macbook won't find external drive, yet iMac does...

[zeppo]

and the macbook does find my other external drives no problem

This first began with one USB port and then the other.

The drive does not show in DiscUtility either

I can view the drive on my iMac.

I can try resetting the SMC . But it doesn't seem like that should be the issue when the ports recognize other external drives without issue, and the problem external drive is recognized without issue on other macs.

Any thoughts?

 

[zeppo]

I should add:

WD MyPassport USB3 for Mac , same cable used in all attempts, have been using the drive without issue on both the iMac the macbook for a couple of years.

Late 2009 iMac
late 2014 macbook pro retina

 

[ferrarr]

Which version of Mac OS X/OS X/macOS are on each device?

 

[zeppo]

iMac El Capitan, macbook High Sierra

I also should have mentioned that the problem exists with the macbook plugged in to AC. Before posting here I googled and that was one of the suggestions I found.


Can I do SMC reset on Mid 2014 Macbook Pro Retina 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 with shift+cntl+option method ? I don't think it has a removable battery, but I don't know what it looks like to have a removable battery (you would have to unscrew the back) and the pages I've found detailing which have it and which don't are unclear to me. Page says MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015 and later)
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
yet it really doesn't look like mine is removable

 

[zeppo]

ran DiscUtility first aid via imac and it passed with flying colors

 

[zeppo]

Well, SMC reset did nothing. However, NVRAM reset did restore recognition of the drive by one of the USB ports (the one that was more recently functioning before it went out).

Then, it occurred to me that while I was using the same cord with the problem drive with the macbook (where it wasn't found) and the imac (where it did mount), I was using a different cord for the other drives that were working with the macbook. When I used that cord with the problem drive, the macbook did find the drive ok with both USB ports.

I'm just going to speculate that it is a combination of a weak cord in some respect and a weak USB port.

 

[chscag]

I'm just going to speculate that it is a combination of a weak cord in some respect and a weak USB port.

Okay, thanks for posting back with the resolution to the problem.