Written by
Jenny ZengSummary: This post tells you how to show Mac hard drive on desktop, detailing how to find Macintosh HD and external hard drives on Mac. If you want to recover hard drive files on Mac, download iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
The hard drive icon on Mac desktop is the fastest way to access a desired disk. For example, the Macintosh HD icon directly connects you to the Applications, Library, System, and Users folders without opening any apps. Simply clicking the hard drive desktop icon will allow you to view the content of a partition or drive.
Usually, when you get to the Mac desktop, you'll find the Macintosh hard drive icon located in the top-right corner, followed by other internal and external hard drives connected to your Mac.
However, sometimes, you may find the internal or external hard drive icon not showing on Mac desktop, especially after a macOS update or after transferring data with Migration Assistant.
The good news is that there are ways to display hard drive on Mac desktop and we'll teach you how to put Macintosh HD on desktop as well as external hard drives.
How to show hard drive icon on Mac desktop?
There's a setting in Finder that you can adjust to display or hide internal or external hard disks on the desktop. If you want to show hard disk on Mac desktop, here's what to do:
How to show Macintosh HD on desktop?
- Open Finder. If it's already open, select the open window or click the Finder icon on the dock.
- Click the word "Finder" in the top-left menu bar.
- Select Settings if running macOS Ventura or later; choose Preferences if running macOS Monterey or earlier.
- In the General tab, tick the box next to "Hard disks" beneath "Show these items on the desktop."
- Close the window and check if your Mac displays Macintosh HD on the desktop. If it is, you can now access Macintosh HD from the desktop icon.
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How to show external hard drive on Mac desktop?
- Open a Finder window.
- On the top-left menu bar, tap Finder > Settings/Preferences.
- Ensure you're in the General tab.
- Tick the option "External disks" under "Show these items on the desktop."
This is how to put Mac hard drive icon on desktop. Pretty simple, right? Unfortunately, some users may can't see the Mac hard drive desktop icon. If that's also you, execute the following command in Finder to reset its settings, then take the steps again.
defaults delete com.apple.finder; killall -HUP Finder
You should be able to access your hard drive on the desktop now if the disk works properly. However, if the external hard drive does not show up on the desktop of your Mac, you can fix it with the following solutions. If Macintosh HD isn't showing up, read this guide: 7 ways to fix Macintosh HD not mounted/showing in Disk Utility
How to show Mac hard drive on desktop when you can't find hard drive on Mac?
Despite that Finder is configured to show hard drives on Mac, your HD may refuse to show up anyway. In this section, we'll troubleshoot the issue and help you find the hard drive on Mac.
Fix 1: Check if the hard drive is mounted in Disk Utility
Disk Utility is a built-in tool that manages all storage devices on a Mac. When encountering disk issues, it's the first place we recommend you to look. It can tell you the two most essential information you need to learn to resolve the issue efficiently: the drive's current status (whether it's detected or mounted) and its file system.
You can press Command-Space, type "disk utility," then hit Enter to launch Disk Utility. Inside it, select the disk that doesn't show up on the desktop. Depending on your hard drive, there are a few situations:
a. The hard drive appears in Disk Utility but is grayed out.
If the hard drive is listed in Disk Utility, it suggests that it's detected by your Mac. Such drives are way easier to deal with than unrecognized ones. The problem here is that your disk is not mounted, signified by its grayed-out status.
Naturally, the next course of action is to mount the external hard drive on Mac. To do this, it's useful to learn the drive's file system, which is specified beneath the drive label.
① If your hard drive is formatted with NTFS, simply download iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, then it will be mounted automatically.
② If your hard drive is formatted with exFAT, FAT32, APFS, or Mac OS Extended, repair it with First Aid, then reformat it after recovering data with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac if First Aid fails to repair it.
b. The hard drive doesn't show up in Disk Utility.
If the hard drive doesn't even appear in Disk Utility, it's either not recognized by your Mac or recognized but doesn't receive enough power to function. In this case, you need to make the drive show up in Disk Utility before anything else. Follow the next solution to perform some basic troubleshooting to ensure your drive is well connected, then check if it has enough power supply.
Fix 2: Check the basics
If the HD is not showing up in Mac's Disk Utility, try the following tips to ensure it doesn't have connection issues.
- Safely eject the hard drive, restart your Mac, and then replug it.
- Try a different USB cable or port.
- Test the drive on a different computer.
- Unplug unnecessary peripherals like headphones, external displays, speakers, etc., to avoid conflicts.
Fix 3: Ensure your drive has enough power
Hard drives need sufficient power to operate on a computer. Internal hard drives draw power directly from the computer's power supply. But external hard drives usually receive power from a computer through the USB connection, unless it comes with a separate power supply.
If the USB cable or port doesn't provide enough current, the external hard drive won't appear on Mac desktop. To check if your hard drive has a sufficient power supply, take the steps below:
- Press Command-Space, type "system information," then open the app System Information.
- Choose USB from the left side.
- Select your hard drive.
- View the value of Current Available and Current Required.
If Current Available > Current Required, the HD has enough power.
If Current Available < Current Required, the HD needs more power to work. Try a different USB cable, or port, or use a self-powered USB hub.
Fix 4: Access NTFS drives on Mac
NTFS is a Windows file system that's read-only on Mac. While a drive formatted in NTFS normally mounts fine on macOS, it may have mounting issues after a macOS update due to outdated NTFS for Mac. If your NTFS HDD doesn't show up on your MacBook or desktop Mac, the best solution is to mount it with a reliable NTFS mounter like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
This tool supports all Mac models running macOS High Sierra and later. Apart from mounting NTFS drives on Mac, it can also repair NTFS-formatted disks and reformat drives with NTFS on Mac. Here's how to show NTFS hard drives on Mac desktop:
Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
Step 2: Open the software, select your hard drive from the left, then click Mount.
Once your drive is mounted, you can access it by selecting it and clicking Open in the NTFS for Mac software or double-clicking its icon on the desktop.
Fix 5: Repair unmounted disks with First Aid
If you can't find a hard drive on Mac, it's probably corrupted. Such a drive will benefit from a First Aid scan, which checks the drive for disk problems and tries to repair them automatically.
- Open Disk Utility.
- Click View > Show All Devices.
- Select the bottom partition of your hard drive and click First Aid.
- After the scan is complete, choose the partition above and repeat the steps until the top-level physical disk is repaired.
Fix 6: Recover data and reformat hard drive on Mac
The last resort to fix the external hard drive icon not showing up on Mac desktop is to reformat the hard drive. This will delete all data on it and replace the faulty file system with a new, clean one. If you want to keep some of the files, remember to restore them before formatting.
You can use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to recover files from an inaccessible, unmounted, or corrupted hard drive. This trustworthy software is compatible with various file types, including videos, images, audio, documents, etc., and storage devices from any brand.
Additionally, it provides free scans and preview so that you can evaluate the result beforehand.
After your data is restored, follow the steps in this guide to reformat the hard drive: How to reformat an external hard drive for Mac?
Tips: If the new hard drive won't appear on MacBook or desktop Mac no matter what you do, it's best to return it and request for a new one.
Hopefully, these solutions are able to make the hard drive show up on Mac desktop. If you find them helpful, share this guide!
Why Mac hard drive not showing up?
It's not uncommon to face issues when attempting to show HDD on Mac desktop. The reasons are as follows:
- The hard drive is corrupted.
- The hard drive has connection issues.
- Finder isn't configured to show hard drives on the desktop.
- The hard drive is NTFS-formatted and not mounted.
- There are software bugs on the Mac.
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Bonus: How to find hard drive on Mac?
There are three ways to find a hard disk on Mac, no matter it's the internal hard drive Macintosh HD or an external hard drive.
How to find hard drive on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and desktop Mac:
① Find a hard drive on the desktop
You can open a hard drive on Mac from its disk icon on the desktop, provided that Finder is set to show "Hard disks" or "External disks" on the desktop in Finder > Settings/Preferences > General.
② View a hard drive in Finder's sidebar
You can also get to hard drive files on Mac by clicking the drive in Finder's Locations sidebar, if Finder is configured to show "Hard disks" or "External disks" in the sidebar in Finder > Settings/Preferences > Sidebar.
③ Access a hard drive from Disk Utility
Right-clicking the HD in Disk Utility and selecting "Show in Finder" allow you to open a hard drive on Mac as well.
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