Samsung X5

When using the Samsung X5, you may encounter an issue where you can no longer write data on the solid state drive. Instead, you can only read data off of the external storage drive.

If you are encountering this type of issue, then you can follow this troubleshooting guide.

Before we being, we should note that this guide will be covering 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).

How to fix Samsung X5’s disabled write access error on Mac and PC

If you use the exFAT format with the Samsung X5, you could run into write access issues if you are switching between connecting the SSD to a Mac and a Windows PC.

To fix this issue, you can take the following steps:

1. Connect your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive to your Mac.

2. Make sure that the LED on your X5 is displaying a solid white color. If the LED is blinking, then it means that the SSD is busy currently reading or writing data.

3. Once the LED on the X5 is solid white, you need to eject the external drive from your Mac. You can do so with the following methods:

Locate the X5 icon from the desktop and then drag it over to the Trash.

Click on the X5 icon from the desktop. Select File and then Disconnect.

Click on the Finder sidebar, select your X5 storage drive and then Eject.

4. With your X5 SSD disconnected from your Mac, you can safely unplug the drive.

5. Plug your X5 into your Windows PC computer.

6. You may get a dialogue box stating that write access has been disabled. Click on the “Scan and fix” option, which will let your Windows PC perform the Check Disk (CHKDSK) fix.

7. If you don’t see a pop-up dialogue box, you can manually enable Check Disk by first locating your X5 either on the desktop or though File Explorer.

Next, you need to right click on the icon of your X5. Select Properties, then Tools and, finally, Check.

8. Once the Check Disk process has been completed, re-test your X% on your Windows PC and Mac to see if the write access issues have been fixed.

Using the right file format

If the aforementioned solution that not fix the write access errors, the next step we recommend taking is to make sure you are using the correct format.

By default, the Samsung X5 uses exFAT, which is compatible with both the Windows and Mac operating systems. With exFat, you should be able to read and write data on the two OS platforms.

If your external drive uses NTFS, then you can read and write with Windows. For Mac, however, you can only read off of the SSD.

If the X5 is using HFS, then you can read and write with Mac. However, the Windows operating system won’t be able to recognize the external SSD at all.

If your Samsung X5 is not compatible with your operating systems when it comes to writing data, then you might want to consider reformatting your external solid state drive to a compatible format.

However, it is important to note that reformatting will erase all the data you have stored on the drive. So, you should backup any important files you have on the SSD before changing the format.

Contacting Samsung

If none of the fixes worked, then you might want to consider contacting Samsung for additional support.

If your X5 is still covered under warranty, then you might be able to get a replacement if the write access error ended up being a hardware issue.

Disconnecting your 500 GB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB500B), 1 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB1T0B) or 2 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB2T0B) incorrectly may lead to several issues.

You can check out this tutorial at Seeking Tech to see the right ways to unplug your X5.

What happens if you do not safely eject, remove or unmount the Samsung X5?

If you don’t properly eject, remove or unmount your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, then you may experience loss of data and/or hardware damages.

Unfortunately, Samsung is not legally liable to cover any potential issues that may come up due to you not properly unplugging your SSD.

Therefore, you should make sure you are disconnecting your X5 the right way anytime you use it.

How to safely eject Samsung X5 on Windows PC

To safely eject your X5 from your Windows PC, you need to take the following steps:

1. Look at the LED status indicator on your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive.

If it is displaying a blink white light, then the SSD is currently reading or writing data. You need to wait until the LED turns solid white, which means that it isn’t reading or writing data, therefore making it safe to be ejected from your Windows PC.

2. From your Windows dashboard, select the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon on the taskbar. You may have to select the “Show hidden icons” to find it.

3. Select the Samsung X5 from the list of devices in “Safely Remove Hardware.”

4. In the pop-up dialogue box, select the Eject option.

5. If you can’t find the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon on the default dashboard or in the “Show hidden icons” section, you can try going to Start > Settings > Devices. You should be able to find the X5 here. Select your SSD and then the “Remove device” option.

6. After telling your Windows PC to disconnect your Samsung X5 SSD, you can safely unplug your external drive.

7. Alternatively, you can simply turn off your Windows PC and wait until the LED indicator is no longer displaying a white light to safely unplug the X5.

How to safely remove Samsung X5 on Mac

To safely remove your X5 from your Mac without causing any hardware damage and/or data loss, you need to do the following:

1. Make sure that the portable solid state drive isn’t busy reading or writing any data. The LED indicator on it should be solid white. If the LED is blinking, wait until the SSD finishes its tasks before continuing.

2. On your Mac dashboard, locate the icon for your X5 Samsung drive.

3. You can then drag your X5 icon into the Trash to disconnect.

4. Alternatively, you can select the X5 icon to bring up a menu. Here, you need to select File and then Eject to unmount your external storage drive.

5. Another method is to use the Finder sidebar. Select your X5 drive and then the Eject option.

6. Once you successfully ejected your Samsung X5 on your Mac, you should be able to safely unplug the portable SSD.

7. You can also simply shut down your Mac and wait until the LED indicator on the X5 no longer display any white light to safely disconnect your X5 SSD.

How to safely disconnect Samsung X5 on consoles

To safely disconnect your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive on a home console (such as the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X), you should take the following steps:

1. Make sure that the LED indicator of your Samsung X5 is solid white. If the LED indicator is blinking, try to close the game and/or application you have opened.

2. Once the LED indicator is solid white, you can simply shut down you gaming console.

3. After you completely powered off your game system, the LED indicator on the Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive should not be displaying any white lights.

4. You should now be able to safely unplug the external solid state drive from your game console.

To safely disconnect your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive from a PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition while the game system is still turned on, you can check out this tutorial.

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.

The Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive comes with upgradeable firmware. You can check out this step-by-step guide at Seeking Tech to see how you can update to the latest software version of the X5.

This tutorial will cover all capacity options of the X5, which includes the following products:

• 500 GB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB500B)
• 1 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB1T0B)
• 2 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (MU-PB2T0B)

Downloading and Installing Samsung Portable SSD Software

In order to update the firmware of your Samsung X5, you need to do so through the Samsung Portable SSD Software. So, if you haven’t done so already, you can download and install the program from the official Samsung website.

Keep in mind that there are multiple versions available. So, make sure you are downloading the one that is compatible with your X5 as well as the operating system of your computer.

The Samsung Portable SSD Software has the following OS requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 7 or later
• Macintosh: Mac OS 10.10 or later

How to update the firmware for X5 Portable SSD

With the aforementioned program installed, you now have the ability to update the firmware for the Samsung X5.

You can do so by taking the following steps:

1. Connect your X5 solid state drive to the Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C port of your computer. Your PC or Mac should have the Samsung Portable SSD Software installed on it and should be connected to the Internet.

2. If the Samsung Portable SSD Software doesn’t automatically open when your X5 drive is detected, you need to manually open the program.

3. The Samsung Portable SSD Software should detect that your X5 SSD is connected. If you have security enabled for your external drive, you need to enter the password for it. Otherwise, you won’t be able to update its firmware.

If you forgot your password, then you can try performing a factory reset, which will restore your X5 drive to its original factory settings. While this will technically remove the password protection for the external drive, it will also delete all of the personal data you have on the SSD. So, we recommend doing this if you don’t mind erasing all of your data you have stored on the X5.

If you are still interested in doing a factory reset, you can check out more information with this tutorial.

4. After inputting the password, if necessary, click the OK button.

5. You should be in the main menu of the Samsung Portable SSD Software with your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive fully unlocked.

6. In the bottom left corner of the screen, you should see Update. Click on the Update option.

7. In the Update screen, you will see the current firmware versions of Samsung Portable SSD Software and your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive.

If you have updates available for both, we recommend updating the firmware for the Samsung Portable SSD Software first.

8. If your Samsung Portable SSD Software’s firmware is up to date, you can then update the firmware for your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive from the same Update screen.

To avoid potential damages, your X5 should not be reading, writing or transferring any data when you are updating to a new firmware. You should also avoid disconnecting your external drive when it is updating. Finally, make sure you don’t unplug your computer from the power outlet.

9. After updating your Samsung Portable SSD Software and/or your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, you should be back in the Update screen. Here, you can click on the Refresh button to see the latest firmware versions applied to the software and hardware.

10. If you want your Samsung Portable SSD Software and/or your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive to automatically update whenever there is a new firmware available when you connect the X5 to your computer, you can do so from the aforementioned Update menu.

In the Update screen of the Samsung Portable SSD Software, you should find the “Check for Updates Automatically” setting. Make sure that this setting is set to ON as it will enable automatic firmware updates.

The Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive comes with an optional security mode that you can use to locked the SSD from being accessed by someone without a password.

You can check out this tutorial at Seeking Tech to see how you can change, remove and recover your password for the X5.

It should be noted that this guide will be covering the following capacity versions of the X5:

• 500 GB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB500B)
• 1 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB1T0B)
• 2 TB Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive (Model Number: MU-PB2T0B)

Samsung Portable SSD Software

In order to setup, change and remove the password for your Samsung X5 Portable, you need to use the Samsung Portable SSD Software.

If the program is not already installed, then you can download the installation files from the official Samsung website with this link.

Make sure you are downloading the correct version as there are multiple iterations of the program available for different external Samsung storage drives as well as operating systems.

How to change password for Samsung X5

To change the password for your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, you need to take the following steps:

1. Plug your X5 into the Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C port on your computer.

2. The Samsung Portable SSD Software should automatically open. If you don’t see the program pop up, you can manually open it.

3. On the password screen, you need to enter the current password you previously set for your Samsung X5. Afterwards, you need to click Unlock.

4. You should now be in the main menu of the Samsung Portable SSD Software with your X5 fully unlocked. Here, you need to click Settings.

5. In the Settings screen, you will need to reinput your current password in addition to inputting your new password twice.

Make sure you write down your password and keep it in a safe space. This is because Samsung is not liable when it comes to you losing data stored on the X5 as a result of you forgetting the password.

6. Once you are done, you click on Save to confirm the password change.

How to remove password protection for Samsung X5

In order to remove password protection for your Samsung X5 Portable SSD, you need to disable its security mode.

To do so, you need to do the following:

1. Connect your external drive to your computer.

2. If the Samsung Portable SSD Software doesn’t open right away, make sure you manually launch the program.

3. In the password screen of the Samsung Portable SSD Software, enter the current password for your X5 and then click on the Unlock option.

This will bring you to the main menu of the program with your X5 fully unlocked.

4. From the main menu, click on Settings.

5. In the Settings screen, you should see Security Mode. If this setting is set to ON, make sure you click the switch to the right of it in order to set it to off.

With the security mode disabled, you no longer need a password in order to fully accessed your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive every time you connect it to a computer.

How to recover password for Samsung X5

Unfortunately, there is no way you can recover the password for your Samsung X5 if you don’t remember what you previously used.

Without the correct password, only around 128 MB of your external solid state drive, which is allocated for the Samsung Portable SSD Software, will be shown. All of your personal data you have on your X5 will be locked out without a password.

If you don’t mind losing all of your personal data stored on the X5, then you can do a factory reset. This procedure will restore your external solid state drive to its original factory settings, which will erase the current password of the X5 as well as all personal data you have on it.

In order to factory reset your Samsung X5 Portable Solid State Drive, you need to do so through an online service from a Samsung Service Center.