I'm having a major panic moment here! I have a MacBook Pro and a G-Drive mobile USB external hard drive that I've successfully used for years. This morning, everything was working fine. I usually connect it through an adapter to USB C, which can be a bit finicky at times. So, I bought a new USB C cable (Ugreen brand, 5k reviews on Amazon) thinking it would stabilize the connection.
Now, after switching to the new cable, the drive powers on but doesn't show up in Finder. I unplugged it and tried my old setup, but the same issue persists—it's powered but not detectable. I noticed it appears as a top-level device in Disk Utility but refuses to mount. I'm freaking out that I might have ruined my hard drive and lost a decade's worth of data. Is there any more troubleshooting I can try, or should I seriously consider taking it to a shop?
By the way, the hard drive is about 4 years old, but it holds data that goes back 10 years! Here's a link to the screenshots from Disk Utility: [https://imgur.com/a/ehr9PXH](https://imgur.com/a/ehr9PXH).
2 Answers
First off, you definitely need to start backing up your data regularly, especially when your drive starts having connection issues. It's a good idea to follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy in the future! As for your current issue, check the drive's status in Disk Utility. If it shows signs of failure, you might need to consider professional data recovery, which can get pricey—think around $700. Just a heads up, you might have been pushing your luck by using a drive that was already showing signs of trouble.
Have you tried testing the new cable with another device to see if it actually works? And I get it, but you really should have considered a backup when the drive was struggling. It's super risky to keep using it like that!
Related Questions
Lenovo Thinkpad Stuck In Update Loop Install FilterDriverU2_Reload