how do i connect external drive to my macbook?

It sounds like you have a MacBook with USB-C ports and an external hard drive that uses a micro B cable for connectivity. To connect your external hard drive to your MacBook, you'll need an adapter or cable that can convert the micro B connection to a USB-C connection.

Here's what you can do:

1. USB-C to Micro B Cable: The simplest solution is to find a USB-C to Micro B cable. You can purchase one online or at an electronics store. This cable will allow you to connect your external hard drive directly to one of your MacBook's USB-C ports.
2. USB-C Hub with Micro B Port: If you want to connect multiple devices to your MacBook at once, consider getting a USB-C hub that has a Micro B port. This way, you can connect your external hard drive through the hub without sacrificing data transfer speed.
3. Check the External Hard Drive: Make sure your external hard drive is functioning correctly. Try connecting it to another computer with the appropriate cable to see if it's recognized. If it doesn't work on another computer either, there may be an issue with the hard drive.
4. Check MacBook Settings: Ensure that your MacBook recognizes the external hard drive. Go to "System Preferences" > "Disk Utility" and check if the external drive is listed there. You might need to format or mount the drive if it's not showing up.
5. Backup Software: If you are using specific backup software, ensure that it's compatible with your MacBook and the external hard drive.

Regarding the warning not to use a USB hub, it's generally recommended to use high-quality USB-C hubs that support data transfer at high speeds (USB 3.1 Gen 2 or later) to avoid potential issues. Cheaper or low-quality hubs may not provide the necessary power or bandwidth for external hard drives to function properly.

MissLissa123 wrote:

I have an external hard drive WD elements… it shows in my finder but won’t allow me to drop any files in it at all.

New external hard drives and SSDs often come in two versions:

• A PC version, pre-formatted as a NTFS volume. macOS can read NTFS volumes, but can't write to them unless you install a third-party NTFS driver.
• A Mac version, pre-formatted as a HFS+ or APFS volume. These are usable out of the box – but vendors often charge more for what is essentially the same drive.

Some "PC" drives come with NTFS drivers that you can install on a Mac – but I don't like to mess with that. If you go into Disk Utility, you can erase NTFS drives and reformat them using a Mac filesystem (APFS or HFS+).

If you have a NTFS drive with data on it (e.g., from a Windows PC), and wanted to convert it to Mac format, you'd need a second drive. You'd format the second drive using a Mac filesystem and then do a backup from the NTFS one. (As far as I know, there's no way to convert NTFS to APFS or HFS+ "in place".)

I have some thoughts which you may find helpful.

• Most drives are now shipped with a vendor provided USB cable you can use. You need to be sure that the connecters at each end are compatible, though. If not, get one that is.
• The drive should be properly reformatted to work with your computer. Use Disk Utility to do the formatting, not any maintenance apps that came with the disk. They almost always are problematic and should be removed.
• It is best to directly connect the backup disk to your computer. If that is not possible, then only connect it through a powered hub.
• For backups, since speed of operation is not an issue, it is not necessary to use an SSD disk. A lower cost mechanical disk will do just fine.

If you still cannot connect, then please provide us with the specifics of the problem such as what brand of external disk is being used? Is it of a sufficient storage capacity? How is it connected? How is it formatted? How is your HD formatted? What specific messages did you receive?

Phil0124 wrote:

cbergland wrote:

My external hard drive does not have an option to connect with anything other than something called a micro B cable. (I have never seen one of these before)

Odd, don't know of any drives that use Micro-USB B cable. Can you post a picture of the connector you are referring to, and explain where you are seeing this Micro b cable label exactly?

Many bus-powered portable hard drives have a USB 3.0 Micro B socket on the drive itself, and come with a USB 3.0 Micro B to USB-A cable.

https://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides/usb

Here's a photo of one such drive and cable. Here you see the black USB 3.0 Micro B to USB-A cable plugged into a white Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter. If you look on Amazon, you can find cables which go directly from USB-C to USB 3.0 Micro B (and are cheaper than the Apple adapter). (Avoid ones whose descriptions don't mention USB 3.0 or 3.1 data transfer - there might be a few "charging only" cables out there, for use with other portable devices that have USB 3.0 Micro B sockets.)

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb-c+to+usb+3.0+micro+b

cbergland wrote:

I have a newer macbook; therefore no usb port.

Incorrect. All MacBooks ship with USB ports of some type. The current ones have USB-C ports

My external hard drive does not have an option to connect with anything other than something called a micro B cable. (I have never seen one of these before)

Odd, don't know of any drives that use Micro-USB B cable. Can you post a picture of the connector you are referring to, and explain where you are seeing this Micro b cable label exactly?

I am trying to troubleshoot why my computer won't back up to this drive, and one of the first things that pops up in answer/replies is to NOT use a usb [to C] hub.

So how do I do this??

You can use an adapter, though not sure why anyone would recommend not using a Hub, unless you are dealing with a CD or DVD drive and not a hard drive. How are you determining it won't backup if you can't even connect it to the Mac? Seems like a crucial piece of information regarding what you are actually doing, is missing.

Please explain clearly what you are doing in as much detail as possible, and how you are connecting the drive to the Mac if you are connecting it in any way at all.

I am going to guess that the reason for this is because the two Macs are formatted differently. It is important that the external drive be properly formatted for the Mac is is to be used with. Second - I would definitely NOT use one drive to backup two different Macs. External backup drives should be dedicated only to backups and be used by only one Mac.

Please help! 😆🤦‍♀️ I’m getting on my son’s nerves and I can not figure it out from google! I have a MacBook Pro idk it says macOS Sonoma … I didn’t want my photos to go on my MacBook because I’m way over due for needing to sort and download them. Between photos and apps, my storage toast. I have an external hard drive WD elements… it shows in my finder but won’t allow me to drop any files in it at all.

MissLissa123 wrote:

Please help! 😆🤦‍♀️ I’m getting on my son’s nerves and I can not figure it out from google! I have a MacBook Pro idk it says macOS Sonoma … I didn’t want my photos to go on my MacBook because I’m way over due for needing to sort and download them. Between photos and apps, my storage toast. I have an external hard drive WD elements… it shows in my finder but won’t allow me to drop any files in it at all.

Note that if you want to take an external hard drive back and forth between Macs and Windows PCs, you might want to format it using exFAT.

exFAT is not as advanced as Microsoft's NTFS, or Apple's APFS and HFS+, in some ways. But both macOS and Windows will read and write exFAT volumes without the installation of third-party filesystem drivers.

If the end of the drive cable that connects to your Mac is a USB connector (most are), the following adapter should work: USB-C to USB Adapter - Apple

I am unable to identify the connected external hard disc to my MacBook pro

Asking for a password to unlock the hard disc and to open,

I don't have any pass word

Yes, I used for my old Mac Book and not working for new Mac Pro.

What is the solution