An external hard drive for your Mac lets you expand your computer’s storage without shelling out a lot of cash. If you need more storage space on your new Mac and you don’t know how to do it, then this guide on How To Connect An External Hard Drive To MacBook will definitely guide you while doing the process.
How To Connect An External Hard Drive To MacBook?
Typically, all you need to do to connect an external hard drive to your computer is plug it in. However, the hard drive needs to be formatted with a file system that your Mac can support if you’re using a Macbook Pro or any other Mac computer. All of the data on the drive will be erased if it is formatted. The Mac OS X can only read data from a hard drive that has been pre-formatted as NTFS, which is the case with the majority of hard drives on the market.
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Step 1: Connecting The Drive
1. Connect the hard disc to the Mac using the supplied cable
- You simply need to insert the USB cable into an available Mac port to connect most hard drives. Normally, the Mac has at least one USB port on each side.
- A Thunderbolt or FireWire cable may be included with some Mac-specific drives instead. If so, you’ll need to plug it into the appropriate port or purchase an adaptor if your Mac doesn’t have the right port.
An external hard disc can be selected based on speed or cost. Some external hard drives have HDD drives, making them a less expensive, slower storage alternative. Solid-state hard discs are another option; they are a little more expensive but substantially faster. Make sure the cables you use to connect the drive to your Mac are the correct ones.
2. Look for your drive on your desktop
If the drive is formatted and connected correctly, a drive with a USB or Thunderbolt symbol will show up on your Mac’s desktop.
- Even though it is connected properly, the disc icon may not show up on your desktop. In any Finder window, look under the Devices header in the left frame to see if the drive is present.
- Using the Finder menu, choose Preferences, then check the External discs option, you can make drives visible on your desktop.
- If the drive does not show up in Finder or on your desktop, then follow the next section.
3. Open the dive to see the contents
To see the contents of the drive, double-click on the disc on your desktop or choose it from the left frame of a Finder window. You can begin dragging and dropping files into the disc or copying files to your Mac’s internal hard drive.
Step 2: Formatting A New Drive
1. Go to Disk Utility
The majority of external hard drives come pre-formatted for Windows PCs, which drastically restricts their usability on a Mac. You will be able to read from but not write to your new external disc if it is formatted for Windows. Using Disk Utility, you can format it to the correct file system.
- In your Mac, go to Go > Utilities > Disk Utilities.
- Everything on the drive will be removed if it is formatted. This is good for new drives, but if you want to use an older disc with existing files, you’ll need to save them before you start formatting.
2. Choose the hard drive from the left menu
In this menu, you’ll find a list of all of your connected drives.
- From the list, choose your new external drive.
- If your drive isn’t listed here, proceed to the next section.
3. Click the erase option
By clicking the Erase option at the top of the Disk Utility window, drive formatting procedure will begin.
- Make sure all important data has been backed up because this will delete everything from the hard disc. You can still copy the data you wish to save to your Mac even if the drive is formatted in Windows before formatting it.
4. Choose ExFAT from the Format option
You may transfer your hard drive across computers with ease thanks to this format’s compatibility with Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. You can use it on any size disc since, unlike earlier versions of FAT, there are no practical restrictions on file size or volume size.
- Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if you only intend to use the disc with your Mac. By doing this, you’ll be able to use the drive with all of your Mac’s capabilities, including Time Capsule.
5. Select Erase to format the drive with the chosen format
All of the data that is currently stored on the drive will be permanently erased. Depending on the drive’s size, formatting can take a while.
6. Give your newly formatted drive a try
It will show up on your desktop once the drive has been correctly formatted. You should be able to add and remove files from it after you double-click it to open it.
Step 3: Troubleshooting
1. Make sure the device is properly connected.
Make sure that all of the cables are securely attached to the Mac and the drive. A loose cable prevents the drive from showing up.
2. Make sure the device has adequate power
Some external drives call for a separate power supply. A dual USB cable might be required. This cable features a single USB plug that goes into the external drive on one end and splits into two plugs that go into your Mac and the external drive, respectively
3. Restart your MacBook
Frequently, a straightforward power cycle will solve issues with your Mac or hard drive. Shut your computer down completely, and then turn on back by pressing the power button. There’s a strong probability that after restarting, the drive you connected will show up.
4. Use different cables and ports
One of your Mac’s USB ports can be broken, or you might have a damaged USB cable. Try using a different USB cable and a different USB port to connect the hard disc.
5. Launch First Aid on the drive
Disk Utility has certain drive repair features that can restore functionality to a broken drive.
- Go > Utilities > Disk Utilities.
- Choose your drive and then select First Aid
- Choose Run to start scanning the drive for errors.
- Let the utility correct any mistakes it comes across. You might be able to use the drive once more after doing this. Know that if errors have appeared, this could be a signal of a disc failure that is about to occur.
6. Think about replacing the drive
A hard drive’s failure is inevitable. Each year that your hard disc is in use raises the likelihood that it will malfunction. Even brand-new drives experience failure at a rate that surprises most users. It’s likely that your drive is simply dead if it’s been four years or more and won’t start up no matter what you do.
- To see if it shows up, you might try inserting it into a different computer. It might be time for a new drive if it’s not showing up anywhere.
So these are the steps to connect an external hard drive to MacBook. If you are not enough confident of doing this by yourself, you can contact Techyuga for MacBook Servicing and MacBook Repair.
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Conclusion On: How To Connect An External Hard Drive To MacBook
Finally, we came to an end with this guide on how to connect the external hard drive to a MacBook pro. Hope you like this post. If you’ve any doubt regarding this post, then please contact TECHYUGA for further reference.
FAQs
Q. What is the fastest way to transfer files from Mac to an external hard drive?
A. Select the file or folder which you want to transfer and hold down the Command button to select several items simultaneously. Press Command+N to open a second Finder window and then select your external hard drive. Go to the external drive folder. click Eject to securely remove the hard disc.
Q. How to access the external hard drive on Mac?
A. It can be achieved in 5 ways. Change the Finder settings, Mount the external hard drive, run First Aid, repair disk permissions and delete any applications that might conflict with one other.
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