external hard disk mount dialog dismissed immediately on connection

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external hard disk mount dialog dismissed immediately on connection

On my M1 MB Pro, after installing Ventura, USB external hard drives will not mount except immediately following a reboot.

When I connect any USB external HD to the Mac after it has been running for a while, i see a very quick flash of the dialog that asks if I should trust the device, but it seems to be automatically dismissed before it is completely drawn on the display. If I reboot the Mac and then insert or connect the drive within a couple of minutes or hours (before the laptop is closed or put to sleep), the dialog will appear and stay long enough for me to click "OK" and the drive will mount normally.

These are all drives that have been used with this MacBook before upgrading to Ventura. And the computer doesn't seem to remember the permissions for the drives after a few days. This is particularly frustrating for Time Machine backups.

When the drive(s) are connected and won't mount because the dialog disappears too quickly, I can see in the system report that the drive controller (seagate, easystore, etc) is present on the USB bus, but Disk Utility cannot see the volumes. This is true through both the GUI and the command line disk utility. The only way I have yet discovered to mount an external drive is to reboot the Mac. It works, but is just really, really frustrating to have to reboot every time, especially since I typically have multiple user accounts running at once (personal, work, and test/development profiles) and have to close down apps and log out of each profile.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior (I can't find any other reports in community, so I'm not optimistic)? If so, is there a fix or better workaround that I'm missing?

Many thanks!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 10, 2022 6:21 AM

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Answer 1

destiny241

Community Specialist

Dec 12, 2022 4:23 PM in response to maestro71

Hello maestro71,

We'd recommend isolating this further by testing another user on the Mac and in safe mode.

Set up another Administrator user account: Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

Unless you have another admin account added already (since you mentioned having them in your post). Log in to the other user and see if the issue continues there or not.

Boot to safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Follow sections, 'If the issue continues in safe mode' and 'If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode' depending on your results there.

How to use safe mode on your Mac

Safe mode can help you to determine whether an issue is caused by software that loads as your Mac starts up.

Safe mode prevents your Mac from loading certain software as it starts up, including login items, system extensions not required by macOS, and fonts not installed by macOS. It also does a basic check of your startup disk, similar to using First Aid in Disk Utility. And it deletes some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, which are automatically created again as needed.

Safe mode is particularly useful when you're trying to resolve an issue that doesn't seem to be associated with using any particular app. As always, keeping your software up to date is the first step toward resolving any software issue.

How to use safe mode

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

1. Shut down your Mac.

2. Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window.

3. Select your startup disk, then press and hold the Shift key while clicking “Continue in Safe Mode.”

4. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

If the issue continues in safe mode

If the issue continues while in safe mode, or your Mac restarts several times and then shuts down while starting up in safe mode, you should reinstall macOS and make sure that your Apple software and third-party apps are up to date.

If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode

If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally. Then test for the issue again. The issue might be resolved.

If the issue returns after leaving safe mode, startup items are probably at fault. Apps can install such items in numerous places, and they aren't always easy to find or recognize. For that reason, you should first make sure that you've installed any available updates for your Apple software and third-party apps.

If updating your software doesn't help, try any of these solutions:

- Test your login items.

- To learn whether software in your user account is causing the issue, set up a new user account, then log in to it and try to reproduce the issue in that account.

- Unplug all accessories from your Mac, including printers, drives, USB hubs, and other nonessential devices. You could have an issue with one or more of those devices or their cables.

- Reinstall macOS.

If you still need help, please contact Apple Support.

Learn more

Some features might not work in safe mode, such as movie playback in DVD Player, video capture, file sharing, Wi-Fi, some accessibility features, some audio devices, and some devices that connect via USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire. Accelerated graphics are disabled, which could cause blinking or distortion onscreen during startup.

Testing another user tells us if it's system wide or user specific. Safe mode will tell us more by disabling certain plug-ins and running a disk check. Often a resolution would be to test safe mode, then restart normally to test it out. Let us know the results and steps you took for further help.

Have a lovely day, take care.

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external hard disk mount dialog dismissed immediately on connection

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