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holubiak Author

Level 1

8 points

Time Machine drive not mounting

I have a 1TB seagate external drive that I've been using for Time Machine backups. Last backup was completed 2 weeks ago. I plugged it in today and the drive is not mounting. I've tried all my USB C ports and two different USB 2 cables, and three different USB dongles. I'm using a 2017 MBP with Monterrey 12.5.1. The drive is recognized by About this Mac/Storage... but is not mounting on the desktop and Time Machine doesn't see it. Anybody dealing with this?

I'm inclined to update to Monterrey 12.6, but would feel more comfortable about doing that if I had a current back up.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Sep 19, 2022 12:35 PM

Top-ranking reply

steve626

Level 6

11,423 points

Posted on Sep 19, 2022 7:55 PM

Don't update without a backup. Can Disk Utility see the drive? If so, is it mounted?

If it is mounted, run Disk Utility first aid. Also consider downloading DriveDX to check the physical health of the drive.

I suggest obtaining another drive to make a fresh backup, especially before updating. The old drive may have failed, how old is it?

Do you have another Mac you can try connecting the drive to?

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Time Machine drive not mounting

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