Katharine Hansen

Q: Can't see startup disk or external drive in Finder on MacBook Air

Recently became unable to see my startup disk in the Finder. It doesn't show up up the desktop or in the Finder window.

 

Worse, I cannot see my external drive (LaCie) in the Finder window. The drive shows up and works fine in my other Mac, but does not seem to be recognized by the MacBook Air.

 

Why would this be, and can it be fixed?

Posted on Nov 23, 2015 4:49 AM

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Q: Can't see startup disk or external drive in Finder on MacBook Air

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  • by Katharine Hansen,

    Katharine Hansen Katharine Hansen Nov 23, 2015 5:13 AM in response to Katharine Hansen
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 5:13 AM in response to Katharine Hansen

    Update. Can eventually see external drive, but get error message that OS X can't repair the disk. I can still see and access files on the drive but cannot save anything to it. This is the second expensive external disk to which this has happened with this Air.

     

    Still cannot see startup disk.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 23, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Katharine Hansen
    Level 8 (48,385 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 7:49 AM in response to Katharine Hansen

    Open Disk Utility - it's in your Mac's Utilities folder.

     

    Select the external drive's volume icon, which is the one directly below and to the right of its device icon. You may need to click the "reveal triangle" so you can see it.

     

    Then, click the info button.

     

    Drag that window's bottom edge so that you can read all its contents. Post a screenshot of it (read below). Edit or obscure any information you may consider personal.

     


     

    Screenshots (Mac):

     

    To take a screenshot hold ⌘ Shift 4 to create a selection crosshair. Click and hold while you drag the crosshair over the area you wish to capture and then release the mouse or trackpad. You will hear a "camera shutter" sound. This will deposit a screenshot named "Screen Shot...." followed by a date and time on your Desktop.

     

    When you post your response, click the "camera" icon above the text field:


    ccc1d9a6bbfa2bcd11f062bbf381272e.png

     

    This will display a dialog box which enables you to choose the screenshot file (remember it's on your Desktop) and click the Insert Image button. If you are not using full screen mode you can simply drag the image into the text entry field.

     

    ⌘ Shift 4 and then pressing the space bar captures the frontmost window.

     

    ⌘ Shift 3 captures the entire screen.

     

    Don't capture or upload any information you consider personal. To edit an existing screenshot, read How to edit a screenshot.

     

    Drag the screenshot to the Trash after you post your reply.

     



  • by Katharine Hansen,

    Katharine Hansen Katharine Hansen Nov 23, 2015 11:52 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 11:52 AM in response to John Galt

    Thanks. I don't get far enough along in the process to do as you instruct. For almost an hour, I just see "loading disks" and  spinning pinwheel.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 23, 2015 12:15 PM in response to Katharine Hansen
    Level 8 (48,385 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 12:15 PM in response to Katharine Hansen

    Quit Disk Utility and shut down your Mac. After it shuts down, unplug the LaCie drive. Start your Mac and launch Disk Utility again.

     

    If it launches, plug in the USB drive. Does Disk Utility recognize it?

  • by Katharine Hansen,

    Katharine Hansen Katharine Hansen Nov 23, 2015 12:24 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 12:24 PM in response to John Galt

    OK, after an hour and 20 minutes, the startup disk finally appeared. Attached is the screenshot.APPLE_SSD_SD0128F_Media.jpg

  • by Katharine Hansen,

    Katharine Hansen Katharine Hansen Nov 23, 2015 12:26 PM in response to Katharine Hansen
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 12:26 PM in response to Katharine Hansen

    OK, the above was the parent of my actual startup disk, which appears below.Macintosh_HD.jpg

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Nov 23, 2015 12:38 PM in response to Katharine Hansen
    Level 8 (48,385 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 23, 2015 12:38 PM in response to Katharine Hansen

    If the problem is with the external device, please post the equivalent screenshots for it.

     

    Your startup disk appears to be OK. If you want its icon to appear on your Desktop, open the Finder menu > Preferences > General, and under "Show these items on the desktop" select the box "Hard disks". Check "External disks" also, if you want the external disk to appear.