When using your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, you may encounter issues with your PC and/or Mac not being able to detect your external SSD.
You can follow this troubleshooting guide from Seeking Tech to see how you can get your computer to recognize the X5.
Before we begin, we should note that this tutorial will cover the 500 GB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB500B), 1 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB1T0B) and 2 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB2T0B).
Samsung X5 Portable SSD System Requirements
The first step we recommend taking is to make sure that your PC or Mac meets the system requirements of the Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive.
This external SSDs will only work with Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports. It is not compatible with Thunderbolt 1 USB Type-C ports, Thunderbolt 2 USB Type-C ports or non-Thunderbolt USB Type-C ports.
When it comes to the operating systems, you need to have a Windows 10 64-bit RS 2 or later for a Windows 10 P. For Mac users, you will need macOS Sierra 10.12 or later.
Samsung X5 Portable SSD Formats
You should also make sure that you are using the correct file system.
By default, the Samsung X5 Portable uses exFAT, which should let your read and write data on both the Windows 10 PC and Mac.
You can also reformat the X5 into NTFS, which you can read and write with a Windows 10 PC. On the Mac, however, the NTFS is a read-only file format.
Furthermore, you can reformat the X5 into the HFS, which you can read and write with a Mac. However, the HFS format is not recognized at all by a Windows 10 PC.
So, if you are having recognition issues, you may want to consider reformatting your Samsung X5 on another compatible computer.
Keep in mind that reformatting will delete all stored data on the external SSD; therefore, you should backup any important data on your X5 external drive before starting this process.
Checking the USB Connectors and Ports
We also recommend checking the USB connector of the X5 in addition to the USB ports of your computer. Make sure that both of these are damage-free and clean.
If the connector and/or port is dirty, we recommend using a cotton swap with highly concentrated isopropyl alcohol (at least 70%) to clean.
When cleaning, the SSD and computer must be powered down. You should also make sure that both the connector and port are completely dried before reconnecting.
Furthermore, you should make sure that the USB connector is properly connected to the USB port when reconnecting.
Approving Samsung X5 on Windows 10
If you are connecting your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive for the first time on Windows 10, you should get a dialog box asking you to approve for usage of Thunderbolt 3 devices. Select “OK.” In the new dialog box, select “Yes” to go to the Windows User Account Control. Find your connected Samsung X5 from the list and then make sure that it set to “Always Connect.” Select “OK” to confirm your change.
If you don’t see any dialog boxes, you can try right clicking the Thunderbolt icon on the Windows 10 system tray and then selecting “Approve Attached Devices.” Afterwards, make sure the X5 is set to “Always Connect.”
If you can’t find the Thunderbolt icon on Windows 10, you can try to search for Thunderbolt Control Center. In the control center, select “Approve Thunderbolt Devices.” You can then set your X5 to “Always Connect.”
Update Firmware
You can also try updating the firmware of your Samsung X5 Portable to see if the new software version will help resolve any of the detection issues.
Unfortunately, you will need to connect your X5 to a computer in order to update its firmware. So, you have to look for another compatible Windows 10 PC or Mac.
To find out how to update the firmware of your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, you can take a look at this tutorial.
Contact Samsung
If none of the aforementioned solutions help fix the recognition issues, and your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive is still covered under warranty, then you can try contacting Samsung in order to get a possible replacement.