external ssd no longer recognized by Apple

[defaultth0a56zpqze8]

Are there any issues with Lightroom disabling an external hard drive so that Apple can no longer read it?  If so, is there a fix?

I have a 6 mo old Sandisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD. I use LR Classic on an 2 yr old Macbook Air M2 chip on Sonoma 14.5.

A few days ago all was fine - I had used maybe 20% of the capacity. Now when I attach the SSD, Apple tells me it's not readable. When I initialize it, the device name has changed back to the default SanDisk name, and the drive's 1T capacity is completely full but I can't see any folders or files. First Aid didn't pick up anything unusual.

I've tried different plugs and ports, shut down/restarted the laptop, and nothing has helped.  Not sure if the problem is Adobe, SanDisk or Apple in nature. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[dj_paige]

Lightroom Classic (and really all software) cannot disable a hard drive. If it can't be read, it is a hardware malfunction on the disk drive.

[defaultth0a56zpqze8]

I was afraid of that. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

The laptop was in sleep mode with LRC open and SSD attached, so I thought something could have happened. Will now go to SanDisk. Thanks.

[Ian Lyons]

You may find this article informative

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/sandisk-ssd-firmware-fix-fails-hardware-havoc-revealed/

and this Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeu4cq2apfU

[defaultth0a56zpqze8]

Thanks Ian. Very helpful esp the YouTube video. I’ll try the firmware update and easeus recovery option. WD/SanDisk has lost me as a customer based on their poor response.

[Bob Somrak]

After these Sandisk Extreme Portable issues came to light and their poor response to the issue I quit using my Extreme Portable and am now using Crucial SSDs,  X9 Pros specifically .  They  test very high for continuious write speeds on reliable test sites if you need that.  Video for example.  I still use Sandisk memory cards in my cameras as they have been very reliable.  

[Ian Lyons]

I have a 4TB version of the Sandisk Extreme that I stopped using for fear of loosing data.  Mine lies outside of  WD's risk window, but...

The Crucial X9 Pros are very good as are Samsung T5 and T7. I have 4TB versions of both. I find the Crucial is faster and more compact than the Samsung.