There are a few reasons why your external hard drives might not be mounting properly on macOS Sonoma. Let's go through some troubleshooting steps to get them working again:
Basic Checks:
- Physical Connection: This might seem obvious, but double-check that the cables are securely plugged into both the hard drive and your Mac. Try a different USB port and see if that makes a difference. If you're using a USB hub, try connecting the drive directly to your Mac.
- Finder Preferences: Make sure your Mac is set to show mounted drives on the desktop. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and check the box next to "External disks."
Troubleshooting Based on File Format:
- ExFAT Drive:
- macOS can read and write to exFAT drives natively. The fact that it works on Windows suggests the drive itself might be healthy. Try restarting your Mac and see if the drive mounts automatically.
- If not, third-party tools like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac can help mount exFAT drives [similar tool].
- Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled):
- This format is native to macOS. There might be a slight incompatibility with Sonoma.
- Open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility). See if the drive shows up in the list on the left. If it does, try selecting the drive and clicking the "Mount" button in the toolbar.
Advanced Troubleshooting:
- Boot into Recovery Mode: If the above steps fail, try booting your Mac into Recovery Mode and see if the drives mount there. This can help isolate if the issue is with the operating system itself.
- Search online for instructions on booting into Recovery Mode for your specific Mac model.
Additional Tips:
- Permissions: There have been reports of permission issues with external drives on Sonoma. This is an advanced fix, so only attempt it if you're comfortable with Terminal commands. Search online for specific instructions on fixing permissions for external drives on macOS.
- Disk Repair: If Disk Utility detects any errors with the drive, it might offer a "First Aid" option to repair them. However, proceed with caution as this could erase data in some cases.
Important Note: If none of these steps work, there's a chance the external hard drive itself might be failing. Before attempting any further troubleshooting that might modify the drive, consider using a data recovery service to recover your files, especially if the drive contains important data.
