To check storage on an external hard drive, open File Explorer on Windows and right-click the drive under "This PC" to see its used and free space. On a Mac, select the drive in Finder and press Command+I to view its capacity and available space.
How to check storage on external hard drive in Windows
The fastest way to check storage on an external hard drive in Windows is through File Explorer. Open File Explorer (Windows key + E), select "This PC" from the left sidebar, and your external hard drive will appear under "Devices and drives" with a bar showing used and free space. If you can't safely eject it, you might need to find out what programs are using external hard drive. For a detailed breakdown, right-click the external drive and select "Properties." The Properties window displays the total capacity, used space, and free space in a clear breakdown.
You can also check storage through Windows Settings. Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage to see an overview of storage usage, including categories like apps and temporary files. This is useful for understanding what is consuming space on your drive.
If your external drive does not appear in File Explorer, use Windows Disk Management. Right-click the Start button and select "Disk Management," or press Windows + X and select "Disk Management." Here you can see all connected drives. Right-click on a drive or volume and select "Properties" to view its overall capacity and available space. If the drive is missing a drive letter, you can right-click it and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths" to assign one, making it visible in File Explorer.
How to check storage on external hard drive in macOS
On macOS (Ventura, Sonoma, and later), the quickest way to check storage is through System Settings. Click the Apple menu () > System Settings > General > Storage. This displays available storage and a breakdown by categories like Applications, Documents, Photos, and System Data. On older macOS versions (Monterey and earlier), find this information via Apple menu () > About This Mac > Storage tab.
For a direct check on an external drive, use Finder. Open Finder and locate your drive under "Locations" or "Devices" in the sidebar. Right-click it and select "Get Info." The Get Info window displays the drive's capacity, available space, and used space. This method gives you precise numbers for that specific drive without navigating through system settings.
Using Disk Utility on Mac for more detail
For a more detailed look at your external drive's storage, use macOS Disk Utility. Open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility, then select the external drive in the sidebar. The main panel shows used and free space. Disk Utility also shows "purgeable space," which is space macOS can free up when needed, but cannot be manually removed by the user. This is helpful when you see less free space than expected, the system may be holding purgeable files that it will delete automatically when space is required.
How to check storage on external hard drive in Linux
On Linux, use the `df -h` command in the terminal to check disk space. This gives a human-readable output showing used, available, and percentage of space used for all mounted file systems. To check a specific external drive, use `df -h` followed by the drive's mount point, for example, `df -h /media/username/disklabel/`. If you need to identify which device corresponds to your external drive, use the `fdisk -l` command (often requires `sudo`) to list all physical disks and their partitions.
Why your external drive might not show up
If your external drive does not appear in Windows File Explorer, it may need a drive letter assigned. Open Disk Management, right-click the drive, and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths" to assign a letter. On a Mac, check Finder preferences by opening Finder, clicking "Finder" in the menu bar, selecting "Settings" (or "Preferences" in older versions), and ensuring "External disks" is checked under the General tab. These steps resolve the most common visibility issues, but for deeper troubleshooting, refer to a detailed guide on drive detection problems.
