olifromgb
Level 1 (5 points)
Mac OS X

Q: External Hard Drive won't mount after Sierra update

Hi there, I have a a external 1TB Segate HD that I with my MacBook Air. After upgrading to macOS Sierra, it refuses to mount and so is invisible to Finder. Disk Utility detects the drive as initialised NTFS and says all the space has been used. I tried first mounting it through disk utility, but it did nothing. I then tried through terminal, but it returned 'failed to mount'. It worked fine before and also works fine on a MacBook Pro running Yosemite. It can't be anything to do with the drive as all the files are intact when connected to the other Mac. Also, I restarted into Mac Utilities and ran the disk utility from there, and it detected the drive, mounted and fully initialised, with the correct amount of space being used up.

I am looking for a solution that doesn't involve copying files off and reformatting if possible, but I will give it a go if it comes to that. Thanks very much.

MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 4:31 AM

by EcoGreg,Apple recommended
EcoGreg EcoGreg
Level 3 (554 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Most likely your Seagate drivers are not up to date.

NTFS is most likely the culprit here.

Go to the Seagate website and download and install the latest drivers for your drive and NTFS.

You can start here… http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/007770en?language=en_US&key=ka03 A000000tzbeQAA&kb=n&wwwlocale=en-us

 

Hope this helps, Greg

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 5:23 AM

Close
olifromgb

Q: External Hard Drive won't mount after Sierra update

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by EcoGreg,Apple recommended

    EcoGreg EcoGreg Sep 26, 2016 5:23 AM in response to olifromgb
    Level 3 (554 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 26, 2016 5:23 AM in response to olifromgb

    Most likely your Seagate drivers are not up to date.

    NTFS is most likely the culprit here.

    Go to the Seagate website and download and install the latest drivers for your drive and NTFS.

    You can start here… http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/007770en?language=en_US&key=ka03 A000000tzbeQAA&kb=n&wwwlocale=en-us

     

    Hope this helps, Greg

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Sep 30, 2016 6:08 PM in response to olifromgb
    Level 7 (32,127 points)
    iPad
    Sep 30, 2016 6:08 PM in response to olifromgb

    You might want to take a look at these - first one is a discussion about the problem in El Capitan and the second appears to be a solution (I do not use it, so can't offer an opinion on it):

     

    Enable NTFS Write support on Mac OS X El Capitan

     

    https://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/

  • by mstar28,

    mstar28 mstar28 Oct 1, 2016 9:13 PM in response to EcoGreg
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 1, 2016 9:13 PM in response to EcoGreg

    I was having the same problem. So I went to the link you suggested, downloaded the driver, installed it and restarted my computer and IT APPEARED!!! You saved me big time! Thanks!

  • by nataworry,

    nataworry nataworry Oct 5, 2016 4:14 PM in response to EcoGreg
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 5, 2016 4:14 PM in response to EcoGreg

    This helped me too. PHEW! Thanks a million!!

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Oct 5, 2016 4:23 PM in response to olifromgb
    Level 6 (15,483 points)
    Oct 5, 2016 4:23 PM in response to olifromgb

    The best solution IMHO would be to copy off the data then format the drive for OSX. Then copy the data back onto the drive. I say this is the best solution because you will not then be depending on third party apps to allow you access to your data. The next time you do a system update/upgrade you may suffer the same issue with the third party app and it may be that the third party app provider will not have an updated driver available, thereby leaving your data inaccessible.

  • by trevoz,

    trevoz trevoz Oct 5, 2016 4:26 PM in response to BobTheFisherman
    Level 2 (407 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2016 4:26 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

    The only problem with that solution is that you can no longer access the drive from Windows systems which is usually the point of using a third party driver to access an external drive that is shared. Of course, if the drive is only used on your Mac, yep, definitely the best solution.

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Oct 5, 2016 4:32 PM in response to trevoz
    Level 6 (15,483 points)
    Oct 5, 2016 4:32 PM in response to trevoz

    Maybe I missed it but I did not see anywhere in this thread that the posters wanted to access the drive from Windows. The drive, as many are, was likely formatted NTFS when purchased new. The buyer likely just connected the drive to their Apple computer and the Seagate NTFS software was likely installed for them.

    But you are correct. If the posters want to connect the drive to Windows as well as to OSX they can use the third party app. They could also format the drive ExFat and then not use the third party app as I suggested they not do.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Oct 5, 2016 7:21 PM in response to RoyalFlushAK(s)
    Level 7 (32,127 points)
    iPad
    Oct 5, 2016 7:21 PM in response to RoyalFlushAK(s)

    Thanks for the explanation; however, the OP's question had nothing to do with Photos or Pictures as such. The question was about an external drive.

  • by EcoGreg,

    EcoGreg EcoGreg Oct 5, 2016 7:35 PM in response to mstar28
    Level 3 (554 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2016 7:35 PM in response to mstar28

    You are welcome.

    Glad to help

    Greg

  • by EcoGreg,

    EcoGreg EcoGreg Oct 5, 2016 7:39 PM in response to nataworry
    Level 3 (554 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2016 7:39 PM in response to nataworry

    You are welcome.

    Glad to help.

     

    Greg

  • by EcoGreg,

    EcoGreg EcoGreg Oct 5, 2016 7:56 PM in response to BobTheFisherman
    Level 3 (554 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 5, 2016 7:56 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

    I do agree with the suggestion that if you do not need NTFS it is better to reformat to MacOS journaled if using for Macs only.

    To anyone who reads this thread just be aware if you reformat, all info/data is erased, so move your files first. Then reformat using Disk Utility and then move your files back. Yes I am just reiterating what Bob said earlier.

     

    If you do a lot of Windows work, there are some advantages to NTFS over ExFAT, but like you, I believe that lots of folks inherit/buy NTFS formatted drives and do not reformat to MacOS when the drive is empty.

     

    NTFS must be updated for Sierra or there will be a world of hurts.

    It is always a good idea to check for OS compatibility/updates before upgrading an OS. Make back ups and clones before upgrading.

    Make sure any external devices will work. Software too!

     

    Hope this helps, Greg