by Jenefey AaronUpdated on 2020-09-29 / Update for Mac OS
A Seagate ExFAT formatted hard drive is more of a half way house on your Mac compared to an NTFS formatted drive. An example of a Seagate drive in ExFAT format is the Seagate Backup Plus Slim. And the Seagate solid state drives are ExFAT formatted. Seagate (STEL10000400) Backup Plus Hub 10TB External Hard Drive Desktop HDD – USB 3.0, for Computer Desktop Workstation PC Laptop Mac, 2 USB Ports 2.
So you plugged in your Seagate hard drive into your Mac and it ain't showing up, right? Well, perhaps, the files and folders or the disk itself is unapproachable and therefore, your Mac was unable to detect the Seagate external hard drive. Consequently, the Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Mac Sierra! But worry no more, we've got your back! We are going to uncover some proven ways to fix Seagate hard drive not showing up Mac. Stay glued!
Part 1: Why Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing up Mac?
Usually, when an external hard drive is plugged into Mac via a USB port, it gets mounted over the desktop. You can even find it under the Devices column on the left in the Finder. Just in case, your Seagate hard drive not showing up on Mac, there can be a number of reasons behind it. Here are they.
- 1. Chances are that your hard drive may have been corrupted.
- 2. Perhaps, it may not have been formatted properly.
- 3. Maybe, the drive got broken internally due to physical damage.
- 4. Or, your Seagate hard drive is faulty.
Part 2: Quick Fix The Issue of Seagate Hard Drive Not Showing up Mac
1. Check If Connected Properly
First things first, check if the Seagate external hard drive that is not showing up Mac is properly plugged in to the USB port. It is one of the most notable reasons when Mac fails to mount the drive. If you are using an older Mac ensure that the drive is receiving enough power supply. Older Macs need a special USB power cable, which splits up into two USB connectors and both of which has to be plugged into the Mac.
2. Troubleshoot the Seagate Hard Drive
If the above mentioned solution brought you no good, then you need to troubleshoot the Seagate Hard Drive. Try reconnecting the hard drive into a different USB port and check if it shows up or not. If not, you should then plug it in a different Mac or Windows PC to check if it is the hard drive itself that is faulty.
3. Restart your Mac
Performing a restart has known to be an ideal solution to resolve various software glitches in the first place. If your Seagate external hard drive not showing up Mac Sierra, try restarting it with the help of the steps mentioned right below.
Hit on the 'Apple' icon available on the top left corner of your Mac screen and then opt for the 'Restart' option from the appearing drop down menu.
4. Fix The Seagate Hard Drive with Disk Utility
If the above methods were not able to produce good results for you, the next method to fix Seagate external hard drive not showing up Mac is via Disk Utility. Here's what you need to do.
Step 1: Launch the 'Spotlight search' by hitting the 'cmd + spacebar' key over your keyboard and punch in 'Disk Utility'. Hit the 'Return' key afterwards to launch the program.
Step 2: On the left panel of the Disk Utility, you'll be able to locate your Seagate hard drive. If your drive is there and not mounted, it should appear as greyed out. Select the drive and then opt for 'Mount' option. Once mounted, the drive will now turn to normal.
Step 3: If Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Mac yet, try running the First Aid and Erase options to fix or format the drive respectively.
Part 3: The Ultimate Way to Recover Files from Formatted Seagate External Hard Drive
Since, the Seagate hard drive has now been formatted and is now accessible on your Mac, the data stored over it have been wiped off completely. Now, if you wish to recover the data contained within the formatted Seagate external hard drive. We have brought you the ultimate way to serve the purpose. Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery is your life saver when it comes to recovering data from various data loss scenarios. No matter if the data was stored over your Mac or over the external storage drive, Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Dasta Recovery can retrieve the lost data without any hassle.
Step 1: Install and launch the Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery over your Mac and then opt for the desired location from where the data has been lost. Then hit the 'Scan' button to initiate scanning of lost data.
Seagate Backup Drives For Mac
Note: If you're recovering data over the macOS High Sierra system or higher, you need to grant access to Mac files by disabling SIP first.
Step 2: Soon after the scan completes, you will be allowed to preview the data detected for recovery. You can selectively check the categories or the individual files as well that you wish to recover. Once done, hit the 'Recover' button. Lastly, set the destination location and you're done.
Conclusion
Well, that was all about how to fix Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Mac Sierra. We are now positive that you've successfully got your issue resolved. And just in case, you need format your hard drive for some reason, you can always look up to the mighty tool Tenorshare 4DDiG for Mac Data Recovery to retrieve the lost data back.
Summary: When plugging your Seagate Backup Plus into a Mac computer, you may find the drive stops working and is not mounting in Disk Utility. Have you been troubled by the issue? This post will give you 7 workable solutions to fix Seagate Backup Plus drive not mounting/working issue on Mac.
Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive is often used for Time Machine backup. But many users reported that they were unable to mount Seagate Backup Plus drive on Mac computers. And some say theirSeagate Backup Plus couldn't work on Mac after plugged in. Here is a real example:
'I really need your help. My Seagate Backup plus just stopped getting detected (led not working anymore) with my MacBook Pro 2016 model (with USB Type C to USB 3 connector) suddenly. It was working fine 1 month before. I tried this backup disk with a Windows computer and the LED light is working in that case but I am not able to get it to work with my MacBook Pro anymore. Any idea guys?'
In fact, this issue is very common, especially for those who frequently share the same drive between different computers. This page will help when Seagate Backup Plus drive doesn't work on Mac.
7 solutions to fix Seagate Backup Plus not mounting, not working on Mac
Seagate Desktop Hard Drive For Macbook Pro
For some reason, Seagate external hard drives could not be recognized by Mac. If you can't mount the Seagate Backup Plus drive in Disk Utility, the hard drive won't work on Mac. And you can't access the data stored on it. So it's very urgent to fix the problem to make it work again.
Here are solutions to the Seagate Backup Plus not working or mounting issue.
1. Have some basic checks
Sometimes, the Seagate Backup Plus drive won't mount on Mac is due to the bad USB port or cable. Thus, once the Seagate Backup Plus drive stops working, you can first do some routine checks as below.
- Step 1. Check if the cable of the Seagate Backup Plus drive is connected properly to your Mac
If the drive isn't properly plugged in, it will fail to mount as it received not enough or even no power. - Step 2. Make sure the USB cable is not at fault
Try using a different USB cable to see if that fixes the problem. - Step 3. Check if the USB port is damaged
Plug the Seagate Backup Plus into another USB port if you have another one. Otherwise, insert another external storage device in this USB port. - Step 4. Check whether the Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive is powered properly
In general, the current of USB port 2.3 and 3.0 are enough for the most external portable hard drives. But sometimes this amount of current may be insufficient while the drive is spinning up. - In this situation, you can try to connect the Seagate Backup Plus with a USB Y cable if you have one. And for Seagate Backup Plus Hub and Expansion Desktop, a power adaptor is required for power supply.
- Step 5. Access the drive on other Macs
Connect the Seagate Backup Plus drive to another Mac computer to see whether it works on that one or not. If the drive works on another Mac computer, there is something wrong with your Mac computer rather than the drive. What you should do is to ask for help from Apple support. - Step 6. Check if the format of Seagate hard drive is supported by macOS
For example, a Windows BitLocker encrypted drive will not be working on Mac originally. Your Mac computer is not able to mount it. To fix the problem, you can plug the Seagate Backup Plus into a PC and then access the drive on Windows.
2. Check whether the Seagate Backup Plus is showing up in Disk Utility
To troubleshoot this problem, you first need to know if this Seagate hard drive is detected by your Mac. Open the Utilities folder in your Applications folder. Launch Disk Utility and check the left pane then. If you can't see the external hard drive in macOS, the drive probably has been physically damaged. In that case, you should send the drive to the local repair shop. Otherwise, you can move to the next solution.
3. Check if the Seagate Backup Plus drive is mounted in Disk Utility
If the Seagate Backup Plus is mounted in Disk Utility, you should blame the wrong computer settings or outdated computer. Fortunately, it's easy to fix these issues. Just try solution 4 and solution 5. If the external hard drive is greyed out in Disk Utility, it's not mounted. You can try right-clicking the Seagate Backup Plus and choose the 'Mount' button. If that doesn't work, the drive has some file system problems. Please follow the solution 6 to repair the problem.
4. Show the Seagate Backup Plus on the desktop
If the Seagate external hard drive is mounted in Disk Utility, but it still doesn't show up on Mac. First of all, you should make sure the settings in Finder display drive icons on the desktop.
Step 1: Go to Finder > Preferences > General tab.
Step 2: Select 'External disks' under 'Show these items on the desktop' and then the connected external hard drive will appear on the desktop.
5. Repair Seagate Backup Plus drive via First Aid
Seagate Backup Plus not mounting issue on Mac can be caused by file system problems. Disk Utility's First Aid is a built-in tool on Mac to deal with errors related to disks, such as file system corruption. So you can try to fix the unmountable/corrupted Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive in Disk Utility by following the steps below.
Step 1: Go to Utilities Disk Utility.
Step 2: Click 'View' in the top menu bar (Or click 'View' on the top window). Then select 'Show All Devices'.
Step 3: Select the Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive from the left sidebar.
Step 4: Click 'First Aid' on the top of the Disk Utility window.
Step 5: Click 'Run' to perform hard disk diagnostics and fix the not mounting/not working Seagate Backup Plus.
6. Update the software on Mac
Software updates keep your computer and programs secure, deal with quite a few bugs, and provide new features. Out-of-date software can cause a variety of issues. It's possible that the operating system will become sluggish and the connected device may not function properly. Fortunately, you can easily update the software on Mac.
Case 1. Update the software on macOS Mojave or Catalina. If you upgrade to macOS Mojave or macOS Catalina, you should choose 'System Preferences' from the Apple menu, then click 'Software Update' to check for updates. If any updates are available, click 'Update Now' to install them.
Case 2. Update the software on earlier macOS versions. Just launch the Mac App Store, click the 'Update' tab on the top and then choose the 'Update All'.
7. Fix the not mounting or working Seagate Backup Plus drive by reformatting
If First Aid failed on the external hard drive, it might have some serious errors that are beyond its reparation capability. In that case, you need to recover lost data from the Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive as soon as possible.
Step 1. Recover lost data from the unmountable/corrupted Seagate Back Plus
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is free external hard drive data recovery software. It can easily recover files when the hard drive is not working or mounting on Mac. Also, it canrecover deleted photos and lost data from formatted drives, unreadable drives, corrupted drives, and recover deleted/lost partitions, etc. It's compatible withmacOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12/10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
- 1. Download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on Mac.
- 2. Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
- 3. Select the Seagate Backup Plus and click the 'Scan' button to scan for all lost data.
- 4. Preview the searching results, choose files you want to get back, and click the 'Recover' button.
Here is a short video tutorial which shows you how to recover lost data from unmountable/corrupted external hard drives:
Step 2: Reformat the Seagate Backup Plus to make it work
After recovering data from the unmounted Seagate Backup Plus, you can now go to Disk Utility and reformat it without worrying about data loss.
• Steps to reformat Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive
If unfortunately, you can't reformat the Seagate Backup Plus drive, it must have physical issues. In this case, you have to look for help from a local data recovery company.
Bonus Part: Introduction to different Seagate Backup Plus drives
You probably use a Seagate desktop drive like Backup Plus Hub and Expansion. Or you could use a Backup Plus Portable drive like Ultra Touch and Slim. No matter which Seagate Backup Plus drive you choose, it could not work on the Mac for some reason.
Therefore, it's important to know the differences between those Seagate Backup Plus drives. This helps you to use the Seagate Backup Plus drive more correctly and efficiently, and then avoid hard disk corruption.
- 1. Seagate Backup Plus Hub: This Seagate Backup Plus Desktop drive has large capacities with cross-platform compatibility, which means you don't have to format the drive for both Mac and Windows again. It's an all-in-one data hub and recharging station for tablet, smartphone and camera.
- 2. Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch: Backup Plus Ultra Touch portable hard drives feature password protection and hardware encryption, USB-C compatibility, and file sync. You can't open the Seagate Backup Plus drive on Mac until it's unlocked. Moreover, an NTFS for Mac software is needed to use Backup Plus Ultra Touch on Mac, as it's preformatted with NTFS.
- 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim: Seagate Backup Plus is small enough for a loaded laptop bag. It's an ideal external hard drive with easy portability and enough storage space. But avoid dropping your Seagate Backup Plus drive during transportation, in case it's damaged and not working.
- 4. SeagateBackup Plus Portable: Backup Plus portable drives offer easy-to-use software tools like Seagate Dashboard, so that you can schedule automatic backup and mirror folders easily.
Conclusion
No matter what caused Seagate Backup Plus not mounting, working, or readable issue on Mac, such as logical problems and physical damages, the most important thing is to back up important data or recover lost data with free Mac data recovery software. iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is a powerful and reliable data recovery tool on macOS which supports various external drives, including external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, etc.
If you have any suggestions to solve this issue or experience any questions when using iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, please feel free to let us know.