive, the software can recover data from the backup, and you can then remove the external hard drive for regular use.

Select the external hard drive and click on "Find Lost Files"

Step 2: Filter and locate the lost file

After the scan is complete, all file types will be displayed in the left panel. Choose a file type and look for the needed files in the external device.

Step 3: Preview and recover

Click on a file to preview it, then select the files you want to restore and hit the “Restore” button. You can save your data to both local and cloud drives.

Note: Data recovery is significantly less likely on an SSD with TRIM enabled. This is because TRIM is designed to improve the drive's performance and usage.

Conclusions

Now you've fixed the issue of SSD not showing up on your Mac. If the problem persists, watch this video to fix the issue of your MacBook not detecting the SSD.

• 00:43 Enable External Drive in Finder
• 01:36 Format the Drive for Use with macOS
• 04:38 Do You Need to Eject External Drives?

FAQ: External SSD Not Showing Up on Mac - UTF-8

Here are some related questions that you can go through individually to get more help.

1. How to fix SSD not showing up in Windows 10?

Solutions to fix the issue of SSD not showing up in Windows 11/10:

• Scenario 1: Missing Drive Letter
• Scenario 2: Uninitialized SSD
• Scenario 3: Unsupported File Format
• Scenario 4: SSD Driver Issues

2. How to fix if the M.2 device is not recognized?

Solutions to fix the issue of M.2 SSD not being recognized:

• Reinstall the M.2 SSD
• Enable the M.2 SSD in BIOS
• Set the M.2 SSD as the boot drive...

3. Why doesn't my SanDisk SSD show up?

Here are the reasons why your SanDisk SSD might not be detected on your Mac:

• Outdated driver
• Uninitialized SSD
• Incorrect drive letter or corrupted file system

4. How to fix the read-only external hard drive error on Mac?

Solution: Mac External Hard Drive Read-Only

• Reformat the external hard drive
• Ignore permissions
• Repair disk errors