Tahoe not recognizing External Hard Drives that still work fine on Sequoia

Hi, glad I've found this, I've exactly the same problem on my iMac i7, worked fine before, but after I upgraded to Tahoe, no external drives are recognised, show up in disk utility ok, and I can re format them, but will not mount at all, when I click "Mount" nothing at all happens, but if I plug the same drive into my 2013 MacBook Pro, it recognises them instantly, I'm really feeling this is Apples problem with Tahoe ?

NateKyngPresents wrote:

This is an Apple Forum, is it not? What a nonsensically rude response.

It is hosted by Apple, but nobody that actually works for Apple in a capacity that can affect macOS in any way monitors this Forum. If you want Apple to know about your dreams and desires, you need to actually contact Apple via their Feedback site, Feedback app, or call them via the Support website.

I've checked my Allow Accessories, and I've also rebooted my Macbook Air, and still no luck, with Tahoe 26.0.1.

Thank you neuroanatomist: I reported this bug. The more reports they receive, the greater the chance they will come up with a fix.

I tried using a usb interface and then it worked easily. Very strange issue. Just something to remember maybe, for next time.

I restarted it in safe mode and it still did not recognize my external drive. What is the next step in trouble-shooting? Apparently, it recognizes my external drive when it is directly connected to my laptop but not to my USB dock which is how I upload my images. I am quite perplexed now.

jaylynn0528 wrote:

I restarted it in safe mode and it still did not recognize my external drive. What is the next step in trouble-shooting? Apparently, it recognizes my external drive when it is directly connected to my laptop but not to my USB dock which is how I upload my images. I am quite perplexed now.

Is the Dock powered? If it is just using bus power, there likely isn't enough current to support the dock and even one drive connected to it.

syops wrote:

Apple has a real problem. I can't offer a solution but this needs to be shared so Apple can see this is a real bug that must be addressed.

Then you should probably tell Apple.

None of us work for Apple and we also can’t make the “bug” happen.

I tried several drives. An older Seagate drive now works, which didn't before, and my Samsung T7, which contains all my sample instruments, doesn't. I am beyond annoyed. I do hope Apple fixes this soon, I have stuff I need to be getting on with. (safe mode had no effect at all).

I do not even see that as an option on Mac OS 26.1

"Allow Accessories to Connect" is set to "Automatically when unlocked". Does not exist on either of my Macs running 26.1 where are you looking?

Pasting that into Mac Help says Content is Not Available.

tilleron wrote:

I do not even see that as an option on Mac OS 26.1

"Allow Accessories to Connect" is set to "Automatically when unlocked". Does not exist on either of my Macs running 26.1 where are you looking?

Pasting that into Mac Help says Content is Not Available.

What Macs? The setting is present only on laptops, not on desktops.

Ok, that means the option you're looking for is not there because it's not supposed to be there.

See the comment by HWTech:

FYI, this thread is lost. I count at least six different external drive related issues here.

1. Issue with third party software.....the OP @tpawluck

2. Seagate proprietary software issue....@Psych13

3. File system corruption.....@syops

4. Hardware or compatibility issue with a dock.....@jaylynn0528

5. System Settings issue....@JameOgilviePhoto

6. Unknown--not enough details.....@davidjames1701 & @workshopbear

Not sure which of these you fit into, but perhaps you may want to start your own thread as deconvoluting this 3-pager is perhaps not the most efficient use of time.

I can relate to all these problems. My entire life is on several external HDs. I'm a writer, and everything I have to show for my hard work is on them (I never save to my MacBook Air that I bought last year or any before that bc of ruinous problems to my simple documents, etc.). Is it Tahoe, Vectotech's hard drives that I've been using of late? The fact that life is basically one problem after another lol I just had an Apple Genius Bar appt, and they fixed the problem I went in for, totally unrelated. And they explained and described everything they were doing. Great. Now this with the hard drives, and my hunch is Tahoe 26.1. I've never had problems with Vectotech external HDs. I don't even really know what my point is! Just commiserating with people who've had similar issues. I'm going to make a Genius Bar appointment again, because I'm no computer expert, and I am NOT downloading software that is a scam and makes things worse. I will update as this problem evolves (it's getting worse right now) and hopefully resolves. Good luck to all and talk soon.

How do I restart in safe mode? I am having the same problem and do not want to lose my images that are on the drive.

jaylynn0528 wrote:

How do I restart in safe mode? I am having the same problem and do not want to lose my images that are on the drive.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support