My MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia won't recognize External HD

Hi JJiscool5647

welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community!

Re: "harddrive: when i plug my drive in it wont show up. I tried different type c ports different cords and ive tried different computers. Nothing has worked please help"

Am no expert in this area, however your request surely deserves some response,.

Those with more expertise may join the discussion, once it is underway.

Wondering if you have looked for the drive icon both on the desktop, and in a Finder window sidebar:

Also: check your settings haven't been accidentally changed

See the devices connected to your Mac - Apple Support

You could also try opening the Disk Utility app to see if the harddrive shows up there

Also: check your Mac has at least 50Gb storage / memory available in which to operate smoothly:

See used and available storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

Trouble-shooiting:

The harddrive's driver may be outdated : See if you have documentation / user-guide that came with it,

or

The hard-drive: may not have been ejected properly.

Connect and use other storage devices with Mac - Apple Support

may be formatted for a PC and not a Mac : if new, check the packaging / user-info. if possible

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

may have incorrect file-system or partitioning

Partition schemes available in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

may be popping up an unnoticed password-request-box before it will show up

What's new in the updates for macOS Sequoia - Apple Support says macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 is the latest version:

"This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users."

(NB: Always wise to back-up your Mac beforehand, if you choose to update)

All the best :-)

@JJiscool5647 Don’t worry, I’ve got you!

Did you recently update your macOS? Sometimes, updates can cause issues like this.

For now, here’s what you can do:

1. First, take a backup of your data to keep it safe.
2. Check the preferences settings and make sure the option to show the drive on your desktop is enabled.
3. If the drive still doesn’t show up, open Disk Utility. If the drive appears there, it’s likely a settings issue that you can fix by formatting the drive.
4. If the drive doesn’t show up in Disk Utility, try connecting it to another system to see if it’s recognized there.

Let me know how it goes.

Good work there in trouble shooting using different ports, cables, " and ive tried different computers " etc

Aside from the good advise by @brbo which I would suggest following - First

A Spinner / Rotational External Drive which does have Mechanical and Moving Parts .

Drives of this type do the unthinkable and do fail, outright

This may indicate the drive has failed