Missing SSD...?

[theMouthPiece]

Hi All

So, I simply restarted my 2020 iMac and now I am unable to see one of my external drives. It is the 1TB Crucial SSD that I have had for almost a year. When I run Disk Utility, I don't see the drive at all.

I spotted this as it was the drive I had my DropBox folder on and of course when I restarted, DropBox alerted me that it could not find drive.

Wonder if someone could offer some words of advice please as to how I can recover the files (if possible) from that SSD, and why it is not able to be seen.

Many thanks
John

 

[chscag]

You could try data recovery software such as "Disk Drill" but if the SSD can not be seen by Disk Utility or does not appear with the Finder, it may have died a sudden death. SSDs unlike spinning hard drives can die without warning.

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[casperes1996]

Even if the drive doesn't show up at all, do you see the drive's USB controller in System Information?
My guess is that it's just dead, but if it's just about a year old you may be able to RMA it

 

[robotica]

Is it in a caddy or did you buy an external ssd? You tried changing the ports and cables?

 

[theMouthPiece]

So, an update. Some strange behaviour.

I use a powered USB hub, and though the devices connected to that hub were operational, including an external 1TB HDD, when I connected the SSD to this hub it wasn't recognised, AND when I connected another separate HDD to the hub that also wasn't recognised. So, I used a separate USB port on my iMac. Both the external SSD and the HDD are now recognised. This confirms the SSD is not faulty.

Any ideas why some devices on the powered USB hub work, yet the SSD / HDD are not recognised, and also why these are recognised on an alternate USB port.

 

[chscag]

It certainly would have helped if you had told us the complete story in your first post. You did not mention that you were using a hub.

I would suspect your hub is not providing enough power to mount the SSD or the other HDD. Could be a defective hub or some of its ports are not working.

 

[theMouthPiece]

It certainly would have helped if you had told us the complete story in your first post. You did not mention that you were using a hub.

I would suspect your hub is not providing enough power to mount the SSD or the other HDD. Could be a defective hub or some of its ports are not working.

Hold on a min cgsag... I wasn't aware of the entire story when I made my first post, please don't be so quick to judge.

I did mention that it was an external drive, and I did mention it is a 2020 iMac.

The powered HUB has been working without fault for 11 months, with multiple devices connected to it, so has been providing sufficient power. Furthermore, all the ports on it work with some devices, but none with the SSD OR HDD.

Next check this end is to use an alternate USB port on the rear of the iMac to see if that is the culprit - just confused as to why this would be the case given other devices remain fully functional. Strange.

 

[theMouthPiece]

Further update:

Now there appears to be a problem with the external audio device - sound from any source (Spotify et al) is intermittent and has a .5s gap every second. Internal speakers work OK.

Also - FaceTime camera shows but is paused every .5s.

I may have an issue with the internal USB-C ports!

Damn! Time to call Apple.

 

[chscag]

Hold on a min cgsag... I wasn't aware of the entire story when I made my first post, please don't be so quick to judge.

No one is judging you, sorry if it sounded that way. But in order for anyone to help with your problem, we need to know all the facts.

I may have an issue with the internal USB-C ports!

I would think that's unlikely for a 2020 iMac. Anyway, why don't you try a SMC reset to see if that eliminates the glitches you're experiencing. If that doesn't help, the next step is to contact Apple Support. Your iMac is still covered by Apple Care.

How to reset the SMC on Mac desktop computers

1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down and wait for your Mac to shut down.
2. Unplug the power cord.
3. Wait 15 seconds.
4. Plug the power cord back in.
5. Wait 5 seconds, then press the power button again to turn on your Mac.

Let us know.