Summary: This post will show you solutions to fix the Mac not recognizing internal hard drive issue. Also, you can learn how to recover lost data from unrecognizable Mac internal hard drive with data recovery software for Mac - iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
Usually, the internal hard drive is the startup/boot drive for a Mac. It not only loads the operating system but also is responsible for storing data. Therefore, it is frustrating if your Mac doesn't recognize the internal hard drive and you can't access the data on this drive. What's worse, when Mac can't find the internal hard drive, your Mac is unable to turn on.
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Luckily, according to your situation, this article will provide 4 feasible solutions for you to fix Mac not recognizing the internal hard drive.
Scenario 1: The internal hard drive can be recognized by Disk Utility
If your Mac doesn't recognize the internal hard drive, you can check if you can find the hard drive or not in Disk Utility under Recovery Mode. This really matters because if you can see the drive but the internal hard drive is not mounted in Disk Utility, your internal hard drive has no hardware problem and you can try the following solutions to fix your issue.
Replacing a mechanical hard drive with an SSD will transform the performance of the 2012 Mac Mini and your own experience with it. Crucial 16GB RAM kit ($90 at Amazon) The most you can install in the 2012 Mac Mini, 16GB of RAM is a great performance upgrade. Use this guide to replace the hard drive in your hard-drive-only or Fusion Drive Mac mini Late 2014. This guide was made with a Fusion Drive Mac mini. If your Mac mini only has a hard drive, skip the steps about the PCIe SSD and its connector. However, if your Mac can't recognize the internal hard drive, or Mac is not detecting it at all, this internal hard drive might have some hardware problems. You can either send it to a local repair store, which could be costly, or say goodbye to this drive and buy a new one.
- Repair the hard drive with First Aid
- Try to boot Mac in Safe Mode
- Recover lost data and erase the unrecognizable internal hard drive
- Replace the internal hard disk if it's dead
Solution 1: Repair the hard drive with First Aid
macOS Recovery is part of the built-in recovery system of your Mac, from which you can get to macOS Utilities to repair certain logical errors of the internal hard drive. The issue that Mac doesn't recognize the internal hard drive could be fixed with First Aid under Recovery Mode.
- 1. Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold Command + R keys to get into macOS Recovery mode, then release the keys when you see the Apple logo.
- 2. Get to macOS/Mac OS X Utilities, select Disk Utility, and then click 'Continue'.
- 3. Select the internal hard drive that Mac doesn't recognize, and run First Aid to check and repair errors in this drive.
Solution 2: Try to boot in Safe Mode
If the internal hard disk drive is not found by Mac, booting Mac to Safe Mode can check the errors in the directory of your internal hard drive. To boot in Safe Mode, you need to restart the Mac and hold 'Shift' immediately, and release it until you see the login window. When you see a 'Safe Boot' message on the startup window, you can restart the Mac.
Solution 3: Recover lost data and erase the unrecognizable internal hard drive
If the internal hard drive is not recognized by your Mac still, then the file system of this internal hard drive could have corrupted. Is there any other way that you can access the data on this unrecognizable internal hard disk?
Of course. You can recover lost data from this unrecognizable internal hard disk with Mac data recovery software like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. Then, you can reformat this internal hard drive so that you can use this drive again.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is professional Mac data recovery software. It can recover lost data from Mac that is unbootable, including documents, photos, emails, music, etc. This software supports macOS Big Sur/Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
Method 1: If you have only one Mac computer
If you have only one Mac computer, please directly run iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac in macOS Recovery mode and recover lost data from the unbootable Mac computer. This method is greatly recommended because it is easier and more effective.
Method 2: If you have two Mac computers
Step 1: Download iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on another Mac, install and launch it.
Step 2: Click iBoysoft Data Recovery at the upper left corner of Mac menu bar and select 'Create Boot Drive'.
Step 3: Insert a USB drive into the healthy Mac computer.
Step 4: Follow the wizard to create a bootable recovery USB drive.
Step 5: After you have completed creating boot drive, insert this bootable USB drive into the failed Mac and press the Power button and Option key (⌥) to start the MacBook up.
Step 6: Select iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac from the boot options.
Note: If you're running macOS Mojave or earlier, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac will launch immediately when your Mac boots up. But, if your Mac is running macOS Catalina, you need two additional steps to launch this program.
Step 7: Wait for your Mac to boot up, open 'Terminal' application from 'Utilities' drop-down menu.
Step 8: Run the following command:
Step 9:Follow the wizard to recover lost data from the internal hard drive.
Step 10: Restart the Mac, press and hold Command + R keys immediately to get into macOS Recovery mode.
Step 11: Select Disk Utility in the Utilities and click 'Continue'.
Step 12: Select the internal hard drive and click 'Erase' to reformat this drive.
Step 13: Return to macOS/Mac OS X Utilities in macOS Recovery mode and select 'Reinstall macOS'.
After reinstalling the operating system, this internal hard drive could be showing up again.
Scenario 2: The internal hard drive cannot be recognized by Disk Utility
However, if your Mac can't recognize the internal hard drive, or Mac is not detecting it at all, this internal hard drive might have some hardware problems. You can either send it to a local repair store, which could be costly, or say goodbye to this drive and buy a new one.
The hard drives in the new 2018 Mac mini are PCIe which means they are very fast, but also expensive. Unlike previous models, you cannot upgrade the internal hard drive. It is soldered in. But thanks to the USB-C interface on the new Mac Mini, an external SSD drive is now a good option. I chose to buy the smaller (and cheaper) 250GB Mac Mini and supplement it with a 500GB external SSD drive.
USB-C Gen 2 can handle the speeds of most (but not all) SSD drives. So unless you want a very high-end solution, you'll be fine using an external SSD over USB. An external SSD drive plugged in via USB-C will only be 1/5 the speed of the new internal PCIe drives, but it's still fast. The external SSD drive on my new mac mini is faster than the internal non-PCIe SSD drive on my previous mac mini.
- 1. Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold Command + R keys to get into macOS Recovery mode, then release the keys when you see the Apple logo.
- 2. Get to macOS/Mac OS X Utilities, select Disk Utility, and then click 'Continue'.
- 3. Select the internal hard drive that Mac doesn't recognize, and run First Aid to check and repair errors in this drive.
Solution 2: Try to boot in Safe Mode
If the internal hard disk drive is not found by Mac, booting Mac to Safe Mode can check the errors in the directory of your internal hard drive. To boot in Safe Mode, you need to restart the Mac and hold 'Shift' immediately, and release it until you see the login window. When you see a 'Safe Boot' message on the startup window, you can restart the Mac.
Solution 3: Recover lost data and erase the unrecognizable internal hard drive
If the internal hard drive is not recognized by your Mac still, then the file system of this internal hard drive could have corrupted. Is there any other way that you can access the data on this unrecognizable internal hard disk?
Of course. You can recover lost data from this unrecognizable internal hard disk with Mac data recovery software like iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac. Then, you can reformat this internal hard drive so that you can use this drive again.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is professional Mac data recovery software. It can recover lost data from Mac that is unbootable, including documents, photos, emails, music, etc. This software supports macOS Big Sur/Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7.
Method 1: If you have only one Mac computer
If you have only one Mac computer, please directly run iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac in macOS Recovery mode and recover lost data from the unbootable Mac computer. This method is greatly recommended because it is easier and more effective.
Method 2: If you have two Mac computers
Step 1: Download iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on another Mac, install and launch it.
Step 2: Click iBoysoft Data Recovery at the upper left corner of Mac menu bar and select 'Create Boot Drive'.
Step 3: Insert a USB drive into the healthy Mac computer.
Step 4: Follow the wizard to create a bootable recovery USB drive.
Step 5: After you have completed creating boot drive, insert this bootable USB drive into the failed Mac and press the Power button and Option key (⌥) to start the MacBook up.
Step 6: Select iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac from the boot options.
Note: If you're running macOS Mojave or earlier, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac will launch immediately when your Mac boots up. But, if your Mac is running macOS Catalina, you need two additional steps to launch this program.
Step 7: Wait for your Mac to boot up, open 'Terminal' application from 'Utilities' drop-down menu.
Step 8: Run the following command:
Step 9:Follow the wizard to recover lost data from the internal hard drive.
Step 10: Restart the Mac, press and hold Command + R keys immediately to get into macOS Recovery mode.
Step 11: Select Disk Utility in the Utilities and click 'Continue'.
Step 12: Select the internal hard drive and click 'Erase' to reformat this drive.
Step 13: Return to macOS/Mac OS X Utilities in macOS Recovery mode and select 'Reinstall macOS'.
After reinstalling the operating system, this internal hard drive could be showing up again.
Scenario 2: The internal hard drive cannot be recognized by Disk Utility
However, if your Mac can't recognize the internal hard drive, or Mac is not detecting it at all, this internal hard drive might have some hardware problems. You can either send it to a local repair store, which could be costly, or say goodbye to this drive and buy a new one.
The hard drives in the new 2018 Mac mini are PCIe which means they are very fast, but also expensive. Unlike previous models, you cannot upgrade the internal hard drive. It is soldered in. But thanks to the USB-C interface on the new Mac Mini, an external SSD drive is now a good option. I chose to buy the smaller (and cheaper) 250GB Mac Mini and supplement it with a 500GB external SSD drive.
USB-C Gen 2 can handle the speeds of most (but not all) SSD drives. So unless you want a very high-end solution, you'll be fine using an external SSD over USB. An external SSD drive plugged in via USB-C will only be 1/5 the speed of the new internal PCIe drives, but it's still fast. The external SSD drive on my new mac mini is faster than the internal non-PCIe SSD drive on my previous mac mini.
1. Buying a drive.
My first purchase was a Samsung S5. It's fast, it's USB-C Gen 2, and it's cheap. But it caused a 30-second delay each time my mac booted up. Apparently, this is a common problem nnd Apple support were unable to help me resolve it.
The drive I ended up using was the Seagate Fast SSD. It's fast and works well. I purchased the 500GB version. I've already filled it up so end hindsight I publish should have gone for the 1 TB version but I was trying to save soem money.
2. What to put on it.
Now that you've connected your drive you need to choose which data to store on it. I used to recommend using your new SSD as the boot drive, but given that the internal SSD drive is now faster, you are better off booting off your internal drive and just putting some files on the external drive.
I kept OSX and my applications on my internal boot drive, as well as my users home folder. So my internal SSD drive looks like this:
- Applications
- Library
- System
- Users
I moved most the large folders from inside my Users folder onto my external SSD. I did not change my home folder to be the external SSD. I copied the files out of my home folder. I did al this when I was migrating the data accrossform my old MAc because it did not all fit in my new Users folder.
Here's what I moved to my new external SSD Drive:
- Documents (from my user folder – 40GB)
- Downloads (from my user folder – 5GB)
- Mainstage Sounds (from System Folder – 60GB)
- Movies (from my user folder – 10GB)
- Music (from my user folder – 60GB)
- Pictures (from my user folder including my photos library – 140GB)
When you move your Music, Pictures and MainStage files you need to tell iTunes, Apple Photos and Mainstage the new location.
For iTunes, firstly copy all your music files across to the new SSD. (users/yourname/music/iTunes) Then go to Preferences, Advanced, and find ‘iTunes Media folder location'. Click ‘Change' and select the new folder.
For Photos you need to copy the folder called ‘Photo's Library' across, then restart the Photos App while holding the Option key. This gives you the option to select your new Photo library from the external SSD.
Photos should open the newly copied library and you should be able to see your photos. If that is the case then go to preferences and select ‘use as System Photo Library' to make this change permanent.
There are some applications that will still want to use files from within your home folder on your internal SSD. Cyberlink powerdvd mac. That's okay. I allow them to do that.
I find it helpful in my own mind to know which files are where so I have my documents, my music and my photos on my external SSD and I have everything else on my internal one.
Mac External Hard Drive On Windows 10
But you can arrange them how you like.
