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external drive

my macbook pro doesn't detect mp3 cd on external drive


MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.6

Posted on May 24, 2022 10:40 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 26, 2022 7:35 AM

Hello Mcguyvin,


The first thing to verify is if the external drive is in a format which a Mac can use. Check with who set up the external drive.

• Mac OS X Extended (journaled) can only be used with a Mac

• exFAT, Fat32 can be used with both a Mac or PC

• NTFS, MS-DOS (FAT) can only be used with a PC


If the format is compatible, this next article has some troubleshooting:

If a USB device doesn’t work with Mac - Apple Support


If the format is not compatible, the external drive will need to be erased, before it can be changed. You'll need to have it erased and reformatted with a Windows PC, if the format is only compatible with a PC.


Let us know if you have any additional questions.


Best regards



4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 26, 2022 7:35 AM in response to Mcguyvin

Hello Mcguyvin,


The first thing to verify is if the external drive is in a format which a Mac can use. Check with who set up the external drive.

• Mac OS X Extended (journaled) can only be used with a Mac

• exFAT, Fat32 can be used with both a Mac or PC

• NTFS, MS-DOS (FAT) can only be used with a PC


If the format is compatible, this next article has some troubleshooting:

If a USB device doesn’t work with Mac - Apple Support


If the format is not compatible, the external drive will need to be erased, before it can be changed. You'll need to have it erased and reformatted with a Windows PC, if the format is only compatible with a PC.


Let us know if you have any additional questions.


Best regards



May 26, 2022 8:00 AM in response to Mcguyvin

If you are using an external CD/DVD drive, please make sure the drive device is plugged directly into the computer's usb port, not through a dock or hub.


Also important is how old is the .mp3 cd and where did it come from. Discs burned on computers may or may not work well with other computers and/or devices. Some brands of CD/DVD discs perform poorly, especially inexpensive off brand or generic discs.

external drive

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