I can't mount my external hard drive on my macbook air M1 even with tuxera

hey there

I had the same issue long ago, but the solution was using some apps like tuxera or paragon.

But recently I'm having problem with one of my external hard disks.


I have 2 hard disks, 1 TB & 2 TB, both ADATA. My macbook mounts the 1 TB easily but not the 2 TB hard disk. even with tuxera, it's just mounting the hard disk in read mode only.


how can I solve that?

is there any other apps that I should use?

can updatng my macbook be helpful?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jul 14, 2025 03:04 PM

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4 replies

Jul 14, 2025 04:24 PM in response to payamp1994

First since this is an M1 laptop, make sure to set the "Allow accessories to connect as" in the Privacy & Security System Settings to "Always when unlocked". This avoids missing the pop-up notice asking for permission to allow the external device to connect. I don't feel this particular setting "Always when unlocked" lessens security at all since the laptop is being actively used at the time & you will just click "Allow" when seeing the pop-up notice anyway. When the screen is locked or the system is sleeping, then external devices won't be allowed until the laptop is unlocked.


What file system is on each of those external drives?


What is the exact model of your Mac and version of macOS being used? You can get this information by clicking the Apple menu and clicking "About This Mac".


Are these ADATA SSDs? If so, what enclosure, drive dock, adapter are you using with them? How long have you been using them?


What happened between the last time those drives mounted and when they did not mount?


Did the issue occur at the exact same time for both drives?


Are these drives always connected, or do you just connect them as needed?


Are these data only drives or drives for backups.....if the latter, what type of backups? Time Machine, third party app, or manual copy of data?


Do the physical drives appear in Disk Utility on the left pane? Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drives appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. We need to know if the physical drives are seen.....if they are not seen, then it means there is a hardware issue of some sort (external drive, cable, USB port, adapter, dock, hub, etc.). If the physical drive is seen, then it could still be a hardware issue, but it could also be due to file system issues on the drive.


Have you tried running Disk Utility First Aid on these drives? First run First Aid on the physical drive, then run it on the volume.......if using the APFS file system, then run it on the hidden Container. Even if the First Aid summary says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll back through the report to see if any unfixed errors are listed. If there are errors, then run First Aid again until the errors are gone. If after several scans the errors remain, then it means they cannot be fixed.


Jul 23, 2025 02:38 PM in response to HWTech

hello there, thanks for your consult

I couldn't find the "Allow accessories to connect as" in the privacy and security system

no they are External hard drives, and the 1TB one is completely fine and I have access to its data in Read & Write mode, my problem is the 2TB one is just in Read mode only, although they are from same brands.

yes it is shown in disc utility and it is mounted, but just in read mode only, even using tuxera.

no they are not always connected, I just connect them to laptop only when I want to see some movies or transferring my new downloaded movies to those hards.

I didn't use the hards in past approximately 2 months, and before that both of them were fine, but now, the 1TB hard is functioning fine, but the 2TB is just read mode and I can't transfer my new downloaded movies in to that.


I think I've found the problem. the 1TB format is FAT 32 but the 2TB is Windows NTFS, I think I should change it o FAT 32 and it's done


thanks for your help my friend

Jul 23, 2025 03:00 PM in response to payamp1994

payamp1994 wrote:

I think I've found the problem. the 1TB format is FAT 32 but the 2TB is Windows NTFS, I think I should change it o FAT 32 and it's done

You should consider formatting it to exFAT instead of FAT32. exFAT is a much more capable file system (exFAT offers larger file and partition size limits and better performance) than FAT32. Unlike NTFS, It's natively interchangeable between Mac & Windows. Chances are, when you purchase a new external HDD or SSD, it will already be formatted as exFAT for compatibility and capability.


Unless you have a specific reason that the drive be formatted as FAT32, use exFAT. Google "difference between FAT32 and exFAT" for more pertinent info.

Jul 25, 2025 06:47 PM in response to payamp1994

payamp1994 wrote:

but not the 2 TB hard disk. even with tuxera,


payamp1994 wrote:

I didn't use the hards in past approximately 2 months, and before that both of them were fine, but now, the 1TB hard is functioning fine, but the 2TB is just read mode and I can't transfer my new downloaded movies in to that.

I think I've found the problem. the 1TB format is FAT 32 but the 2TB is Windows NTFS, I think I should change it o FAT 32 and it's done

It is possible a macOS update broke the Tuxera driver. Make sure you are using the most recent version and verify that version is actually compatible with the most recent version of macOS you are using. I don't see much mention of Tuxera these days....Paragon seems to be the main third party NTFS driver these days.


@SergZak is correct that exFAT would be the better choice. Usually it is best to use Disk Utility on macOS to erase the drive as exFAT since Windows may utilize a file allocation size that is not compatible with macOS.




I can't mount my external hard drive on my macbook air M1 even with tuxera

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