How To Fix Unable To Access External Drives And Disk Utility After Updating To MacOS Sonoma

When updating to a new operating system, such as macOS Sonoma, users may sometimes encounter issues with external drives not mounting or being recognized by the system.

This can be a significant inconvenience, especially if you rely on external drives for backups, additional storage, or transferring files.

If you’re facing difficulties accessing external drives and Disk Utility after updating to macOS Sonoma, then we are here to help you!

In this article, we will be discussing all the fixes that will help you to fix the issue of “Unable To Access External Drives And Disk Utility After Updating To macOS Sonoma” without any hassle.

How To Fix Unable To Access External Drives And Disk Utility After Updating To MacOS Sonoma?

To fix “Unable To Access External Drives And Disk Utility After Updating To macOS Sonoma”, you can use disk utility in recovery mode, reset NVRAM/PRAM and repair the hard drive. Additionally, you can also boot Mac in safe mode to fix the issue.

1. Use Disk Utility In Recovery Mode

If your external drive is not showing up in Disk Utility under normal operation, try accessing Disk Utility from macOS Recovery:

1. Restart your Mac and immediately hold down Command + R to boot into Recovery Mode.
2. Once in Recovery Mode, select ‘Disk Utility’ from the utilities window.
3. In Disk Utility, see if your external drive is listed here and try mounting it manually.

2. Reset NVRAM/PRAM

NVRAM (non-volatile random-access memory) or PRAM (Parameter RAM) is a small amount of memory that your Mac uses to store certain settings and access them quickly. Resetting NVRAM/PRAM can sometimes resolve hardware recognition issues:

1. Shut down your Mac.

2.Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold Option + Command + P + R.

3.Release the keys after about 20 seconds. This process will reset the NVRAM/PRAM.

3. Repair The External Drive

If your external drive is recognized in Disk Utility but is not mounting, you might need to repair it using First Aid:

1. Open Disk Utility (you can use Spotlight by pressing Command + Space and typing “Disk Utility”).
2. Select the external drive from the sidebar.
3. Click the “First Aid” button and then “Run” to start the repair process.
4. Disk Utility will check the disk and attempt to fix any issues.

Note: If Disk Utility can’t repair the drive, or if the drive doesn’t appear at all, there may be a hardware problem with the drive, or it may be formatted in a file system that macOS Sonoma can’t read.

4. Boot Mac In Safe Mode

Booting into Safe Mode can help to resolve issues by performing a check of your startup disk and only loading essential system extensions:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key.
3. Release the Shift key when you see the login window.
4. Once in Safe Mode, try accessing your external drive again.

5. Reset The System Management Controller (SMC)

The System Management Controller (SMC) is responsible for managing low-level functions, including power management and hardware detection. Resetting the SMC can sometimes resolve external drive detection issues:

For Macs with a T2 chip or Apple Silicon:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds, then release it.
3. Wait a few seconds, then turn on your Mac normally.

For Macs without a T2 chip:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. On a Mac notebook, press and hold Shift + Control + Option on the left side of the built-in keyboard, then press and hold the power button at the same time. Hold these keys and the power button for 10 seconds. Release all keys, then press the power button to turn on your Mac.
3. On a Mac desktop, unplug the power cord, wait 15 seconds, plug it back in, wait 5 seconds, then turn on your Mac.

6. Create A New User Account

Sometimes, user account issues can cause problems with external drives. Try creating a new user account to see if the issue persists:

1. Open System Preferences and go to “Users & Groups.”

1. Click the lock icon and enter your administrator password.
2. Click the “+” button to create a new user with administrative privileges.
3. Log out of your current account and log into the new account to see if the external drive is accessible there. If it is, the problem may be related to your original user account’s settings or preferences.

7. Use The Terminal To Mount The Drive

Advanced users can try to mount the drive manually using the Terminal:

1. Open Terminal (found in Applications > Utilities).
2. Enter the following command to list all disks: diskutil list
3. Identify your external drive from the list (e.g., /dev/disk2).
4. Attempt to mount the drive with the following command: diskutil mount /dev/disk2 (replace /dev/disk2 with your drive’s identifier).

8. Contact Apple Support

If none of these steps resolve the issue, there may be a deeper problem with macOS Sonoma’s compatibility with your external drive or a potential hardware issue with the drive itself.

In such cases, contacting Apple Support or the drive’s manufacturer for further assistance is advisable.