Can't See Files on External Hard Drive Mac [Fixed]

Quick fixes to can't see files on the external hard drive on a Mac:

• Restart your Mac
• Reconnect your external hard drive to the Mac
• Recover missing files on Mac with data recovery software
• Show hidden files on the external hard drive
• Mount the external hard drive in the Disk Utility
• Repair the external hard drive with First Aid
• Reformat the external hard drive on the Mac

User Case: Can't Access Files on My External Hard Drive

Here is a real question from an Apple forum user:

People will often use external hard drives as data backups or portable drives for personal use. In the process of use, many people can't see files on the external hard drive on a Mac even though the files exist. In this article, we will explain why you can't view the files on the external disk and how to fix this issue. 

How to Fix Can't See Files on External Hard Drive Mac in 5 Ways

When the external hard drive doesn't show files on a Mac, the basic fix you should try is to reconnect the external drive to your Mac. Disconnect the external disk and then plug it into your Mac again. Check where the files appear now. If not, restart your Mac to troubleshoot the Mac problem.

If you still can't access the files on your external hard drive after these two quick methods, try more methods individually.

Method 1. Recover Files You Can't View with Mac File Recovery Software

Losing files of great importance to your life, study, or work can be catastrophic! So you must roll up your sleeves to do everything you can to get them back. 

First and foremost, use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to find the files, which is developed to find the most complete data with advanced algorithms. It quickly recovers data from the external hard drive on a Mac quickly, whether the data you're losing is pictures, videos, or documents. 

Take your external hard drive and attach it to your Mac. Once it appears, follow the below guide to run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to scan all over the drive data. See if the files you didn't see before are showing up in the scan results.

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.

Method 2. Unhide Files and Folders on the External Hard Drive 

It is also possible that the files disappeared from the external hard drive on a Mac because they were hidden. Take the steps below to unhide files or folders on your external hard disk in Terminal. 

Step 1. Go to "Applications > Utilities > Terminal" to open the Terminal.

Step 2. Type the following command and hit Enter: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES.

Step 3. Type killall Finder and hit Enter to restart Finder. Now, you will see the hidden files.

Method 3. Mount the External Hard Drive in the Disk Utility

Sometimes, your external hard drive doesn't show files in it only because it's not properly mounted in the Mac's Disk Utility. Here's how to re-mount it to display files without any issues.

Step 1. Open a new Finder window, click "Application" and open "Utilities".

Step 2. Locate and double-click "Disk Utility" to launch it. Locate the external hard drive at the left panel under the External section.

You'll see that the external hard drive is greyed out and marked as untitled. (Untitled means unmounted on a Mac computer.)

Step 3. Select the untitled external hard drive and click the "Mount" button from the Disk Utility bar.

Step 4. Restart your Mac. If files still exist on the external hard drive, you should be able to see them now.

Method 4. Repair the External Hard Drive with First Aid

As long as you see any of the following issues, running the Disk Utility's First Aid function and repairing your disk is useful.

• System crashes, or apps flashback
• Files vanishing or corrupt
• Starting issues on Mac
• The external hard drive is not working properly on the Mac

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to the Mac and open "Applications" > "Utilities".

Step 2. In the sidebar, select the external hard drive you can't see files, click on "First Aid" at the top, and then click Run.

Step 3. Once complete, the external hard drive health status will display on the screen, and Disk Utility will try to repair the issues it finds.

Method 5. Reformat the External Hard Drive on the Mac

File system corruption can lead to such errors, too. External hard drive for Mac was usually formatted with exFAT or HFS, if there is corruption in it, it cannot be detected by macOS, or even it has been detected, you cannot open it nor view files in it. One general solution to this issue is to try reformatting the external hard drive.

Note: Disk formatting will erase all data. If you still want to keep the data, try to recover data from the formatted external hard drive later with the help of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to your Mac and open "Applications" > "Utilities" > Double-click to launch "Disk Utility".

Step 2. Select the external hard drive in Disk Utility and click "Erase" at the top pane.

Step 3. Set the external hard drive as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" next to "Format".

Step 4. Rename the drive if you want, and click "Erase" to confirm again.

Why Can't I See Files on My External Hard Drive Mac

Solutions are there, but it's also important to figure out the potential factors that cause the files to be missing on your Mac's external hard drive, right? When you can't visually see the existing files in their original location, try to recall some manners that may damage your files and device.

Did you often use the external HDD or USB drive on different computers or operating systems? Did you safely eject the storage drive each time you disconnect it from a device? Did you recently format the drive or change the file system on it? How about the sound it makes when spinning? Does it make a clicking sound or a loud noise? The most common reasons that would result in a failed external hard drive and lost files on it are as follows.

• Accidental deletion/formatting without notice
• Virus and malware infection
• Files were hidden by macOS
• File system corruption
• Disk drive corruption

Final Thoughts

When you can't see files on the external hard drive on your Mac or files on your Mac's external hard drive suddenly disappear, this guide is for you.

Sometimes, valuable data files on a storage device can vanish without your knowledge, so Mac data recovery software provided by EaseUS can do you a great favor. It can maximumly restore your missing files from any device in various data loss disasters. Among all, it's simple to use; you can get all lost data back in only three steps.