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Monterey and External HDD

I converted from Big Sur to Monterey on my 2018 iMac 27" (64Gb memory, 2TB Internal Drive); all of a sudden, the iMac no longer recognizes my OWC Mercury Elite Pro drives (USB connected directly, no hub, used them with two other OS changes - no problem). Spent four hours on the phone troubleshooting, reloading Monterey (twice), and still no joy. Also will not recognize my XQD image card reader (also direct USB). As a photographer, I'm dying. Waiting on Apple Engineering. Has anyone else had this problem and found a fix?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on May 20, 2022 11:33 AM

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Posted on May 22, 2022 11:47 AM

Dear ku4hx - First off, I wanted to thank you for the potential solutions and help you threw my way yesterday. Reading continued threads in the Apple Community and searching other resources, I found that I had a USB hub plugged into a port on my 2018 iMac 27". Apparently, when I upgraded to Monterey, this USB hub somehow blocked all my external HDDs and my XQD outboard and SD card (built-in) reader as well. I unplugged the USB hub, turned on my outboard HDDs, and put cards in the readers. Everything came back beautifully. Then I unmounted everything, plugged in the USB hub, and re-mounted everything without a hitch. It was my electric kool-aid acid test. There is something in Monterey that does not like for a USB hub to be connected when one migrates from Big Sur to Monterey. I don't know what it is, but hopefully, someone else who has had this problem will get to this and try it. It was terrifying, as a photographer, to have my work locked up on HDDs that wouldn't mount. So there you have it. Try it and see if it works for you if you're having a similar problem. And thanks again ku4hx. You're awesome to come to the rescue with your suggestions.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 22, 2022 11:47 AM in response to ku4hx

Dear ku4hx - First off, I wanted to thank you for the potential solutions and help you threw my way yesterday. Reading continued threads in the Apple Community and searching other resources, I found that I had a USB hub plugged into a port on my 2018 iMac 27". Apparently, when I upgraded to Monterey, this USB hub somehow blocked all my external HDDs and my XQD outboard and SD card (built-in) reader as well. I unplugged the USB hub, turned on my outboard HDDs, and put cards in the readers. Everything came back beautifully. Then I unmounted everything, plugged in the USB hub, and re-mounted everything without a hitch. It was my electric kool-aid acid test. There is something in Monterey that does not like for a USB hub to be connected when one migrates from Big Sur to Monterey. I don't know what it is, but hopefully, someone else who has had this problem will get to this and try it. It was terrifying, as a photographer, to have my work locked up on HDDs that wouldn't mount. So there you have it. Try it and see if it works for you if you're having a similar problem. And thanks again ku4hx. You're awesome to come to the rescue with your suggestions.

May 20, 2022 11:46 AM in response to grandy1214

grandy1214 wrote:

I converted from Big Sur to Monterey on my 2018 iMac 27" (64Gb memory, 2TB Internal Drive); all of a sudden, the iMac no longer recognizes my OWC Mercury Elite Pro drives (USB connected directly, no hub, used them with two other OS changes - no problem). Spent four hours on the phone troubleshooting, reloading Monterey (twice), and still no joy. Also will not recognize my XQD image card reader (also direct USB). As a photographer, I'm dying. Waiting on Apple Engineering. Has anyone else had this problem and found a fix?


?


The current stable release of Monterey including bug fixes, is macOS 12.4


Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/get-macos-updates-mchlpx1065/mac


May 20, 2022 12:03 PM in response to grandy1214

Are you absolutely certain the drives are not at fault? Have you tried them on a different Mac? How old are they? The upgrade didn't break them, but it might be more sensitive to something about the drives. Just guessing here as the only HDDs I've ever had not to be recognized were over 5 years old and due for regular replacement anyway.

May 20, 2022 12:26 PM in response to grandy1214

True, but you made no mention of drive health.


It's maybe not so much of an inherent OS problem, but maybe a quirk in your installations. If after reinstalling your OS you used Setup or Migration Assistant, you have been migrating that same disruptive "flaw" in settings each time.


Lots of possibilities, the task is to eliminate each one by one until there is only the culprit left. And that takes time and analyses.

Monterey and External HDD

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