> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macstadium.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Can I attach an external drive to my Mac?

> MacStadium no longer offers external hard drives or USB-attached storage for hosted Macs. For more storage, use a higher-storage Mac, Private Cloud NAS, or Pure Storage.

No. MacStadium no longer offers external hard drives or other USB-attached storage for hosted Macs, including USB-attached NAS drives. This covers both rented drives and drives you ship to us. External drives were part of the drive rental and colocation services, which MacStadium is winding down.

If you need more storage than your Mac's internal drive, use one of these instead:

* **A Mac with more built-in storage:** for example, the M2.XL Mac mini has a 2 TB internal drive. See the [Mac mini comparison chart](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/bare-metal-macs/mac-mini-comparison-chart.md).
* **[Private Cloud Network Attached Storage](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/storage/private-cloud-network-attached-storage.md):** a virtual NAS in your Private Cloud that you set up yourself and share with your Macs and other machines over your private network.
* **Pure Storage:** for high-performance storage requirements. Contact your MacStadium account manager or [MacStadium support](mailto:support@macstadium.com) to discuss options.

If you use an external drive only for backups, such as Time Machine, a third-party cloud backup service may also fit, since backup storage doesn't need to be fast or local.

## If you already have an external drive

A drive that's already attached to your Mac keeps working. If it fails, MacStadium can't replace it with a new rental drive. Contact [MacStadium support](mailto:support@macstadium.com), and they'll go through your options, including moving to one of the storage options above.


## Related topics

- [Private Cloud Network Attached Storage](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/storage/private-cloud-network-attached-storage.md)
- [Manual Windows Installation](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/x86-vms-private-cloud-vms/manual-windows-installation.md)
- [VM Creation and OS Installation](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/x86-vms-private-cloud-vms/vm-creation-and-os-installation.md)
- [Creating a New VM with a Recipe](https://docs.macstadium.com/iaas/x86-vms-private-cloud-vms/creating-a-new-vm-with-a-recipe.md)
- [USB passthrough guide](https://docs.macstadium.com/remote-desktop-vdi/configuration/usb-passthrough-guide.md)


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