Mac OS Ventura and exFAT drive format issues

2021 MacBook Pro OS Ventura 3.2.1 will not read exFAT formatted external drive. Is Apple doing a fix


Posted on Jun 24, 2023 12:13 PM

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28 replies

Jun 24, 2023 12:57 PM in response to octigon

I have Ventura 13.4.1 and not only can I format exFAT drives, I can read and write to exFAT formatted drives whether from Windows {10,11} or other versions of macOS.


Do tell us what is not working. As these are strictly user-to-user communities, we would not have any information about any product team activities. At least for me, the first paragraph suggests to me that exFAT works fine and no fix is necessary.

Jun 26, 2023 12:17 PM in response to 류한

wrote:

It's not a matter of not working, it doesn't even recognize it in the first place.

Do you mean it fails to recognize the physical drive (or this drive's enclosure)? Or do you mean it sees the physical device, but not the volume?


If the latter, then Did you use Disk Utility to erase the drive as GUID partition and exFAT before using it? If the drive was formatted as exFAT using a Windows computer (or a non-Apple system), then it is possible it was formatted with a file allocation size which macOS does not recognize. There seems to be fewer reported issues when using Disk Utility to erase a drive as exFAT.


Sep 20, 2023 8:15 PM in response to VikingOSX

Hi, I'm using MacBook Pro Ventura 13.5.2 It doesn't detect my 30 Tb SSD external drive so I formatted exFAT into it using my PC and transferred some files into it.


However, when I connect the SSD thru USB into my MacBook Pro, nothing happens, zilch. I can't use Dik Utility on it because obviously, Mac has to see the drive first. Is this version of Ventura problematic?


I have run disk utility on my mac, it says it is ok.

Sep 20, 2023 10:37 PM in response to FAQsSituationers

> I formatted to exFat my SSD using my PC


So try to format it as exFat on the Mac and see if it works better.


I guess GUID partition scheme should work. But when a while ago I tried to use that (exFAT GUID) on 125 GB flash drive, the Windows 10 machine showed only a small (AFAIR 32 GB or maybe even much less) volume while the Mac showed 125 GB free. Using exFAT MBR option in the Mac's Disk Utility fixed that and the whole 125 GB was available also in Windows.


In my setup Windows 10 default exFAT format worked OK AFAIR on Big Sur.

Sep 20, 2023 11:53 PM in response to FAQsSituationers

If the drive is not even seen in Disk Utility, then there is something other than the format or even the partition scheme at play.


You said you tried directly and through a hub. It looks to me that the drive is not getting enough power.

Please give more details about the drive, and the cable and hub you were using.

If it is Thunderbolt, you need to use an actual Thunderbolt cable, not a generic USB-C cable.


Sep 21, 2023 8:58 AM in response to FAQsSituationers

FAQsSituationers wrote:

I formatted to exFat my SSD using my PC but my Macbook Pro doesn't detect it.
My PC reads it instantly so I guess my Mac OS must be the culprit, right?

The problem with formatting a drive with exFAT using Windows is that Windows may use a file allocation size for the file system which macOS doesn't understand. Usually it is best to use Disk Utility to erase the drive if you are going to format it with exFAT. It may be possible to manually specify a file allocation size on Windows when formatting the drive, but I don't know which file allocation sizes macOS understands.


For my situation, I can't use Disk Utility because my Mac doesn't detect the SSD external driver (USB). If it can't see the drive, Disk Utility will never work on it.

Within Disk Utility click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drives appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. Unfortunately Disk Utility is very limited especially in its default configuration where Apple has macOS only showing the user the actual usable volumes which in your case it is not usable because the exFAT formatting used by Windows is not compatible with macOS.


If don't see the physical drive after selecting "Show All Devices" within Disk Utility, then there is some sort of compatibility issue with that drive and your Mac (or the adapters, cables, docks, hubs). Make sure to disconnect all other external devices and connect the drive directly to the computer (you may need to try using another adapter if you must convert it, and try using another cable). I know that Macs can be picky about the drives used, and it seems that the Apple Silicon Macs may be even a little bit pickier as well since there was a lot of reports of some third party devices (especially older ones) not working with Apple Silicon. I have seen fewer reports since then, so maybe Apple addressed it with a firmware update or OS update.


If you are using an Apple Silicon laptop, then make sure you are approving macOS to connect the external device.

Allow accessories to connect to Mac - Apple Support


Hi, I'm using MacBook Pro Ventura 13.5.2 It doesn't detect my 30 Tb SSD external drive so I formatted exFAT into it using my PC and transferred some files into it.

The drive size should not matter unless you are using an adapter, dock, or hub, or custom enclosure since these items may be restricted to working with certain size drives. If you have an off the shelf consumer external drive, then size should not be an issue except possibly in regards to adapters/docks/hubs.

Sep 21, 2023 8:07 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Luis, nothing happens. My Mac doesn't see the external USB SSD drive. There is no alert, no thing. The SSD pilot light just lighst up for a while and then disappears, and that's that. I left it connected to my Mac for an hour, hoping that it only takes some time to detect the drive, but nothing happens.


I formatted the drive usng my Windows PC under the exFAT format. It should be read but no go.


Could it be a partition issue? Maybe I should create an NTSF partition?

Mac OS Ventura and exFAT drive format issues

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