Had the hd for a month or 2. formatted it mac journaled as i use a mac powerbook dual core with os 10.6.8. all was fine until tonight it won't read the drive. gives me the message it is not readable by the computer. i tried to repair with disk utility but it won't mount. it says its unformatted. i do hear whirring noises when it tries to connect, it makes me wonder if its the mini usb connection at the housing that is the problem? i don't know. i tried repairing the guid partition through terminal but i am a novice, not sure i did it right, nothing happened. tried to plug it into my older mac but nothing at all happens. at least my machine gives the error message. any advice?
Not sure if the warranty for it would cover any data retrieval so you might want to address this issue first, if it applies to your case. If not, simply RMA to the seller or manufacturer and they'll either refurbish it or exchange for a working one, depending on warranty for it. Either case, you probably don't want to void your warranty by opening the unit yourself and checking if the drive itself works and if it's just the enclosure that's problematic, so best solution would probably be contacting your nearest mac store and asking them for their advice. Best of luck!
If voiding the warranty for your external disk drive isn't an issue you might want to check that the included disk drive within the external enclosure is still working by first unplugging the enclosure off electricity and remove the signal cable as well. Before you proceed with touching any components inside the enclosure also touch any grounded equipment in your home (a heater, radiator, any metal pipes,...) to discharge any possible static electricity that might have gathered in your body and not damage any sensitive equipment by accident. Then remove the disk drive by opening up the enclosure and unplugging it from internal signal and power connectors on enclosure's PCB. Make sure you're doing it gently enough not to damage any parts and connecting cables. Use the tip of a flat screwdriver if you need to help the connectors loosen up a bit. Once the drive itself is out, inspect it for any signs of damage to its PCB. Visual inspection for any burnt parts or smelling the PCB and checking it doesn't smell burnt would do. If it looks to be fine proceed with installing the hard disk drive (HDD) to a PC/Mac that you can open up without voiding its warranty. Shut down the computer you're going to use to test the drive, unplug it from electricity by removing the power cord or switching its power supply off using external i/o switch and discharge any of your bodies static electricity again (just in case but if you're standing on a soft rug static electricity can build up pretty quickly). Then open up the test PC/Mac by removing the left side panel, connect a spare SATA cable (it would be "internal" L type SATA connector on both ends, not the "external" SATA connector that has I shaped or straight plugs) to any of the motherboard's free SATA ports, connect the other end of the signal cable to the disk drive itself and connect also a fitting power connector (4 PIN molex or flat SATA power connector, depends on your disk drive, some can use any of the two types - just not both at the same time) to the drive. Don't disconnect any other device in your machine. You should have additional unused power connectors hanging off your power supply, probably neatly tucked away. Just follow the cables that go out the back side of your power supply and you should find some unused ones. When connected, place your suffering disk drive on any non conducting material, like a cardboard box without any shiny prints on it, as you won't be needing it connected so for longer than this data retrieval will last. Make sure the disk sits comfortably on the surface you put under it and nothing will touch it (kids, dogs, cats,...) while it operates. Then reconnect the power cord to the power supply of the test PC/Mac and turn it on. Your PC/Mac might complain the side panel is open, but you should be able to proceed regardless by hitting appropriate key on your keyboard. Boot to your OS and check if your drive is readable again. If it is, then the PCB of the external enclosure got burnt by something, quite possibly overheating or faulty powered USB hub, if you had it connected to any. Regardless, you should be able to backup any data on the drive, provided if it still works (you can hear it spinning without any "clicking" sounds and the drive is recognized by the OS). Alternatively, if you don't want to open up your PC/Mac to test the drive, ask your friends for external disk drive enclosure that connects with an USB port and install the affected disk drive in it. Also avoid connecting it to any powered USB hubs that you might have had your previous enclosure connected to. Just connect directly to your PC/Mac and use external power supply for the enclosure. Hope any of this helps. If it doesn't change anything then your disk drive needs professional servicing.
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SOURCE: mac not able to read drive
disconnect mybook from the computer then disconnect the power cable to turn the mybook off completely. Plug it back in after a few seconds and then reconnect to the computer. Worked for me and didn't lose any data.
SOURCE: Mac not Reconize my MyBook
load the driver for mac use, the external hard drive comes with cd, the mac driver should be inside, load it to your mac computer. if you donot have the cd go online to western digital and download it. just load the driver and u will be fine, make sure u connect the cable in right places.
I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/mustafa_06f84c65ab5cc745
SOURCE: 1tb WD external hardrive not mounting, can't access my info ?
First of all, restoring a hard drive rarely affects data stored on it. I usually just adjusts the supporting software that allows it to run properly. Definately check the manual prior to restoring it, though. Formatting it will absolutely erase everything (unless your the FBI). I'm about 99% sure that restoring it will leave your stored data completely unaffected.
You're better off performing the work using the newest OS available. BTW, your BF can plug into the internet and get upgraded to 10.4.11 as well for free and it doesn't take long.
Testimonial: "the answer is helpful but I am still not sure of how to restore the drive? "
SOURCE: MyBook not recognized by Mac
I am having the same problem!!!! I have my time machine backups on there and I cannot access them! Class action lawsuit???
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thanks but the big burning issue is getting my data off this thing, as i got 1TB of stuff there and no backup. I was trying to make backups when this happened. how can i get to the data?
wow thanks so much for the detailed advice. however this is a portable external hard drive, will it still work the way you describe? i may be able to put it in an old mac laptop, i will have to see if that is possible. also, do you think data recovery programs are a waste of time since the disk is showing up as unformatted in disk utility?
It might if the only thing damaged was the enclosure's logic and the disk inside is unaffected. You will have problems finding suitable connectors/converters for the disk drive itself if you plan on testing it with laptops so I suggest you take the drive out of the enclosure, wrap it in an anti-static bag (most computer parts come wrapped in one of those, they look semi-clear, gray-ish in colour) and take it to a friend that has a self-built PC or a Mac that he/she can open without voiding their warranty. You just need to test if the disk drive inside still works and is recognised by OS. Your next options will depend on weather the disk still functions. By the way, do you connect your external drive directly to the laptop or is there any powered USB hub in between of them? And if you could possibly give us the model number of the external drive? I could help you easier if I can find a user's manual for your device or at least some online posted photos of it so I see which end goes where and if there might be any workarounds that would work for you. Also, have you tried holding the mini USB connector firmly in place while turning the disk on? You could temporarily improvise with a small piece of a duckt tape to hold it in place ;)
oh wow thank you. of course i can supply more details. i have a WD Elements 1028 1TB drive which is attaches with a micro-usb2 connection. the P/N is WDBABV0010BBK-00. I use it with a MacBook Pro 15" laptop but i was thinking of testing it with my old 17" titanium laptop which is already out of warranty. But that might not be a good idea if its complicated to find connectors. i had the hard drive in that one already replaced once though. unfortunately i am not physically in the same city as friends who are computer-selfbuilders. I'm kind of on my own when it comes to enclosures etc. i own several portable drives but i'm not sure i can open the one that is the most expendable. i will have to give it some thought.
in terms of a data recovery program, someone on a forum was talking about a way to go through terminal to restore the guid partition. i am not sure but do you think that might work? if i could recover the data, i would be so relieved, regardless of whether or not i save the physical drive...
oh, and it is powered by the laptop. i do not use a hub and it does not have an electrical plug. it goes directly into the usb2 port in the laptop. but on the disk it has a micro-usb2, which is a little wiggly, and i have my doubts about whether this is causing the problem...
and yes i tried to hold the mini-usb2 in place and firmly engaged and removed and tried again many times to no avail. the hopeful thing is the disk seems to whirr and try to start up when i first plug it in but then the message comes up and it goes off.
Well considering you mentioned "whirring noises" that would suggest your problem is hardware related. Let's first hope it's just a problem with signal cable not connecting properly or in case it's a hardware failure that it's limited to the PCB of the enclosure and hasn't affected the disk drive that's inside. Any data recovery will have to come later, after we fist establish what is causing your problems. I'll have a look at the drive's specification now and tell you what you can do.
OK the disk inside the enclosure is 2.5 inches so you might be able to just take it out of the enclosure and still test it to some extent in a laptop. You'll have to replace the laptop's internal hard drive with the one that is within the enclosure, the connectors for it should be the same but the drive might be a bit thicker than the one in the laptop so you'll have to try without attaching the protective panel back in place. You'll only be testing if the affected drive spins normally as it probably doesn't have any bootable OS installed on it, so you won't be able to run the laptop with it. You will still be able to test if those "whirring noises" persist. If not, you should be able to replace the enclosure or the cable for it without much costs, if those sounds still remain even after connecting he drive directly to the laptop, then you're probably out of luck and will have to resort to more expensive solutions to restore your data. If it was just the partition problem then you wouldn't hear such sounds coming from your drive. Try in the old laptop that you mentioned and tell us how it went. If you need more help in how to get the drive out of the enclosure or how to replace it with the one in the laptop, do let us know. Best of luck!
Another idea, have you tried connecting the disk to another USB port on your MacBook while the laptop itself is charging and not on battery? Or tested it on another laptop/PC? Regardless, don't try to restore any partitions on it before you make sure the drive is working properly. And don't, under any circumstances, re-format the drive or answer positively to any dialogues that warn you of possibility of losing your data!
More reading material, it might prove useful:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/deta...
Idle disable tool for Mac:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download....
THANK YOU so much for all your help. i will try to start on this tonight, i guess it might be quite a project. one thing to clarify, i didn't mean whirring as in bad noise, i meant i could feel the vibrations of the disk moving around just as my normal ones do. so i took it as a sign it wasn't completely dead. its actually completely quiet.
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