How do you fix an exFAT USB not appearing on a Mac?

Data Recovery
1

I have an exFAT USB drive that isn’t showing up on my Mac. It works fine on Windows, but my Mac isn’t recognizing it. I’ve tried different USB ports and checked Disk Utility, but no luck. Can anyone help me troubleshoot or suggest a fix?

2

It sounds like you’ve already done a few important steps like trying different USB ports and checking Disk Utility. Here’s a detailed troubleshooting guide that might help you get that exFAT USB drive to appear on your Mac.

Step 1: Verify the USB Drive’s Compatibility

First, let’s verify if your Mac’s system can handle exFAT. exFAT is supposed to be a universally recognized file system, but sometimes macOS can have compatibility hiccups, especially on older versions or if there’s a minor firmware bug.

Step 2: Check Finder Preferences

  1. Go to your Finder.
  2. Click on Preferences in the top menu bar.
  3. Check the box labeled “External disks” under “General” and “Sidebar” tab. Sometimes, external drives won’t show up in Finder unless you enable this.

Step 3: Use Disk Utility for Mounting

You’ve mentioned checking Disk Utility but let’s try mounting the drive manually:

  1. Open Disk Utility.
  2. Locate your USB drive in the left sidebar.
  3. Select it and click on the “Mount” button at the top.
    • If the drive is already mounted but still not showing up in Finder, you can try unmounting it and then mounting it again.
    • Pay attention to any error messages that come up during this process, as they can give clues on what might be wrong.

Step 4: Repair with Disk Utility

If the drive appears but isn’t functioning correctly, you could try repairing it:

  1. Select your USB drive in the Disk Utility sidebar.
  2. Click on First Aid and then “Run”.
    • Follow any prompts and allow the utility to attempt repairs.

Step 5: Reset SMC and PRAM/NVRAM

System Management Controller (SMC) and PRAM/NVRAM resets can sometimes resolve hardware recognition issues.

  1. SMC Reset:

    • Shut down your Mac.
    • Unplug the power cord and wait for 15 seconds.
    • Plug the power cord back in, wait another 5 seconds, and then turn on your Mac.

  2. PRAM/NVRAM Reset:

    • Shut down your Mac.
    • Turn it back on and immediately press and hold Option + Command + P + R keys.
    • Keep holding the keys for about 20 seconds.

Step 6: Use Terminal to Force Mount the Drive

Sometimes, using Terminal can help:

  1. Open the Terminal application (you can find it in Applications > Utilities).
  2. Type diskutil list to see a list of all connected drives.
  3. Find your USB drive’s identifier (e.g., disk2s1).
  4. Use the command sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk2s1 (replace disk2s1 with your identifier).

Step 7: Check for File System Errors Using fsck

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. Enter the following command:
    sudo fsck_exfat -d /dev/disk2s1
    Replace disk2s1 with your USB drive’s identifier from the diskutil list command.

Step 8: Third-Party Software

If the above steps don’t work, third-party software like Disk Drill can be very helpful. Disk Drill, available at https://www.disk-drill.com, provides advanced data recovery tools and can sometimes mount drives that Disk Utility can’t.

Disk-Drill
Disk-Drill1536×902 88.1 KB

Step 9: Check for macOS Updates

Occasionally, updating to the latest version of macOS can resolve compatibility issues:

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Click on Software Update and install any available updates.

Step 10: Contact Support or Use a Different Computer

  1. If the drive still isn’t recognized, it might be worth trying it on another Mac, preferably newer.
  2. As a last resort, contact Apple Support or visit an Apple Store for a more in-depth diagnosis.

These steps should give you a comprehensive approach to troubleshooting your unrecognized exFAT USB drive on macOS. Good luck, and I hope you get it working soon!

3

I see you’ve got quite the conundrum with that exFAT USB not showing up on your Mac. I’ll throw in a few alternative steps and a different angle that might help.

Step 1: Check Power Supply

Sometimes, Macs are finicky about power supplied to USB devices. Especially when you’re using an older MacBook or an unpowered USB hub, this could be a problem. Try plugging the USB directly into the Mac and avoiding hubs if you haven’t already.

Step 2: Test on a Different User Account

Creating a new user account and testing the drive there can help isolate whether the problem is system-wide or specific to your user profile:

  1. Go to System Preferences.
  2. Click Users & Groups.
  3. Add a new user by clicking the “+” button.
  4. Log out and log into the new user account.
  5. Plug in the exFAT USB to see if it appears.

Step 3: Check Console Logs

Open the Console application (Applications > Utilities) right after plugging in the USB. Look for any error messages or logs that might give clues. Sometimes the Console can show you permissions errors or incompatibilities right away, which Disk Utility might not highlight.

Step 4: Try a Different USB-C Adapter

If you’re using a USB-C to USB-A adapter, try a different one. Cheap adapters can be hit or miss and can cause connection problems.

Step 5: Consider File System Corruption Scenarios

If you’ve been primarily using the drive on a Windows machine, there’s a small chance that macOS might be allergic to some hidden system files or minor corruption Windows has let slide. In rare cases, Windows might not show minor corruptions that macOS throws a fit over. You might have to repair the file system using Windows:

  1. Connect the USB to a Windows PC.
  2. Right-click on the drive > Properties > Tools tab.
  3. Click “Check” under Error checking.

Step 6: Utilize Different Formatting Tools

Instead of using macOS tools, you could re-format using Windows Disk Management or third-party software. But, of course, make sure your data is backed up.

Step 7: Try Disk Drill

I’ve had great success with Disk Drill, not just for data recovery but also for troubleshooting drive issues. Download Disk Drill and see if it can help mount the drive or identify the issue better.

Step 8: Reinstall macOS or Try on Another macOS

Might be drastic but sometimes macOS has quirks that get resolved after a clean slate:

  1. Back up your Mac.
  2. Reinstall macOS from recovery mode.

Lastly, and I’m slightly hesitant to suggest this, if your main machine is having consistent issues with exFAT drives, you might wanna think about using NTFS or HFS+ formatted drives for cross-platform compatibility, despite exFAT being positioned as the universal standard. By occasionally transferring files via network drives or cloud storage, you eliminate the pitfalls of USB headaches entirely.

Give these a shot and let us know what worked for you!

4

All these steps for fixing a USB drive not showing are way too convoluted. Honestly, many times the issue is something simple, like a corrupted file or a bad partition. If you’ve already checked everything and still no luck, using fancy third-party apps like Disk Drill can help, but beware—it’s not a magic wand. It can recover data and possibly mount corrupted drives, but sometimes it messes with your files too. Tools like EaseUS and Stellar Data Recovery exist for a reason.

Using macOS built-in stuff usually gets half the job done. But if your USB drive’s throwing fits, especially with the macOS “quirkiness,” might need to consider just reformatting the damn thing. It’s annoying, but sometimes you gotta cut your losses. If your exFAT drive keeps flaking out, ditch it and go with FAT32 for portable drives.

But all these DETAILED steps are overkill for a simple problem. The KISS principle works here: Keep It Simple, Stupid!