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User profile for user: Neville Goodman1
Neville Goodman1 Author
User level: Level 1
104 points

Apple Studio unresponsiveness and external drive issues

When I woke my Apple Studio, it wasn't responding correctly. WhatsApp wouldn't quit, or even force quit, and Apple Mail messages wouldn't open when I clicked on them. Finder wouldn't relaunch. I tried to Restart, or to Shut Down but eventually had to hold the Power button for 10 seconds to shut down.


When I restarted, I saw that neither of my Time Machine disks were mounted, and my overnight Carbon Copy Cloner task had aborted. I shut down and disconnected everything before restarting, and then reconnected the external drives. Two connected (one Time Machine, and the CCC drive), but the other did not connect, and I cannot connect to that disk at all no matter what cable or computer (Studio or MacBook) that I use.


This is the second external drive that I've lost recently. The previous one was possibly connected to an overnight power failure.


I want to ask three questions:


1 If an attached external disk drive fails, is it likely to produce the computer behaviour that I describe above?


2 Is there any other way that a faulty computer can harm an external disk drive?


3 Is there any other application that I can use to access and perhaps reformat the external disk drive that Disk Utility can no longer "see"?


Thanks!


Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Nov 9, 2026 6:54 AM

Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
162,294 points

Posted on Nov 9, 2026 8:27 AM

1. Can a failing external drive cause a Mac to become unresponsive?

Absolutely. macOS may repeatedly attempt to communicate with an external drive that is failing or no longer responding. This can cause Finder, Disk Utility, Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, and other processes accessing the drive to become unresponsive.


However, the problems you experienced with Mail and WhatsApp suggest that the issue may have affected more than just Finder. A USB/Thunderbolt communication problem, storage subsystem issue, or broader macOS problem could also explain the symptoms.


2. Can a faulty Mac damage an external drive?

It's possible, but relatively uncommon. A malfunctioning USB/Thunderbolt port, electrical fault, defective hub or dock, or unstable power supply could potentially damage an external drive. Power interruptions can also cause file-system corruption, particularly when data is being written.


However, file-system corruption is different from physical drive failure. A corrupted drive will generally still be detected by Disk Utility, even if its volumes cannot be mounted. Since you've experienced two external drive failures recently, I would also investigate whether the drives share a common power source, hub, dock, or enclosure.


3. Is there another application that might detect or reformat the drive?

Before considering third-party utilities, I recommend opening Disk Utility and selecting View > Show All Devices.

If the external drive appears in the sidebar as a physical device, even without a mounted volume, there may still be options for diagnosing or repairing it.


You can also check System Information > Hardware > USB or Thunderbolt/USB4, depending on how the drive connects, to determine whether the Mac recognizes the device at the hardware level.


If the drive doesn't appear in either Disk Utility or System Information, particularly after testing different cables and computers, third-party disk utilities are unlikely to help. This would suggest a hardware problem involving the drive, its enclosure, or its interface electronics.


As far as third-party utilities, the one I would suggest that you consider is DriveDx.

Ref: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250004005


IMPORTANT: If the drive contains important data that isn't backed up elsewhere, I would avoid attempting to erase or reformat it until you've considered data recovery.



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2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
162,294 points

Nov 9, 2026 8:27 AM in response to Neville Goodman1

1. Can a failing external drive cause a Mac to become unresponsive?

Absolutely. macOS may repeatedly attempt to communicate with an external drive that is failing or no longer responding. This can cause Finder, Disk Utility, Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, and other processes accessing the drive to become unresponsive.


However, the problems you experienced with Mail and WhatsApp suggest that the issue may have affected more than just Finder. A USB/Thunderbolt communication problem, storage subsystem issue, or broader macOS problem could also explain the symptoms.


2. Can a faulty Mac damage an external drive?

It's possible, but relatively uncommon. A malfunctioning USB/Thunderbolt port, electrical fault, defective hub or dock, or unstable power supply could potentially damage an external drive. Power interruptions can also cause file-system corruption, particularly when data is being written.


However, file-system corruption is different from physical drive failure. A corrupted drive will generally still be detected by Disk Utility, even if its volumes cannot be mounted. Since you've experienced two external drive failures recently, I would also investigate whether the drives share a common power source, hub, dock, or enclosure.


3. Is there another application that might detect or reformat the drive?

Before considering third-party utilities, I recommend opening Disk Utility and selecting View > Show All Devices.

If the external drive appears in the sidebar as a physical device, even without a mounted volume, there may still be options for diagnosing or repairing it.


You can also check System Information > Hardware > USB or Thunderbolt/USB4, depending on how the drive connects, to determine whether the Mac recognizes the device at the hardware level.


If the drive doesn't appear in either Disk Utility or System Information, particularly after testing different cables and computers, third-party disk utilities are unlikely to help. This would suggest a hardware problem involving the drive, its enclosure, or its interface electronics.


As far as third-party utilities, the one I would suggest that you consider is DriveDx.

Ref: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250004005


IMPORTANT: If the drive contains important data that isn't backed up elsewhere, I would avoid attempting to erase or reformat it until you've considered data recovery.



User profile for user: Neville Goodman1
Neville Goodman1 Author
User level: Level 1
104 points

Nov 9, 2026 9:22 AM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for a very helpful reply. I note your comment:


Since you've experienced two external drive failures recently, I would also investigate whether the drives share a common power source, hub, dock, or enclosure.


They didn't: one was connected to a USB-hub, and the other directly into a slot on my Studio Display. I fear that I'm a victim of coincidence.


Fortunately, there's nothing on the failed drive that I need -- it was a backup drive.


Thanks again.


Apple Studio unresponsiveness and external drive issues

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