M1 Macbook Pro no longer reading recognizing Sandisk External SSD drive

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Level 1

4 points

M1 Macbook Pro no longer reading recognizing Sandisk External SSD drive

My partner has a 2021 Macbook Pro with the M1 Max chip. She also has a Sandisk external SSD drive that has recently started causing her problems. At first it started ejecting itself randomly, and today after an ejection the computer would no longer see it. Eventually, after unplugging and replugging it multiple times, the drive was recognized again, but the computer couldn't display any of the files on the drive.

About the computer:

2021 Macbook Pro 16"

M1 Max processor, 32 GB RAM

OS: Monterey 12.6.4

What I've done so far:

Testing the Sandisk drive on other machines: The Sandisk SSD is recognized when tested on other Macs in our household, including a 2019 Intel iMac and a brand new 2022 M2 MBP. All the files are safe and accounted for when the drive is connected to another machine, so I don't think this is a HD problem.
Trying other external drives on the Macbook Pro: The Macbook Pro also had problems reading other external drives (that work fine on other computers)
USB Port check: We have tested the external SSD in all three USB-C ports on the Macbook Pro with the same results. The ports themselves work — testing them with a gigabit ethernet adaptor and an old hard drive with a USB3 connection/adaptor worked fine.
USB Cable check: The problem happens with multiple cables, and there is no sign of a bad cable. Again, the drive works fine when tested on other computers.
Restarting and resetting PRAM: I have tried both, and have seen no change
Sandisk drivers: Sandisk does not offer updated drivers for this. Since the drive can be used fine on multiple other computers and operating systems, I don't think this is a driver issue.

Considering all I've done to try and troubleshoot this, I think this is an issue with the computer software, and not the drive or hardware. The drive works fine on other computers, and the USB ports on the MBP recognize other peripherals like an ethernet adaptor or a USB-A adaptor.

We need to get this drive working again...can anyone help me figure out next steps? Is there something that can be done to fix these problems?

MacBook Pro (2021)

Posted on Apr 6, 2023 3:54 PM

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Answer 1

method-one Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 24, 2023 12:13 PM in response to HWTech

To answer your question, the drive is formatted APFS. It's also relatively new, as it was purchased at the same time as the computer.

Some updates on this issue, after testing. To recap, an external Sandisk portable SSD drive (USB-C) is not mounting consistently on a M1 Macbook Pro.

The drive mounts on the USB-C port on the left side (back) of the MacBook Pro. It will not show up when mounted in any of the other USB-C ports.
However, all of the USB-C ports work for other things, like power or a wired ethernet connection
If a powered USB Hub is attached to the MBP, it works in all three ports AND the hard drive will show up in all three instances when attached to the hub.
This behavior has been tested on two separate Sandisk SSD drives, with 3 different cables. The behavior remains consistent.

So given this new testing, I'm thinking this: Two of the USB ports on the MBP are working, but not putting out enough power to run the hard drive. Does this sound like a probable thing to be happening, and has this issue happened for other people? Is there a way to test this further, or should I call Apple for repair?

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

57,158 points

Apr 6, 2023 6:35 PM in response to method-one

FYI, there is no PRAM Reset for Apple Silicon Macs (or SMC Reset).

There have been multiple posts on these forums with users having issues with the SanDisk SSDs at least with Ventura (not sure I've seen similar posts for Monterey).

I do know that some external devices are not compatible with Apple Silicon Macs (usually older devices though).

I have also seen people having issues with external drives having issues with certain other connected devices under Monterey. The most common issue reported has been with the Wacom tablets and external drives. As long as the external drives are mounted before connecting the Wacom tablet, then everything will work fine, but if connected the other way around will result in files/folders not showing up on the external drive.

There should be no reason to install or use the manufacturer's proprietary software unless you are using an SSD's built-in hardware encryption. It is better to use Disk Utility to erase the new external drive with a file system macOS has built-in (exFAT, MacOS Extended, APFS). Use exFAT instead of NTFS so no third party drivers are needed.

What file system is being used on this external drive?

If your external drive(s) contain important & unique data, then I hope you are also backing them up along with your computer(s).

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

57,158 points

Apr 24, 2023 12:22 PM in response to method-one

method-one wrote:

So given this new testing, I'm thinking this: Two of the USB ports on the MBP are working, but not putting out enough power to run the hard drive. Does this sound like a probable thing to be happening, and has this issue happened for other people? Is there a way to test this further, or should I call Apple for repair?

You've proven there is an issue with one of the ports. You will need to have the laptop repaired.

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M1 Macbook Pro no longer reading recognizing Sandisk External SSD drive

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