[Solved] Can't Access Files on External Hard Drive with 3 Methods to Fix

Can't access files on an external hard drive on your Mac? Don't worry! We provide 3 practical methods to try:

• Fix 1. Access Files on an External Hard Drive Using Software
• Fix 2. Force Mount the External Hard Drive on Your Mac
• Fix 3. Run First Aid to Check the External Hard Drive

Many Mac users use external hard drives to store essential files, and unfortunately, sometimes, they experience various malfunctions that prevent them from accessing files on the external hard drive on a Mac. Here is a post that indicates a user can't access files on the external hard drive:

Read on to learn the 3 effective ways to access files on your external hard drive.

Fix 1. Access Files on an External Hard Drive Using Software

If you can't see files on an external hard drive on a Mac, you must ensure that the stored data is not lost. The best way is to use the external hard drive recovery software if you don't have a backup.

Use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro to recover lost data or recover deleted files from an external hard drive on your Mac. It can also detect devices that Mac does not recognize. It can extract data from any device, including media players, cameras, USB drives, etc.

It supports external hard drive recovery on a Mac with only three steps. Check out!

Step 1. Search for lost files

Correctly connect your external hard drive to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, and select the external hard drive. Then, click "Search for lost files" to find lost/deleted files on your external devices.

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your external hard drive to avoid further data loss. After backing up the external hard drive, the software can recover data from your external hard drive's backup, and you can remove the external hard drive and use it again.

Step 2. Filter and find lost files

After the scan, all file types will be presented in the left panel. Select the file type to find wanted files on your external devices.

Step 3. Preview and recover

Click the file and preview it. Then, select the files you want to recover and click the "Recover" button. You can save your data to local and cloud drives.

Share this article on social media if it is informative, and help others learn how to access files on an external hard drive on a Mac.

Fix 2. Force Mount the External Hard Drive on Your Mac

How to find an external hard drive on a Mac? If the external hard drive is not mounted on your Mac, for example, the WD Easystore not mounting on a Mac, you can't access files on it.

Here are the steps to fix an external hard drive not mounting on a Mac with Disk Utility:

Step 1. Open "Disk Utility" from "Application > Utilities".

Step 2. Find the external hard drive in the left device list. If you can't find it, click on the "Show All Devices" option in the Disk Utility window.

Step 3. Select the external hard drive and click "Mount" at the top menu to force mount a disk on your Mac. Then you can access files on it.

When you connect an external hard drive to your Mac, you may receive the error code 49244. Don't worry; this guide can help you fix it.

Fix 3. Run First Aid to Check the External Hard Drive

macOS' preinstalled program Disk Utility provides a useful feature - First Aid, which can help users assess the health of the volumes and disks of the device. Here are the steps to run First Aid to check if the external hard drive has an error that causes files can't be accessed:

Step 1. Open "Disk Utility" on your Mac from the "Application > Utilities" folder.

Step 2. Select the external hard drive, and click "First Aid" at the top menu.

Step 3. Wait for the First Aid process to complete and try to access files on the external hard drive again.

During the checking, if you receive the error message "First Aid found corruption that needs to be repaired.", his article will examine this issue and provide you with a complete guide on how to fix it.

Conclusion

This article introduces 3 effective methods to fix the "can't access files on an external hard drive" error: using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro, force mounting the external hard drive in Disk Utility, and running First Aid to check the external hard drive errors.

Can't Access Files on External Hard Drive FAQs

Read the following questions to learn more about why you can't access files on an external hard drive and how to fix it:

1. Why can't I open files on my external hard drive Mac?

File system corruption can lead to unaccessible files on the external hard drive, or you can only read the external hard drive on Mac. External hard drives for Mac are usually formatted with exFAT or HFS/HFS+; if there is corruption in it, it cannot be detected by macOS, or even if it has been detected, you cannot open it nor view files in it.

2. How do I access files on my external hard drive Mac?

Connect the external hard drive to your Mac using the cable that came with it, then view the connected external hard drive in the Finder or Disk Utility window. Use an adapter if the cable doesn't have a connector that fits in your device.