how to use external hard drive as startup disk for windows on mac

By connecting Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon to your computer, you get more space for securely accessing and sharing files.

Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the Finder in the left-hand column under Devices, since Macs treat them the same way as another computer.

Its annoying, especially when you need to transfer something right then.

And besides, there can be a risk that data on the external USB pen, hard, or flash drive is corrupt, which means you cant transfer what you need between devices at all.

Lets take a look why this is happening and how you can get an external drive to appear on your Mac and get recover data to access to your documents.

It sounds obvious, but since this relies on a wire - either a USB cable or HDMI cable - if its not connected properly then it wont appear on your desktop.

If youve got another port, try connecting the device to that one.

Reboot your Mac. Sometimes, if a USB disk wont boot, the cause is macOS issue.

Restarting your Mac essentially clears your macOSs memory and starts it up fresh.

It could be that you are trying to connect something only fit to interact with Windows devices.

If youve got a PC or laptop, its worth connecting and seeing if you can access the files through another device.

The best way to look for an incorrectly formatted drive is to go to Apple (in the top toolbar menu) About This Mac Storage.

For more information, go to the same menu option, then select System Report.

It could be that your Mac already recognizes the device, but just isnt showing its icon on the desktop screen.

Even if that is the case, the drive will still appear in the left-hand column of the Finder menu under Devices.

You should be able to access your drive that way, and, in the Finder menu under Preferences General, you can check External Drives to ensure that from now on it shows up on your desktop too.

Reset NVRAM. To do this, shut down or restart your Mac, switch it back on and immediately press these four keys together for at least 20 seconds: Option, Command, P, and R.

It should look as though your Mac has started again; if it has, release the keys when you hear the second startup chime.

Check Apples Disk Utility to see if an external drive is showing up.

Disk Utility is within System Preferences, or you can find it using Spotlight.

If it is visible, then click the option to Mount, which should make it visible on the desktop and in the External Drives option in the Finder menu.

But there might still be a way you can recover the data on the external drive.

From General tab tick External disks to ensure that from now on it shows on the desktop.

How To Use External Hard Drive As Startup Disk For Windows On Mac