2021 MacBook Pro OS Ventura 3.2.1 will not read exFAT formatted external drive. Is Apple doing a fix
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.
FAQsSituationers wrote:
Will it help if I connect the SSD USB into a powered USB hub?
If you are having trouble when it is connected directly to your mac, then a powered hub will probably not help
(but of course a powered hub is better than an unpowered hub)
Luis Sequeira1 wrote:
Thirty terabytes?!! I am not sure if there even exists such a large SSD and if it does it will cost way more than your mac, so this does not look right.
I missed that. There are no 30TB consumer SSDs available. Anyone advertising such an SSD is selling a fake SSD. I knew I was missing something here as it wasn't making sense. Another reason thread hijacking is frowned upon because it gets so confusing.
I think I will bow out now.
Macs with Ventura can read and write to ExFAT drives. What exactly happens? Does an alert appear saying the drive is unreadable?
Something else?
me too
my m1 mac mini fail to recognize
It's not a matter of not working, it doesn't even recognize it in the first place.
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?
I tried connecting directly and thru a hub, nothing happens.
Maybe the SSD size is too big forMac to read? But that's kinda stretching it.
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.
I can't use Dik Utility because it doesn't see the external drive. I didn't connect other drives to make sure nothing interferes, but nothing still happens...
Barney, should I connect my MacBook Pro to a power supply then?
Yes I agree no use talking about formats. I guess it’s a power issue. Is there a way of resolving this? Will plugging power to my Mac help?
The external drive is an SSD 30Tb which I connect to my Mac using the usb adaptor which I got from Apple.
I will try different cables first and revert. Thank you!
Oh, and you are still not telling us what the drive is, exactly, and what the cable is...
Thirty terabytes?!! I am not sure if there even exists such a large SSD and if it does it will cost way more than your mac, so this does not look right.
Please tell us the exact model of your SSD and what cable you got, specifically. Unfortunately, many different cables with the same USB-C connectors exist but they are not interchangeable. For example a cable that can charge your iPad may not be adequate to plug your SSD to your mac, even if the connection looks the same.
We really need specific details to correctly ascertain what is going on.
Mac OS Ventura and exFAT drive format issues
