External Disk Hard Drive Issues.

Question

Level 1

44 points

External Disk Hard Drive Issues.

The external 5T disk hard drive with my Time Machine is not showing up in my MAC's Finder. When I plug it into my wife's MAC, the screen shows "Allow accessory to connect? Do you want to connect Seagate One Touch HDD to this Mac? Don''t Allow Allow. I pressed Don't Allow and then disconnected it. Can I press Allow without impacting her time machine or computer otherwise. I would like to erase and reformat the Hard Drive and then continue using it with Time Machine if you think that would solve the problem. I am using OS 26.2. Thank you for helping.

iMac 24″, macOS 26.2

Posted on Feb 12, 2026 1:45 PM

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Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,660 points

Feb 12, 2026 7:32 PM in response to sburech

So far.....everything that you are telling us indicates that the hard drive has failed or has become corrupted.

As a last ditch effort, connect the drive to your Mac again

Open Disk Utility

Is the drive recognized?

If no, connect the drive to your wife's Mac

Open Disk Utility

Is the drive recognized?

If the answer to both questions is "no", it's time to purchase a new hard drive.

If the answer is "yes" to either question, using Disk Utility.....format the drive in APFS, and then test again to see if the drive is recognized by both Macs.

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Answer 2

Feb 12, 2026 2:03 PM in response to sburech

Yes. You can allow the drive without impacting her Time Machine. That just lets it connect and appear in Finder, nothing else.

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Answer 3

sburech Author

Level 1

44 points

Feb 12, 2026 2:17 PM in response to Phil0124

Thanks so much for the prompt reply. I "allowed" the hard drive to connect but it did not show up in the finder on my wife's computer either. Is it time for a new external drive or can you suggest something else to test if the drive has any life worth salvaging? Thanks again for your assistance.

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