Big Sur not seeing external (Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5tb (2r2apg-500 USB-to-USB-3) drive on Mac mini

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Big Sur not seeing external (Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5tb (2r2apg-500 USB-to-USB-3) drive on Mac mini

Mac mini (Late 2014, 2.6 GHZ Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM) not seeing drive above but MacBook Air (Mid 2012, 1.7 GHz Dual-Core intel i5, 4GB RAM) does mount external drive & works just fine. (USB3 to USB2 hub to USB3 HD)

MISTAKE: I DID NOT DO THIS BUT UPGRADED DIRECTLY FROM APP STORE. ===> Both computers upgraded same week with same Installmac OS BigSur.app file.

Have WD 2TB and Toshiba 1TB successfully working on Mac mini (USB3 to USB2 hub to USB2 HD).

Posted on Jul 13, 2021 11:35 AM

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Answer 1

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Top-ranking reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

69,906 points

Jul 13, 2021 12:46 PM in response to allenfrommethuen

(USB3 to USB2 hub to USB3 HD)

Please clarify the above. The intrusion of a USB2 hub is a problem. Not only it is slow, but USB2 does not provide the same amount of power, so if the drive is not separately powered it may fail to power up.

Tell us exactly:

a) how the drive is connected to the Mini (including the cables, hubs and adapters, if any).

b) how the drive is formatted.

c) if the drive has a separate power supply.

Also: did you try connecting the drive directly to the Mini?

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

84,813 points

Jul 13, 2021 11:39 AM in response to allenfrommethuen

Big Sur is not compatible with the mid-2012 MacBook Air.

If you got a patched version to use with your MacBook Air, it can have unexpected results running on your Mac Mini.

Only install Big Sur directly from the Mac App Store. If you want to guarantee it works with your Mac Mini, reformat it with the Mac Mini Disk utility.

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Answer 3

Jul 13, 2021 11:55 AM in response to a brody

You are correct, I thought when I checked the 'macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers'

listing the MacBook air was on there but "About This Mac shows macOS Catalina, 10.15.7". Somehow the wallpaper changed.

Sorry for wasting time due to my error.

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Answer 4

Jul 13, 2021 2:57 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

"Also: did you try connecting the drive directly to the Mini?"

Yes and drive is connected and useable!

Thanks.

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