External HD not detected (somewhat)

"External HD not detected (somewhat): I plugged in my 2 external hard drives. One is not detected/is grayed out in the disk utility (see screenshot) Using M1 macbook pro."

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Mount the Drive:

Select the drive, and then click the "Mount" Botton located on the to-right cord of the screen --shot should make it accessible (as long as the format is readable).

Screenshot of What to Click:

"Tried clicking it but nothing happens"

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Format Type is of NTFS:

This is not being read because of the format type. NTFS is owned by Windows. Is there anything on this drive? If so, and you need to keep it, then unplug it and use this with a PC. If nothing is on the drive, then format it to ExFAT if you want to use this between a PC and a Mac. If you just want to use this with your Mac, then use APFS for the format. Be careful with formatting this, as a ll will be erased.

Screenshot:

"Thanks for this. Can I change the format without erasing the files? I have a windows laptop with me"

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You are welcome.

No. Once formatted, it will be erased. So, back up what is on there first. Using this PC, back things up to it, either Dragging & Dropping items to the Desktop or to another external drive plugged into it. Then, all will be backed up.

Thanks for this. Can I change the format without erasing the files? I have a windows laptop with me

Mainly due to compatibility issues, external hard drives formatted as NTFS sometimes cannot mount on a Mac. You can connect both external drives to the Windows laptop, run the CHKDSK command to fix any errors, and then reconnect them to your MacBook Pro to see if they show up on the desktop. If not, you’ll need to reformat them for better compatibility with both macOS and Windows (first, back up all files to your PC, then format the drives to exFAT, and finally copy the files back). Your MacBook Pro should then recognize the two external drives.

An easier solution is to try third-party apps like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, which can automatically mount the drives in read-write mode without needing to reformat them.