{
  "schema": "https://storagestudio.us/schema/wiki-page.v1",
  "title": "Checking your drive's health and setup",
  "slug": "checking-your-drive",
  "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/checking-your-drive",
  "markdown_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/checking-your-drive.md",
  "category": "External drives",
  "category_url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/external-drives/",
  "tags": [
    "external drive",
    "troubleshooting"
  ],
  "summary": "Three places tell you whether your external drive is set up and working - the Inspect window, Verify Setup, and the speed test in Choose External Drive. They check the drive is connected, recognised and fast enough; they don't test the drive's hardware.",
  "published_at": "2026-10-01T05:53:40.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-01T05:34:29.000Z",
  "headings": [
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Inspect",
      "id": "inspect"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Verify Setup",
      "id": "verify-setup"
    },
    {
      "level": 2,
      "text": "Speed test",
      "id": "speed-test"
    }
  ],
  "links_out": [
    {
      "slug": "choosing-an-external-drive",
      "label": "Choosing an external drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/choosing-an-external-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "drive-says-not-set-up",
      "label": "The drive says \"not set up\"",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/drive-says-not-set-up"
    },
    {
      "slug": "setting-up-your-drive",
      "label": "Setting up your drive",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/setting-up-your-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "when-your-drive-is-disconnected",
      "label": "When your drive is disconnected",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-drive-is-disconnected"
    },
    {
      "slug": "self-healing",
      "label": "Self-healing",
      "exists": true,
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/self-healing"
    }
  ],
  "links_in": [
    {
      "slug": "choosing-an-external-drive",
      "title": "Choosing an external drive",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/choosing-an-external-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "how-copies-are-checked",
      "title": "How copies are checked: Fast, Thorough or Off",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/how-copies-are-checked"
    },
    {
      "slug": "setting-up-your-drive",
      "title": "Setting up your drive",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/setting-up-your-drive"
    },
    {
      "slug": "drive-says-not-set-up",
      "title": "The drive isn't recognised as set up",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/drive-says-not-set-up"
    },
    {
      "slug": "when-your-drive-is-disconnected",
      "title": "When your drive is disconnected",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-drive-is-disconnected"
    }
  ],
  "diagrams": [
    {
      "kind": "flowchart",
      "caption": "Which check to use for a drive problem",
      "outline": "- Something seems wrong with the drive\n  - leads to Does Storage Studio see it at all?\n- Does Storage Studio see it at all?\n  - No: leads to Inspect - Not mounted - plug in or Remount Drive\n  - Yes, but not recognised: leads to Inspect - Claim this drive, or Verify Setup - Re-create\n  - Yes, but slow: leads to Choose External Drive - Run benchmark\n  - Yes, still odd: leads to Verify Setup - fix what it flags\n",
      "source": "%% caption: Which check to use for a drive problem\nflowchart TD\n  A[Something seems wrong with the drive] --> B{Does Storage Studio see it at all?}\n  B -->|No| C[Inspect - Not mounted - plug in or Remount Drive]\n  B -->|Yes, but not recognised| D[Inspect - Claim this drive, or Verify Setup - Re-create]\n  B -->|Yes, but slow| E[Choose External Drive - Run benchmark]\n  B -->|Yes, still odd| F[Verify Setup - fix what it flags]"
    }
  ],
  "images": [],
  "screenshots_pending": [
    {
      "alt": "The Inspect window for a connected, verified drive, showing the Verified status, the Details card and the Show in Finder and Validate buttons",
      "caption": "The Inspect window"
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?",
      "answer": "Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click.",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    },
    {
      "question": "How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?",
      "answer": "Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive.",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    },
    {
      "question": "Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?",
      "answer": "Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,…",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    },
    {
      "question": "Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?",
      "answer": "Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.",
      "url": "https://storagestudio.us/faq"
    }
  ],
  "text": "If something seems off with your external drive, three tools tell you where things stand: Inspect shows the drive's details and checks it's the right one, Verify Setup checks Storage Studio's whole setup including the drive, and the speed test measures how fast it reads and writes. These check that the drive is connected, recognised and usable. They don't test the drive's hardware for faults — for that, use macOS's Disk Utility and its First Aid . Inspect Choose Inspect Fast Drive… from the More menu (in the Advanced view's popover, Inspect in the footer, or ⌘I). At the top, a status card says one of: Status Meaning Verified The drive is connected and is the one Storage Studio set up Mounted, marker missing A drive is connected at the expected place, but it isn't marked as Storage Studio's Not mounted The drive isn't connected, or hasn't been mounted Details shows where it's mounted, its Filesystem , its Volume UUID , whether its Marker file is present (the small file that marks it as Storage Studio's drive), when it was set up and by which Mac, and the free space on both the drive and your Mac. Under Actions : Show in Finder shows the drive in Finder, where you'll find Storage Studio's folder for this Mac. Validate checks that the drive is connected, that its marker matches, and that no second drive with the same name is confusing things. It shows Valid or Invalid with the reasons. Claim this drive (write marker) appears only when a drive is connected but unmarked. It writes the marker so Storage Studio recognises a drive you've used with it before. Verify Setup Choose Verify Setup… from the More menu. The Verify configuration window runs a list of checks one after another, including your configuration, daily schedules, the background service, the folder on your drive, app moves and launching at sign-in. Each row shows a status, and anything that needs attention offers a fix button such as Re-create , Repair or Resume . Anything it can repair, it repairs in place. For the drive, the row is Storage Studio folder on NVMe : Storage Studio folder is in place and marked. — all good. Your NVMe drive isn't mounted right now. — plug it in. The Storage Studio folder on NVMe is missing or unmarked. — click Re-create . Which check to use for a drive problem Flowchart outline: Which check to use for a drive problem Something seems wrong with the drive leads to Does Storage Studio see it at all? Does Storage Studio see it at all? No: leads to Inspect - Not mounted - plug in or Remount Drive Yes, but not recognised: leads to Inspect - Claim this drive, or Verify Setup - Re-create Yes, but slow: leads to Choose External Drive - Run benchmark Yes, still odd: leads to Verify Setup - fix what it flags Speed test Open Set Up / Choose External Drive… from the More menu, select your drive and click Run benchmark . It writes a 128 MB test file to the drive, reads it back and deletes it. The result is marked Speed: looks good , usable with warnings or not suitable — see Choosing an external drive for the thresholds. A drive that has suddenly become much slower than it used to be is worth checking with Disk Utility. See also: The drive says \"not set up\" , Setting up your drive , When your drive is disconnected , Self-healing . Common questions How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them? Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click. How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook? Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive. Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive? Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,… Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight? Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.",
  "markdown": "If something seems off with your external drive, three tools tell you where things stand: **Inspect** shows the drive's details and checks it's the right one, **Verify Setup** checks Storage Studio's whole setup including the drive, and the **speed test** measures how fast it reads and writes.\n\nThese check that the drive is connected, recognised and usable. They don't test the drive's hardware for faults — for that, use macOS's **Disk Utility** and its **First Aid**.\n\n## Inspect\n\nChoose **Inspect Fast Drive…** from the **More** menu (in the Advanced view's popover, **Inspect** in the footer, or ⌘I).\n\nAt the top, a status card says one of:\n\n| Status | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| Verified | The drive is connected and is the one Storage Studio set up |\n| Mounted, marker missing | A drive is connected at the expected place, but it isn't marked as Storage Studio's |\n| Not mounted | The drive isn't connected, or hasn't been mounted |\n\n**Details** shows where it's mounted, its **Filesystem**, its **Volume UUID**, whether its **Marker file** is present (the small file that marks it as Storage Studio's drive), when it was set up and by which Mac, and the free space on both the drive and your Mac.\n\nUnder **Actions**:\n\n- **Show in Finder** shows the drive in Finder, where you'll find Storage Studio's folder for this Mac.\n- **Validate** checks that the drive is connected, that its marker matches, and that no second drive with the same name is confusing things. It shows **Valid** or **Invalid** with the reasons.\n- **Claim this drive (write marker)** appears only when a drive is connected but unmarked. It writes the marker so Storage Studio recognises a drive you've used with it before.\n\n## Verify Setup\n\nChoose **Verify Setup…** from the **More** menu. The **Verify configuration** window runs a list of checks one after another, including your configuration, daily schedules, the background service, the folder on your drive, app moves and launching at sign-in. Each row shows a status, and anything that needs attention offers a fix button such as **Re-create**, **Repair** or **Resume**. Anything it can repair, it repairs in place.\n\nFor the drive, the row is **Storage Studio folder on NVMe**:\n\n- **Storage Studio folder is in place and marked.** — all good.\n- **Your NVMe drive isn't mounted right now.** — plug it in.\n- **The Storage Studio folder on NVMe is missing or unmarked.** — click **Re-create**.\n\n```mermaid\n%% caption: Which check to use for a drive problem\nflowchart TD\n  A[Something seems wrong with the drive] --> B{Does Storage Studio see it at all?}\n  B -->|No| C[Inspect - Not mounted - plug in or Remount Drive]\n  B -->|Yes, but not recognised| D[Inspect - Claim this drive, or Verify Setup - Re-create]\n  B -->|Yes, but slow| E[Choose External Drive - Run benchmark]\n  B -->|Yes, still odd| F[Verify Setup - fix what it flags]\n```\n\n*Flowchart — Which check to use for a drive problem. Outline:*\n\n- Something seems wrong with the drive\n  - leads to Does Storage Studio see it at all?\n- Does Storage Studio see it at all?\n  - No: leads to Inspect - Not mounted - plug in or Remount Drive\n  - Yes, but not recognised: leads to Inspect - Claim this drive, or Verify Setup - Re-create\n  - Yes, but slow: leads to Choose External Drive - Run benchmark\n  - Yes, still odd: leads to Verify Setup - fix what it flags\n\n## Speed test\n\nOpen **Set Up / Choose External Drive…** from the **More** menu, select your drive and click **Run benchmark**. It writes a 128 MB test file to the drive, reads it back and deletes it. The result is marked **Speed: looks good**, **usable with warnings** or **not suitable** — see [Choosing an external drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/choosing-an-external-drive) for the thresholds. A drive that has suddenly become much slower than it used to be is worth checking with Disk Utility.\n\nSee also: [The drive says \"not set up\"](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/drive-says-not-set-up), [Setting up your drive](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/setting-up-your-drive), [When your drive is disconnected](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-your-drive-is-disconnected), [Self-healing](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/self-healing).\n\n- **How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?** Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?** Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?** Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,… (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n- **Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?** Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible. (https://storagestudio.us/faq)\n"
}