Get a data lifeguard for Mac

Safely store and share your photos, videos, files and more in the cloud. Your first 15 GB of storage are free with a Google account. Dec 31, 2018  Network drive access can be obtained in three simple steps, provided you don’t mind having to repeat those steps if the connection drops, you restart your Mac, or the device is disconnected: In Finder, either hit Command+K to bring up “Connect to Server” or click Go Connect to Server. Jun 23, 2020  How to Remove iCloud Drive from Sidebar in Finder on Mac. Later, if you don’t want to keep iCloud Drive in the sidebar for any reason, you can quickly remove it. Launch Finder on your Mac → Click on the Finder menu at the top left corner. Now, click on Preferences. May 15, 2018  How to Create Folders in Google Drive on a PC or Mac. This wikiHow teaches you how to create a new folder in Google Drive when you're using a computer. Go to https://drive.google. Jun 05, 2019  Mac. By default, the Google Drive folder is located in Users/your username/Google Drive. Here’s how to move it to a different volume on Mac, or any location you want. Method 1: 1- Click the Backup & Sync icon on the menu bar. Click the three-dot icon, then choose Preferences.

Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your Mac’s USB port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the Finder in the left-hand column under Devices, since Mac’s treat them the same way as another computer.

However, sometimes, an external hard drive doesn't show up. It’s annoying, especially when you need to transfer something right then. And besides, there can be a risk that data on the external USB pen, hard, or flash drive is corrupt, which means you can’t transfer what you need between devices at all.

Corrupt data can be one reason your Mac won't recognize an external drive, but there are other reasons too. Let’s take a look why this is happening and how you can get an external drive to appear on your Mac and get recover data to access to your documents.

How to fix an external disk drive that won't show up on a Mac

Why an external disk drive is not showing up? There could be a few reasons why a USB flash drive isn’t making an appearance.

Open an External Drive Not Showing on Mac

Get a huge set of top utilities for troubleshooting external hard drives not mounting on a Mac

Start with the basics:

1. Check whether the drive is properly plugged in. It sounds obvious, but since this relies on a wire - either a USB cable or HDMI cable - if it’s not connected properly then it won’t appear on your desktop.
2. Faulty cable. Assuming it’s plugged in correctly, not wobbly or loose, the cable could be at fault. Try connecting the same device with a different cable.
3. Damaged USB or flash drive port. It could be a hardware issue with the Mac. If you’ve got another port, try connecting the device to that one.
4. Reboot your Mac. Sometimes, if a USB disk won't boot, the cause is macOS issue. Hopefully, some data damage that can be fixed by restarting. Choose the Apple menu > Restart. Or press and hold the power button and, when a dialog box appears, click the Restart or press R. Restarting your Mac essentially clears your macOS’s memory and starts it up fresh.
5. Incorrectly formatted drive. Not every external drive is optimized for Macs. It could be that you are trying to connect something only fit to interact with Windows devices. If you’ve got a PC or laptop, it’s worth connecting and seeing if you can access the files through another device. The best way to look for an incorrectly formatted drive is to go to
   Apple (in the top toolbar menu) > About This Mac > Storage.
   See if the external drive shows up here. For more information, go to the same menu option, then select System Report.
6. Mac not formatted to display external drives on the desktop. It could be that your Mac already recognizes the device, but just isn’t showing its icon on the desktop screen. Even if that is the case, the drive will still appear in the left-hand column of the Finder menu under Devices. You should be able to access your drive that way, and, in the Finder menu under Preferences > General, you can check External Drives to ensure that from now on it shows up on your desktop too.
7. Reset NVRAM. To do this, shut down or restart your Mac, switch it back on and immediately press these four keys together for at least 20 seconds: Option, Command, P, and R. It should look as though your Mac has started again; if it has, release the keys when you hear the second startup chime. Hopefully, the hard drive has shown up now.
8. Check Apple’s Disk Utility to see if an external drive is showing up. Disk Utility is within System Preferences, or you can find it using Spotlight. If it is visible, then click the option to Mount, which should make it visible on the desktop and in the External Drives option in the Finder menu.

Unfortunately, if none of those options has worked and the external drive still isn’t visible, then it could have crashed, or be well and truly broken. But there might still be a way you can recover the data on the external drive.

How to show connected devices in Finder

1. Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences (Cmd+comma).
2. From General tab tick External disks to ensure that from now on it shows on the desktop.

In the Sidebar tab you can choose which folders and devices will be shown in the left-hand column of the Finder window.

How to add cloud storages to Finder

You can also mount cloud storage as local drive on your Mac. By connecting Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon to your computer, you get more space for securely accessing and sharing files. For your ease, add cloud drives to Finder with CloudMounter app, so that you keep them close at hand. You can read detailed instructions on managing cloud storage as local drives here.

Repair the failed external drives with First Aid

If your drive is having problems, you can try to fix them yourself with First Aid and therefore get access to your files. First Aid tool will check the disk for errors and then attempt a repair as needed. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive problems. If you are able to fix the hard drive or SSD in your Mac (or an external drive) using Disk Utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files.

To run Fist Aid on an external hard drive:

1. Open Disk Utility. You can searching for it using Spotlight Search or via Finder > Application > Utility
2. Check on your external hard drive, click the First Aid tab and select Run to start running diagnostics.

If First Aid successful in fixing errors, the external drive should be available to mount. If the utility unable to repair issues, your drive truly is broken or formatted using a file system that the Mac cannot read - in this way we suggest you follow the next steps to recover data from a damaged disk drive.

How to recover data from a crashed drive

Thankfully, there is an app for that. Disk Drill is the world’s premier data recovery software for Mac OS X. Powerful enough to retrieve long-lost, mistakenly deleted files from Macs, external hard drives and USB drives and camera cards.

Get a file recovery app

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An easy way to recover lost files on an external hard drive

Providing you already have Disk Drill Pro version, which you can get automatically by downloading from Setapp:

1. Connect your drive to the Mac.
2. Quit all other applications on the Mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive (e.g. iPhoto, Words)
3. Launch Disk Drill.
4. Click on the external drive that you are trying to recover files from. If it has partitions, you will see all of them. If, however, you still don’t see any volume to the external drive then you may need to try some of the steps above again or read the Disk Drill Scanning FAQs.
5. To avoid the external drive being accessed during the recovery process, click Extras next to the drive or drive partition or file, then select Remount Volume As Read Only. A padlock will appear, protecting the drive during the process.
6. Now click Rebuild (or Recover) next to the file(s) you are trying to recover. Once the scan is finished - it may take some time if the files are large - a list of files will appeal.
7. Next, click Mount Found Items as Disk button on the bottom-left below the scan results.
8. Disk Drill “strongly suggest saving the files to a different drive than the one you are trying to recover files from. Saving to the same drive substantially lowers your chances of recovery.”
9. A drive icon will appear, which once you double click will give you the option to open the files as you would do before they were lost. Drag them to another location, such as your desktop or a folder on your Mac.
10. Open the files to ensure they have been recovered properly and safely eject the external drive.

Disk Drill does have other ways to recover lost files but assuming there aren’t complications, this method is the most effective. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available from Setapp, along with dozens of Mac apps that will make your life easier. Never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive again.

A few more tips on getting your files back

1. Macs and third-party apps that look after Macs, such as Disk Drill and iStat Menus come with a S.M.A.R.T. (also known as Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status monitor. If a SMART check reports errors, then it could mean the hard drive is at risk of failing completely. Within Disk Utility and Disk Drill, there are several solutions for this: Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk. If neither work, it’s recommended that you backup all of the data from the disk, erase, then run a SMART check again. The external hard drive should show up as Verified.
2. Partitions can get lost within hard drives, temporarily hiding all of the information contained within. Disk Drill can help to identify and restore this information.
3. Within Disk Drill, you can restore data when a hard drive is damaged or add formatting, which is also something Disk Utility can help with.
4. CleanMyMac, another useful app available from Setapp, can help you identify external hard drive errors and repair them. It is an essential tool worth trying when you’re having external hard drive difficulties.

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Alternative ways to recover data from an external hard drive

Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) if your Mac shuts down when you plug in an external hard drive. Then use a different port to connect the external hard drive. If you’ve got a battery that you can’t remove:

• Shut down and unplug the power adapter
• Press Shift-Control-Option and the power button at the same time. Do this for 10 seconds
• Release all keys
• Plug the power adapter back in and switch your Mac back on

For Macs with removable batteries, you need to switch them off, remove the battery, then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. After that, put the battery back in, plug in the power adapter and switch the power on again.

What’s your file format? One reason your Mac isn’t recognizing the hard drive is the file format. Windows uses NTFS file formats, while Macs, up until the introduction of Sierra, have used HFS+. Now, Apple has introduced the Apple File System (APFS) for newer operating systems. It is possible to format a hard drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows computers, providing you format using exFAT. However, if you’re having problems accessing the files and the issue is due to formatting, you will need to connect it to a device it can be read on, and then format the files correctly for the computer you are going to use it on next.

How to make Ext2/Ext3 drives readable on Mac

The common issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on macOS. There are two ways to access such external drives on your Mac – via Linux OS or FUSE system. The easiest would be installing Linux to a secondary drive or virtual machine.

If you go with Linux installation, dual boot your Mac with Linux on another drive and use FAT32 as a transfer intermediary. If you don’t have a drive to install Linux to, use virtual machine as an interface for it. Transferring can be done the same way – with FAT32, or via network.

Another option for reading Ext2/Ext3 disks is mounting disk with Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE). Basically, it works as an extra interface enabling file system access via specially installed modules. Here’s how to mount drives with FUSE:

1. Install FUSE for macOS or MacFUSE as well as fuse-ext2 module.
2. Use the following Terminal command to enable Disk Utility’s debug menu and see all partitions: defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility DUDebugMenuEnabled 1
3. Attach your Ext2/Ext3 drive and locate the device name via Disk Utility.
4. In your user account, create a folder to be used as a mount point.
5. Use the following Terminal command to mount the drive as read-only: fuse-ext2 /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint
6. For write support, use the command: fuse-ext2 -o force /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint

And that’s not the only case where Terminal helps you access external drive.

Employ the handy all-powerful Terminal, which always comes forward with solutions for difficult problems. Especially if System Information does recognize the USB or hard drive, but continues to hide it from you, disconnect the drive and try to find it using the Terminal, which you can find in Applications > Utilities.

• Once in the Terminal, type in the command diskutil list
• A list with information about volumes and drives should appear
• Look for a section labelled /dev/disk_ (external, physical)
• Make a note of the whole line after the word disk
• Now put the following command into the Terminal diskutil info disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
• Now you should see detailed information about the drive, therefore confirming that your Mac can and does recognize it
• Eject using the Terminal by entering the command diskutil eject disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
• Physically remove the disk from you Mac
• Plug it back in and your Mac should recognize it

Console is also reliable when it comes to solving tricky problems, although it isn’t always that easy to use. You can find Console under Applications > Utilities > Console. Console shows if an external drive or any error is detected under the Errors and Faults tab. If no errors show up, then the problem is not caused by the device.

To sum up, there are lots of potential solutions for a Mac not reading an external hard drive. If we were to pick one, Disk Drill seems to be the most well-rounded, offering plenty of customizations and power in an easy-to-use interface. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available via Setapp, along with 150+ Mac apps that strive to make your life much much easier. At the very least, you’ll never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive ever again.

1. Copy any files and folders you want to keep on your computer to a different folder.
2. Open Finder and click Applications.
3. Drag the Google Drive app into the Trash on your dock.
4. In the top left of your screen, click Finder > Empty Trash.

How do I get Google Chrome on my Mac?

1. Download the installation file.
2. Open the file called 'googlechrome.dmg.'
3. In the window that opens, find Chrome .
4. Drag Chrome to the Applications folder. You might be asked to enter the admin password.
5. Open Chrome.
6. Open Finder.
7. In the sidebar, to the right of Google Chrome, click Eject .

• How can I download Google Chrome on my Mac?

  1. Download the installation file.
  2. Open the file called 'googlechrome.dmg'.
  3. In the window that opens, find Chrome .
  4. Drag Chrome to the Applications folder. You might be asked to enter the admin password.
  5. Open Chrome.
  6. Open Finder.
  7. In the sidebar, to the right of Google Chrome, click Eject .

• Can you use chromecast on a Mac?

  When using the Chromecast with the Mac, you have to use the Chrome browser. Some websites are optimized and designed for casting. Those sites include YouTube, Netflix, Google Play Movies and Google Play Music. On the video controls the Cast icon appears with a prompt to Play on Your TV.

• Where do I find the Applications folder on my Mac?

  To access the Applications folder, go to the Finder by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock (it's usually the first icon on the left side of the Dock), or by clicking in a blank area of the Desktop. From the Finder's Go menu, select Applications.

Mac Os Google Drive Folder No Longer Visible In Finder Free

How do I close Google Drive on a Mac?

1. Click the Google Drive icon in your computer's toolbar .
2. From the drop-down menu, select Preferences.
3. When the Google Drive Preferences window opens, choose Disconnect account.
4. After you've confirmed disconnecting your account, open the Applications folder and move the Google Drive icon to your trash.

How do I stop Google Drive from syncing?

1. In Chrome browser, go to drive.google.com.
2. Click the Settings icon in the top right corner of your browser.
3. Choose Settings.
4. Click the box next to 'Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings files to this computer so that you can edit offline.'

How do I disconnect Google Drive?

Mac Os Google Drive Folder No Longer Visible In Finder Mac

How do I delete a Google Drive folder?

How do I remove an account from my Google Drive?

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Accounts.
3. Tap Google.
4. Tap the account you'd like to remove.
5. In the top right corner, tap More .
6. Tap Remove account.
7. To confirm, tap Remove account.

How do I Unsync Google Drive?

Mac Os Google Drive Folder No Longer Visible In Finder Download

1. Click Google Drive . On a Mac, the icon is in the menu bar at the top right of your desktop screen. On a PC, the icon is in the taskbar in the bottom right of your desktop screen.
2. In the top right, click Menu .
3. Select Preferences.
4. Choose one of the following options: Sync options.

How do I get rid of Google Drive?

1. Uninstall Google Drive.
2. How to Uninstall Google Drive for your.
3. You can remove Google Drive for your Mac/PC and turn syncing off from your computer by uninstalling the application.
4. Windows.
5. Click the Google Drive icon (usually in the bottom right task bar).
6. Deleting the Google Drive folder.

How do I clear my Google Drive?

1. Use a computer to see your files listed from largest to smallest.
2. Put files you don't want in your trash, then permanently delete them. Learn how to delete files.
3. Within 24 hours, the items you deleted will show in the available space in your Google Drive account.

How do I remove Google drive from my PC?

1. Click Start Control Panel.
2. Click Programs Programs and Features.
3. Click Backup and Sync from Google Uninstall.
4. Click Yes.

How do I delete a file from Google Drive?

1. Select the file you want to delete, then click the Remove button to move the file to the Trash folder.
2. Select Trash in the left navigation pane.
3. The Trash folder will appear. Click Trash near the top of the screen, then select Empty Trash. The files will be permanently deleted.

Where is the Go menu on a Mac?

How do I change my Google Drive account?

1. Go to the Google Drive menu on your computer.
2. Choose Preferences(Windows) or Settings (Mac).
3. Select Account.
4. Click the Disconnect account.
5. Click Yes.
6. To sign in to another account, go to the Google Drive menu, and select Sign in.

How do you logout of Google Drive?

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. In the top left corner, tap Menu .
3. Next to your Google Account name, tap the Down arrow .
4. Tap Manage Accounts .
5. In the top right, tap Manage.
6. Next to the account you'd like to sign out of, tap Remove.
7. To confirm, tap Remove.

Can I transfer my Google Drive to another account?

What is Google take out?

How can you share a Google form?

1. Open a form in Google Forms.
2. In the top right, click Send.
3. At the top of the window, click Link .
4. To copy the link that appears, click Copy or press Ctrl + c (Windows) or ? + c (Mac) on your keyboard.

How do I give permission on a Google form?

Mac Os Google Drive Folder No Longer Visible In Finder Iphone

1. Open a form in Google Forms.
2. In the top right, click More .
3. Click Add collaborators.
4. Under 'Invite people,' type the names or email addresses of the people you want to work with.
5. Click Send.

Where do Google form responses go?

• Open a form in Google Forms.
• At the top, click Responses.
• Below, click More .
• Select Select response destination.
• Choose whether to create a new spreadsheet or use an existing spreadsheet.
• Click Create or Select.

How do you turn off a Google form?

1. Open a form in Google Forms.
2. At the top, click Responses.
3. Turn 'Accepting responses' from On to Off.

Can you edit a Google form after submission?

Updated: 26th November 2019