How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Mac



This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.
  1. How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Mac Drive
  2. How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Mac Computer
  3. Access Files On Hard Drive
  4. Find External Hard Drive Mac
  5. How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Macbook

To make a Mac act as an external hard disk, you can put it in TargetDisk Mode and connect it to another Mac with a FireWire orThunderbolt cable, as follows:

Note: Target Disk Mode is available on most recentMacs; however, computers that do not have FireWire or Thunderboltports are excluded.

  1. Shut down the computer you want to use as an external hard disk(i.e., the target computer). If you are using a portable computer,make sure it is running on AC power. You don't need to power downthe other computer (i.e., the host computer).
  2. Connect the FireWire or Thunderbolt cable to the correspondingport of the target computer, and then connect the other end of thecable to the host computer's port.Note: If the computers have different kinds of ports(e.g., one has a FireWire 400 port while the other has a FireWire 800or Thunderbolt port), you will also need one or more adapters.
  3. Start up the target computer and hold down the lettert on its keyboard. Its drive will spin up, andits icon should appear on the host computer. The target computer'sdisplay will show a moving icon.

Alternatively, you can do the following:

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences...
  2. In System Preferences, from the View menu, selectStartup Disk.
  3. In the Startup Disk preference pane, click Target Disk Mode...

To exit Target Disk Mode, on the host computer, eject thetarget computer's disk, and then shut down thetarget computer. Disconnect the cable, and then start up thetarget computer; it will boot normally.

  1. Reading PC-formatted hard drives using your Mac is easy enough. Just plug in the drive, then access the files you need to use. But writing to that drive? Well, that's a little more complicated.
  2. You should be able to access your drive that way, and, in the Finder menu under Preferences General, you can check External Drives to ensure that from now on it shows up on your desktop too.
  3. Change the Finder settings. One of the most common reasons for Mac not recognizing external.
Best FTP client for Mac

After everything is copied, shut down Windows, unplug the hard drive’s data cable from the PC, and plug the cable into your Mac. The drive’s letter or name should appear on your Mac’s desktop. The hard drive is hidden underneath the battery access door. Flip that door’s tab, remove the cover, remove the battery, and the hard drive is ready to be plucked.

Get ForkLift, a smart and efficient Finder alternative.

A network drive, also known as a NAS (network attached storage) drive, is a storage device that connects to a home or office network instead of your computer. Some of the advantages of this are obvious: for example, you can get access files from a smartphone, tablet, or computer without having to plug the drive in.

Other, perhaps less obvious, positives of NAS include things like automated backups and the ability to mirror data on two drives. In other words, NAS offers a flexible and protected way to manage Mac storage that’s far beyond that of standard external hard drives. Read along to learn how to map a network drive and avoid some common NAS mistakes.

Get the best drive mapping tool

Get Setapp — your easy access to top-notch drive mapping solutions. Map a network drive and connect to another computer instantly.

What is a network drive used for?

Whether it’s populated or diskless, has one bay or more than five, a network drive is typically used as an alternative to cloud storage. It may be easy to drag and drop files to something like Google Drive or Dropbox, but just a bit of drive mapping can make using a network drive a fantastic cloud alternative.

Some of network drive’s key advantages include:

  • Better control over your files
  • More security features than cloud services
  • Flexibility without compromising on privacy
  • Being used by multiple users across multiple devices

Map network drive on macOS (one-time)

Nowadays, most NAS devices are seriously easy to map. https://herevload910.weebly.com/eon-2-8-1.html. Let’s say that you’ve been working on a document in your home office but have just remembered a key fact that you want to include. Time to make a quick edit from your wife’s laptop before you forget about it!

Network drive access can be obtained in three simple steps, provided you don’t mind having to repeat those steps if the connection drops, you restart your Mac, or the device is disconnected:

  1. In Finder, either hit Command+K to bring up “Connect to Server” or click Go > Connect to Server
  2. Enter the path of the network drive you’re trying to map (e.g. smb://192.168.1.300/shared/Files) and click Connect
  3. Enter your login details and password then click OK to mount the network drive

You can now access the relevant drive either via your desktop or the sidebar in Finder windows.

Map network drive on macOS (remount after reboot)

Maybe you have a server in your office with a connected network drive and want all your employees to be able to connect to it so they can collaborate on shared documents. If you want to keep a Mac connected to a network drive, even after restarting, the easiest way to do this is to follow the three steps above then add these:

  1. Hit the Apple menu, then System Preferences > Users & Groups
  2. From here, select Login Items and click + to add a new item
  3. Find your network drive and click Add, then close the window

Now, your network drive will be mapped and automatically remounted when you reboot your Mac. Network drives won’t, however, connect automatically if you’re using a different WiFi network.

Make a network drive accessible from Mac desktop

Depending on your settings, mounted drives may not always appear on your desktop. That’s not necessarily a problem if you don’t mind only being able to see connected servers in Finder window sidebars and open/save dialogues.

If, however, you want your NAS device to always be just one double-click away (in the same way that most people have Macintosh HD as a visible item on their desktop) just follow these steps:

  1. Open Finder > Preferences or click Command + to open Finder Preferences
  2. Click the General tab, then tick the box next to Connected servers
  3. Close Finder Preferences

Remount a mapped network drive with one click

Managing, or working across, multiple departments that each have their own network drive? In that case, it can be handy to create aliases of mapped network drive(s):

  1. Right click on any mapped NAS device on your desktop.
  2. Select Make Alias

This might not sound like anything all that significant but, as the subheading suggests, you can use this alias to reconnect to a network drive with one click. That can be very helpful if you need to keep jumping between different shared drives.

How to manage files with network-attached storage

In most cases, macOS’s default tools are sufficient for viewing, editing, and deleting files. That might change, however, if you’re using a NAS device. For example, it’s very easy to end up with a ton of duplicate files on your network drive where it’s likely you’ll be less concerned about making the most of your storage as you might be with a built in hard drive.

Gemini is a great tool for digging out any duplicate content on your drives, so you can ditch everything you no longer need while hanging onto backup documents, photos, etc.

  1. Open up the app and hit the giant + or drag your folder of choice into the window
  2. Choose from recommended locations or select a custom folder
  3. Push the green Scan for Duplicates button to get started
  4. Delete duplicate files manually or use Smart Cleanup to automate the process

For a more granular approach to file management, you might want to consider something like DCommander or Forklift. These apps both offer dual-pane file management, as well as features like batch renaming, copying, and deletion, in a more seamless way than your default Finder.

Although Forklift was designed with FTP management in mind, it’s become a favorite of network drive users because of how closely it resembles macOS. Billed as a Finder replacement app in parts of its marketing material, you won’t find an app much more native unless it comes out of Cupertino.

Plus, actually getting started with the app is incredibly simple:

  1. Open up the Forklift app
  2. Use the left-hand panel to find the file(s) you want to move across
  3. Select the right-hand panel then, using the sidebar, click on your network drive
  4. Start moving, renaming and archiving files

If Forklift isn’t for you then you might prefer to take a look at DCommander, an approved Mac alternative of Total Commander for Windows. In addition to two side-by-side file panels that look very similar to those of Forklift, DCommander puts a wider range of commands and features (including quick file viewing, selective file unpacking, navigation history, and a great looking Dark Mode) at your fingertips without the need to leave the dual-panel display.

Both apps let you do things like mark certain drives as favorites, create and browse archives, and get previews of items. In short, they’re much like macOS’s Finder … only better. It’s difficult to overstate how much easier it becomes to manage Mac storage with dual-pane browsing until you try to organize your network drive without it!

Unlock the full pack of Mac problem solvers

Get Setapp, a huge set of top apps for keeping your Mac in shape. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go!

Effectively manage Mac storage day-to-day

Thanks to macOS, network drive mapping is a pretty simple process even if you’re not particularly tech-savvy. You might be out of luck if you’re hoping to access a NAS device from another network using standard macOS tools but, at present, that’s pretty much the only thing keeping network drives from competing with the cloud at the mainstream level.

If remote access isn’t such a concern for you and you’re using NAS as an alternative to cloud, then it’s definitely worth taking a look at programs like Forklift or DCommander to make file management easier once you’re done drive mapping, as well as Gemini to ensure that your NAS device isn’t filling up with duplicate files you don’t need.

Best of all, the software mentioned above is available for a free trial through Setapp, a collection of over 150 high-quality macOS applications from the best developers around. Manage your Mac effectively today!

Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

How To Access Your Hard Drive On A MacRead on

Sign Up

Setapp uses cookies to personalize your experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Your Mac not recognizing an external hard drive can be cause for panic. But try to remain calm — it’s unlikely that anything has happened to your files. All of your data will still be on the hard drive, it just that, for whatever reason, you can’t access it.

Just so that you worry not about losing data, get Disk Drill. Available via Setapp, the app is the best tool that will rescue your files.

How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Mac Drive

Download Disk Drill Free

Fortunately, there are ways and means of getting the hard drive back up and running. Let’s get into some of them right now.

Why a flash drive is not showing up on Mac?

If you’ve plugged in a flash drive or USB drive and it’s not showing up on your Mac at all, it could be down to a faulty cable or USB port.

Before you try any system troubleshooting tips, start with the basics.

How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Mac Computer

  • Check that the drive is probably plugged in.
  • Check the USB connector — does it look damaged or misshapen in any way?
  • Check the cable — is it frayed or are there any wires exposed?
  • If the external hard drive is plugged into a wall outlet, try a different outlet.
  • Try a different USB cable — even cables with no visible defects can fail.
  • Try connecting the hard drive to a different USB port — it could be a hardware issue.
  • Try the drive in another Mac — if it works there, the problem is with the USB ports on your Mac.
  • Test the hard drive on a PC — it could be formatted for PCs and not readable on Macs.
  • Reboot your Mac — a simple on and off is sometimes all it takes.
  • Reboot USB drives by shutting down your system and restarting it, holding Command+Option+P+R as you do. When you hear a sound and see the screen flash, release the keys and let your Mac boot up as usual.

If you’ve carried out visually inspections, tested your hard drive with different cables and power outlets, and tried different systems with no luck, it’s time to put your Mac to work.

1. Change the Finder settings

One of the most common reasons for Mac not recognizing external hard drives is due to the system not being set up to display hard drives on the desktop. There’s a simple fix for this:

  1. Open a Finder window.
  2. Go to Preferences > General.
  3. Check that the External disks option is enabled.

If your Mac is not recognizing a USB or external hard drive after this, you’ll have to try mounting it manually.

2. Mount an external hard drive on Mac

If Mac isn’t automatically recognizing your external hard drive, it’s time to force it to. Connect your hard drive and follow these instructions:

  1. Go to System Preferences > Disk Utility.
  2. Check that the external disk is listed in the left sidebar.
  3. Highlight your hard drive and select Mount. It should now appear under devices in the Finder.

If the hard drive still isn’t playing ball, the next step is First Aid.

3. Run First Aid on an external hard drive

Mac’s built-in First Aid tool is designed to verify and repair a range of issues related to corrupted files and apps, startup issues, and, crucially, external hard drive problems.

If your issue has to do with wanting to know how to open a flash drive on Mac that’s displaying but not allowing you access to files, First Aid might be able to help.

  1. Go to System Preferences > Disk Utility.
  2. Highlight your external hard drive and click on First Aid.
  3. Select Run to start running diagnostics and prompt Mac to automatically fix any issues.

If First Aid is successful in repairing any faults, your hard drive should be available to mount. If not, you’ll need to try the next option.

4. Delete potentially conflicting apps

How recent is the problem? If a flash drive not showing up on Mac was completely fine a few days earlier there could be an app causing conflict. If you’ve downloaded any new apps recently, uninstall them one at a time, connecting your hard drive after each uninstallation to see if the issue is resolved.

You can delete apps using the Launchpad or by dragging them to the Trash, but neither method is recommended in this situation. You see, while an app might appear to be deleted, associated files will be left on your system — files that could be preventing access to your external hard drive.

Instead, let CleanMyMac X take care of it. CleanMyMac X has an Uninstaller tool that can define your installed applications and associated files and remove every trace of an unwanted app.

Access Files On Hard Drive

And it couldn’t be easier to use.

  1. Download CleanMyMac X (for free).
  2. Launch the app and select Uninstaller.
  3. Click on View All Applications and select a recently installed app.
  4. Click Uninstall.

If you’ve worked through all recently installed apps and are still no further forward, your hard drive may have crashed or, worse, be completely broken. In this case, you’ll need a heavy duty tool like Disk Drill to rescue files.

5. Repair disk permissions

Disk permissions keeps your files secure. Every file and folder has an associated set of permissions. Unfortunately, these can get messed up without you realising it, which can cause serious problems. You can fix these two ways. Either manually, as we mention in this article, or using CleanMyMac X, which is far easier.

Find External Hard Drive Mac

All you need to do is:

  1. Click on Maintenance from the left sidebar menu.
  2. Check the box next to Repair Disk Permissions.
  3. Click Run.

How To Access Your Hard Drive On A Macbook

The program will scan and fix any it finds that are broken or faulty. Your Mac should be running as good as new.
Autodesk maya 2016 free download.

To prevent an external hard drive not showing up on Mac turning into an all-out disaster, always backup files on your system hard drive and in the cloud. Anytime you use an external drive, unmount the disk properly and store it safely. And finally, use CleanMyMac to uninstall apps and run regular Maintenance on your system to prevent applications conflicting with hard drive performance.

These might also interest you: