External SSD Not Showing Up in Disk Utility [How to Fix Without Data Loss]

To ensure that your external SSD appears in Disk Utility, follow these steps to navigate to Disk Utility: Step 1: Go to Applications, then Utilities > Disk Utility, and click View > Show All Devices. Step 2: Look for your external SSD in the sidebar on the left.

This article elaborates on 5 ways to fix the issue of an external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility on Mac, including checking connection, display settings, repairing the SSD, using terminal commands, and reformatting. It also suggests an effective way to recover data from the external SSD with the help of the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool.

Recover Data from External SSD Not Showing in Disk Utility

Upon connecting an external SSD to your Mac, it should show up on your Mac desktop and Disk Utility by default. However, due to some unknown reasons, it might not appear in Disk Utility. In such a case, the first thing you should do is protect the data stored on it. Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is one of the best external SSD data recovery tools with a user-friendly interface that can retrieve data from a SanDisk SSD not showing up on Mac.

Moreover, it can perform data recovery in various cases, like WD hard drive not showing up in Disk Utility, external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility, SanDisk Extreme portable SSD not mounting to Mac, and more.

Follow these steps to recover data from an external SSD not showing in Disk Utility:

Step 1: Search for the Lost File

Connect the external hard drive to your Mac correctly. Launch Disk Drill for Mac (Data Recovery Wizard), and select the external hard drive. Then, click “Search for lost files” to look for any missing or deleted files on your external device.

Note: Before you proceed with data recovery, it's recommended that you click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar and create a backup of your 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, and you can safely remove the external hard drive and use it again.

Step 2: Scan and locate the lost files

Once the scan is over, all file types will be displayed on the left panel. Select the file type to look for the required files on the external device.

Step 3: Preview and recover

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

After safely storing your crucial data at a secure location, you can proceed with the following solutions to address the issue of the SSD not showing up.

Solution 1: Check Connections to Resolve External SSD Not Showing Up Issue When dealing with an external solid-state drive (SSD) that isn't showing up, the first step is to ensure all connections are correct and secure. Follow these steps: 1. **Unplug and Reconnect**: Safely disconnect the SSD from your computer and plug it back in. Make sure the interface connector is fully inserted into the socket to avoid loose connections. 2. **Try Different Ports**: If using a USB SSD, attempt connecting it to different USB ports on your computer. Sometimes, certain ports may not function properly. 3. **Use a Direct Cable**: If possible, use a USB port that connects directly to your motherboard instead of through a hub or dock. This can rule out potential power and signal issues. 4. **Check Power**: For externally powered SSDs, ensure it's correctly connected and receiving power. If using a USB-C SSD, confirm that sufficient power is provided (e.g., using a USB-C to USB-C cable with PD support). 5. **Test Other Devices**: Connect another USB device to the same port to see if it's recognized. If other devices work fine, the issue might be with the SSD itself. 6. **Restart Your Computer**: Sometimes, simply restarting your computer can resolve software-related issues that prevent the system from recognizing new hardware connections. If these steps don't work, you may need to investigate hardware or driver issues further.

If your external SSD isn't showing up in Disk Utility on your Mac, you can check if it's a connection issue by:

1. Clean the USB port to prevent dust blockage. 2. Check the USB cable and reconnect it. 3. Inspect the SSD for any physical damage.

Please reconnect the external SSD to your Mac and check if it appears normally.

Solution 2: Check the display settings for Mac Finder and Disk Utility

Here's how to check the external drive's format on a Mac:

Step 1: Click the Finder icon in your Mac's Dock to open it.

Step 2. Go to Finder > Preferences, and check the box next to “External disks” in the General tab.

Reconnect your external SSD and see if it appears on the desktop and in Disk Utility. If this page was helpful, bookmark it and share it on social media to help more people learn how to fix an external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility.

Solution 3: Repair the External SSD with a Rescue Tool

Mac's Disk Utility app provides users with a feature called "First Aid" that quickly checks and repairs disk errors. Here are the steps:

Step 1. Launch Disk Utility via Finder > Applications > Utilities.

Step 2. In the Disk Utility window, choose View > Show All Devices to display the external SSD.

Click on “Show All Devices”.

Step 3: Select your SSD and click on “First Aid” from the top menu, then hit “Run” to confirm.

Wait for the process to finish; if you see the message “First Aid found corruption that needs to be repaired,” click Repair. But if First Aid can't fix disk errors on your external SSD, this article will provide solutions.

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Disk Utility First Aid Process Failed

This article discusses how to fix the "First Aid process failed" error in Disk Utility and what steps you can take when data recovery is needed. Read More >>

Solution 4: Fix External SSD Not Showing Up Issue via Terminal

Here are the steps to fix an external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility using Mac Terminal commands:

Step 1: Click on “Finder” > “Applications” > “Utilities,” and then select “Terminal.”

Step 2: Type diskutil list and press "Enter."

Step 3: Type diskutil verifyVolume SSD_ID and press Return. Replace SSD_ID with the identifier of your external SSD.

Wait for the repair process to finish, then Control-click Terminal and choose Quit Terminal.

Solution 5: Fix External SSD Not Showing Up Issue with Formatting

If none of the above works, it could be that the file system of your external SSD is incompatible, causing it not to show up in Disk Utility. In this case, you might need to reformat it to a file system compatible with macOS.

Here are the steps to format an external SSD using Disk Utility:

Step 1. Open Disk Utility and select View > Show All Devices.

Step 2: Select the SSD, click the “Erase” button from the top menu, choose the new format, and rename if desired. Click “Erase” again to confirm.

Last Words

This article outlines 5 solutions to fix an external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility: check connection issues, examine display settings, run "First Aid" in Disk Utility, use Terminal commands, and reformat the external SSD. To prevent data loss on the SSD, it's advisable to install a professional and trustworthy external SSD data recovery tool, such as Mac Data Recovery Wizard.

FAQ: External SSD Not Showing Up in Disk Utility - UTF-8 Encoding

Below are some common questions people ask when searching for how to fix an external SSD not showing up in Disk Utility. Let's take a look.

**1. Why isn't my SSD showing up in Disk Utility on my Mac?**

There can be many reasons why an SSD is not showing up on your Mac, and the most common one could be a loose, worn, or damaged connection cable of the SSD. Certain unmounting errors, such as the "com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error -119930868" that occurs while mounting an external SSD in Disk Utility, may also result in the SSD not being displayed.

**2. How to recover data from an SSD not showing in Disk Utility?**

Follow these steps to recover data from an SSD that doesn't appear in Disk Utility:

Step 1: Install Data Recovery Wizard for Mac and select your SSD.

Step 2. Click on “Find Lost Files” to view all the recoverable data from it.

Step 3. Select the data you want to recover and click “Restore” to bring it back and save it to a secure location on your Mac.