---
id: finder-location.what-is-the-storage-studio-fallback-drive
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/what-is-the-storage-studio-fallback-drive
category: "Finding things in Finder"
subcategory: "Storage Studio in Finder's sidebar"
question: "What does \"Mounted as Storage Studio\" mean, and why isn't it in Finder's sidebar?"
alt_questions:
  - "What is the Storage Studio fallback drive?"
  - "Mounting tab says Mounted as Storage Studio"
  - "Open the Drive button storage studio"
  - "Cloud drive is a network drive instead of a Location"
  - "Why isn't the fallback drive in the sidebar?"
short_answer: "It means Finder's normal location couldn't start, so Storage Studio used a fallback network-style drive to keep files reachable. It isn't in the sidebar (that would need an admin password); use Open the Drive on the Mounting tab."
tags: ["cloud drive", "fallback", "mounting"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/storage-studio-is-missing-from-finders-sidebar", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/what-does-remount-repair-do", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/what-is-the-storage-studio-location-in-finder"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What does "Mounted as Storage Studio" mean, and why isn't it in Finder's sidebar?

It means the normal Finder location couldn't start on your Mac, so Storage Studio switched to its fallback: a network-drive style mount, so your files are still reachable.

That fallback drive doesn't appear in Finder's sidebar because putting a drive there requires an administrator password, and Storage Studio doesn't ask for one. Instead, the **Mounting** tab:

- tells you it's on the fallback,
- spells out where the drive is, and
- offers an **Open the Drive** button to take you straight there.

When everything is normal, the tab reads "On — in Finder under Locations".