I have a 4TB external drive connected to my 2015 macbook pro.
It has 2 2TB partitions.
I use 1 for time machine backups and the other for other files.
From time to time when I plug it into the USB slot, it is not recognized.
Not only are the volumes not mounted, but the device itself doesn't seem to be recognized.
>diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk1 1.0 TB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +1.0 TB disk1
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume d 815.8 GB disk1s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 43.9 MB disk1s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 522.7 MB disk1s3
4: APFS Volume VM 3.2 GB disk1s4
Rebooting the machine solves this problem but it is annoying to have to reboot the machine so frequently.
Is there a way to force macos to recognize the device without rebooting?
I'm currently running Mojave 10.14.4 Beta (18E220a)
P.S. I rarely reboot the laptop because I have many desktops loaded with programs and it would take a long time to recreate them.
When moving between home and work, I will eject the volumes and put the machine into sleep mode so that I can continue where I left off.
Best Answer
There is a 3rd party app named Mountain that lets you manage your volumes. The app sells from the developers for $6 but you can download it and try it out. I've been using it for years and I love it. it creates a menu app that lists all volume mounted or not.