SanDisk 1TB stopped working, Sonoma 14.4.1 this time

I have two little SanDisk 1TB SSD drives that have worked like champs for a few years now. Today, neither one will work. The older one puts Time Machine into some sort of confused loop, the newer one is just ignored by my Mac. (M1 Pro, updated, etc.)


The newer one is my primary drive for Time Machine backups, so if it is now useless, I am going to be very sad. Lots of stuff on there.


I can't say exactly when it stopped working, but probably in the last month or so. I saw many posts for similar issues with an earlier MacOS upgrade. Do I just have to wait patiently for someone to fix this one?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 14.4

Posted on May 13, 2024 8:40 PM

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May 14, 2024 6:44 AM in response to RMG92382

Use Disk Utility and Repair Disk on the disks.


All drives die eventually, and SSD drives can wear out, however:

The time scale over which major-brand SSD drives wear out is on the order of heavy use for 50 years.


Other failures can and do happen, but it is not common. SSD drives are not 'disposable'.

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May 14, 2024 8:42 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thank you. Unfortunately neither drive is even detected properly.


I really don't think it is a drive failure. Both are relatively new (months or years old, not decades) and it is not likely both would fail at the same time. They have been in separate places for weeks, so they were not even exposed to the same environments (extreme temp, moisture, dropping, etc.) That's why I completely suspect an OS issue.

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May 14, 2024 9:16 AM in response to RMG92382

RMG92382 wrote:

Thank you. Unfortunately neither drive is even detected properly.

Restart the Mac Pro and try reconnecting the SanDisk 1T SSDs one at a time.

I really don't think it is a drive failure. Both are relatively new (months or years old, not decades) and it is not likely both would fail at the same time. They have been in separate places for weeks, so they were not even exposed to the same environments (extreme temp, moisture, dropping, etc.) That's why I completely suspect an OS issue.

Did someone else have access to the SanDisk 1T SSDs?

If they were formatted by another Mac or reinitialized by a PC then that could be the problem.

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May 14, 2024 9:37 AM in response to RMG92382

<< neither drive is even detected properly. >>


Detection by MacOS requires the drive be PERFECT, else it will not Mount.


Do you mean by not detected by Disk Utility?

please clarify.


A drive that refuses to tell Disk Utility its make&model and a reasonable non-zero size/capacity is not useable and cannot be repaired or erased.

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May 14, 2024 1:34 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

About detection with Disk Utility... while Finder doesn't even notice the newer of the two, Disk Utility will at least see the older of the two. But it says it can't do anything with it. DU doesn't see the newer one at all.


Perplexing part is that it worked great for months, maybe a year. Then poof. (And yes, I have tried multiple cables, reboots, etc.) The older of the two which is not recognized by the newer Mac is still detected as a read-only drive by an older Mac. But the M1 Mac still won't see it. The newer SSD is invisible to both the old and the new Macs now. (I considered making a graphic! I know this is confusing to read!)


For now, I may just reformat the older of the two SSDs with DU from the older Mac and see if I can at least get a working target for Time Machine.

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SanDisk 1TB stopped working, Sonoma 14.4.1 this time

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