Are you having trouble accessing your external drive on your Mac after updating to macOS Sonoma? If yes, then you are not the only one. Many users have reported that they cannot mount their external drive on macOS Sonoma, the latest version of Apple’s operating system for Mac computers. The new update brings many new features and improvements, but it also seems to have introduced a bug that affects the external drive functionality.
This bug prevents users from mounting their external drive on macOS Sonoma, either by using the Finder or the Disk Utility. Some users have said that they have removed the saved password in Keychain, but when they try to mount their external drive, it just hangs after they enter the password. Others have said that when they try to run First Aid on their external drive, the Disk Utility just hangs on the Unlocking Disk and never asks for the password. Some users have also reported that the Disk Utility shows their external drive as “unmounted” or greyed out, and when they try to mount it, they get an error message: com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error 49229.
These issues can be very frustrating, especially if you have important data stored on your external drive. Fortunately, there are some workarounds that you can try to fix this issue and get your external drive working again on your Mac running macOS Sonoma. In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the issue of being unable to mount an external drive on macOS Sonoma. Follow the steps below and see if they work for you.
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How to Resolve External Drive Mounting Issues on macOS Sonoma
If you are unable to mount your external drive on macOS Sonoma, you might be wondering how to fix this issue. There are some workarounds that you can try to get your external drive working again on your Mac. However, before you proceed, you should be aware that these workarounds are not guaranteed to work for everyone, and they might have some risks involved. Therefore, you should backup your data before trying any of these methods.
Solution 1: Basic Workarounds
One of the easiest methods to fix this issue is to try some basic workarounds. Let’s start with the simplest fixes. Follow these steps:
Shut Down and Restart: First, shut down your Mac. Wait a few minutes and then restart it. After the restart, your external drives should prompt you for the password and subsequently mount.
By following these straightforward steps, you can attempt to address the issue of your external drive not mounting on macOS Sonoma. If this solution doesn’t work for you, don’t worry; we have more troubleshooting steps to explore. Continue reading to find the right fix for your macOS Sonoma external drive mounting problem.
Solution 2: Utilizing Recovery Mode
If the basic workarounds in Solution 1 didn’t resolve the issue, you can try using Recovery Mode to address the problem of external drive mounting on macOS Sonoma. Follow these steps carefully:
Step 1: Boot macOS Sonoma into Recovery Mode. Please note that the specific steps may vary depending on whether your Mac has an Intel or Silicon processor.
Step 2: In Recovery Mode, select “Disk Utility” from the provided options.
Step 3: Now, you’ll need to mount all the affected disks by entering the FileVault password when prompted.
Step 4: Once you’ve successfully mounted the disks, restart your Mac.
After following these steps, your external drives should now be able to mount on macOS Sonoma. If you’re still facing issues, don’t worry; we have more troubleshooting methods to explore. Keep reading to find the solution that works for you.
Solution 3: Creating a New User Profile
If you’re still facing issues with external drive mounting on macOS 14 Sonoma, you can try creating a new user profile. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Create a New User: Go to your macOS settings and create a new user profile.
Step 2: Log In: Log into this new user profile.
Step 3: Enter Encrypted Password: Once logged in, try entering the encrypted password for the external drives.
Step 4: Check for Mounting: Now, check to see if the external drives are being successfully mounted on your macOS 14 Sonoma in this new user profile.
Creating a new user profile can sometimes help in resolving issues related to external drive mounting. If this solution works, it indicates that there might have been an issue with your previous user profile. However, if the problem persists, we have more troubleshooting steps to explore. Continue reading to find the right fix for your macOS 14 Sonoma external drive mounting problem.
Solution 4: Deleting “Encrypted Volume Password” Keys
If you’re still grappling with external drive mounting issues on macOS Sonoma, you can try deleting “Encrypted Volume Password” keys from your Keychain Access. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Open Keychain Access: Launch the Keychain Access application on your Mac.
Step 2: Delete Keys: In Keychain Access, search for and delete all keys of the “Encrypted Volume Password” type.
Step 3: Reboot Your Mac: After deleting these keys, restart your Mac.
Step 4: Enter Passwords: Upon reboot, the macOS Sonoma operating system will prompt you to enter encryption keys for all drives. Enter the passwords associated with each drive.
Step 5: Check Drive Mounting: Now, check to see if the external drives are successfully mounted on macOS Sonoma.
Deleting “Encrypted Volume Password” keys from your Keychain Access can sometimes resolve issues related to external drive mounting. If this solution works, it suggests that there may have been an issue with the stored encryption keys. However, if you’re still experiencing problems, we have additional troubleshooting steps to explore. Continue reading to find the right solution for your macOS Sonoma external drive mounting problem.
Solution 5: Switch from HFS to APFS
If you’re still grappling with external drive mounting problems on macOS Sonoma, consider this solution:
Format to APFS: Many users who encountered similar issues were utilizing the HFS file system. They managed to resolve the problem by reformatting their external drives to use the APFS (Apple File System) format. Give this approach a try and see if it resolves the mounting issue on your macOS Sonoma.
And that wraps up our list of potential solutions for fixing the problem of being unable to mount an external drive on macOS Sonoma. If you have any questions about the steps mentioned above, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments. We’ll respond with a solution as soon as possible.