External Drive cannot be read by my computer!

Portable SSD Extreme Portable SSD
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I bought a SanDisk 2tb ssd to unload my current 500 gig drive that was getting full. I moved a bunch of files over to the new drive after formatting it to Apple apfs. It worked fine for two or three days. Now, when I start up, I get a warning that the drive cannot be read by my computer. I can ignore the warning eject the drive or initialize it. The latter would erase all the files I have on it. It won’t mount and I don’t know what’s wrong. Can you advise?

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Hi @Donnasummer
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the SD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:

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try getting on to another thing that can read USB drives such as a ps3/4/5 another PC Xbox 360/1/1s/x/s, or use an adapter for a phone hope that helps

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I’m experiencing the same problem: I can hear the connection sound, but the drive doesn’t show up and is not accessible. Has anyone found a solution? I have a friend with the same SSD; he left it unused for a month, and then it worked. I’m trying to do the same. For your information, I use my SSD once every three months to store photos and videos, and I’ve had it for two years. I really don’t recommend SanDisk. They need to tell us what the problem is with this drive.

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The sudden inability to read the drive could be due to software conflicts, connection issues, or hardware failures. You should start with safer troubleshooting steps like checking connections, booting in safe mode, and using disk utility. If these don’t work then go to more advanced methods like Terminal commands or third-party recovery tools like Stellar, Recuva, and other such recovery tools. Don’t initialize your drive throughout the process to avoid any data erasure.

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I’ve faced a similar issue with an external drive not being recognized after working fine initially. The problem could be related to the APFS format or a mounting issue. Before initializing the drive, try using Disk Utility on your Mac to repair the disk. If that doesn’t work, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is a great option to recover your files before reformatting. Another tool to consider is DiskWarrior, which is excellent for fixing drive errors and making the drive mountable again.