Growing pile of dead external drives. Help!

Soundhound · Sep 13, 2009, 04:48 PM

I've got several drives that have died over the last year or so. I've got six or seven drives hooked up to my iMac that I use for storage, backing up etc, and it seems like one just dies every six months or so. Maybe one a year. What happens is it suddenly doesn't show up on the desktop anymore, and it never stops churning. I try connecting any of these dead drives to another one of our macs, macbook pro, etc, but it behaves the same way.

Is there anything to be done about this? I'm thinking of getting a Drobo system, rather than buying new drives so often.

Is there any special software for dealing with drives in a state like this? Or a place you can take them to to see if they can be fixed? (I have all the data backed up, so that's not an issue. I've called the manufacturer (lacie) but I think they're all out of warrantee, though they're only a couple of years old.

Help! And thanks.

gr8tfly · Sep 13, 2009, 04:55 PM

Have you tried Disk Utility's First Aid repair?

As to why it's happening so often? Do you have power failures and/or are the drives unmounted and powered down properly? Sudden power down while mounted can sometimes cause data corruption, though it's usually repairable by Disk Utility.

If Disk Utility fails to repair the drive, I suggest giving Disk Warrior a try. Many times, when Disk Utility fails, Disk Warrior has been able to repair/recover a drive,

Soundhound · 06:28 PM

I don't think there's a power problem. Though I realize I may not be leaving them in the right state. I think there's an on position, off position, and maybe standby ( I think it says Auto, is that standby perhaps, and if so what does that mean)? Not sure.

I can't use Disk Utility, because the disks won't mount. Can Disk Utility find an unmounted disk? Same question regarding Disk Warrior I guess...??

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8tfly

Have you tried Disk Utility's First Aid repair?

As to why it's happening so often? Do you have power failures and/or are the drives unmounted and powered down properly? Sudden power down while mounted can sometimes cause data corruption, though it's usually repairable by Disk Utility.

If Disk Utility fails to repair the drive, I suggest giving Disk Warrior a try. Many times, when Disk Utility fails, Disk Warrior has been able to repair/recover a drive,

gr8tfly · Sep 13, 2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

I don't think there's a power problem. Though I realize I may not be leaving them in the right state. I think there's an on position, off position, and maybe standby ( I think it says Auto, is that standby perhaps, and if so what does that mean)? Not sure.

I can't use Disk Utility, because the disks won't mount. Can Disk Utility find an unmounted disk? Same question regarding Disk Warrior I guess...??

I don't think the switch "state" will matter, as long as you unmount (eject) the volume before powering it down or disconnecting it from the Mac.

Disk Utility will show all the partitions for a given drive - even if it's not mounted. They should show up in the device list on the left side of Disk Utility's window. Disk Warrior can also show unmounted partitions.

Soundhound · Sep 13, 2009, 07:18 PM

Unfortunately nothing shows up, the disks just churn and churn and churn, but no part shows up in Disk Utility. Should I get/try Disk Warrior?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8tfly

I don't think the switch "state" will matter, as long as you unmount (eject) the volume before powering it down or disconnecting it from the Mac.

Disk Utility will show all the partitions for a given drive - even if it's not mounted. They should show up in the device list on the left side of Disk Utility's window. Disk Warrior can also show unmounted partitions.

gr8tfly · Sep 13, 2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

Unfortunately nothing shows up, the disks just churn and churn and churn, but no part shows up in Disk Utility. Should I get/try Disk Warrior?

If the device itself doesn't show up, then no, it sounds like hardware (either the external drive enclosure/drive or even cabling.

If you go to System Preferences, then to Firewire or USB (depending on which you're using), see if the device shows up (i.e. the enclosure). If it doesn't, then it could even be as simple as a bad cable. Usually, if a drive inside a case dies, the interface itself will still show up.

SomeSwede · Sep 13, 2009, 07:35 PM

Try placing the "dead" drives inside an enclosure you know is working to see whether the drives or the enclosures are malfunctioning.

Soundhound · Sep 13, 2009, 10:33 PM

that's all far beyond my knowledge/capabilities, I'm afraid...

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeSwede

Try placing the "dead" drives inside an enclosure you know is working to see whether the drives or the enclosures are malfunctioning.

Soundhound · Sep 13, 2009, 10:34 PM

Where do I find Firewire and USB in Preferences?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8tfly

If the device itself doesn't show up, then no, it sounds like hardware (either the external drive enclosure/drive or even cabling.

If you go to System Preferences, then to Firewire or USB (depending on which you're using), see if the device shows up (i.e. the enclosure). If it doesn't, then it could even be as simple as a bad cable. Usually, if a drive inside a case dies, the interface itself will still show up.

benlangdon · Sep 13, 2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

Where do I find Firewire and USB in Preferences?

i think he is talking about " about this mac " ( click on the top left menu button that looks like an apple) > "more info" > usb, firewire or w/e

Soundhound · Sep 13, 2009, 10:43 PM

I don't think it's a cable, this is happening with any number of cables. Once I see whether it's showing up under About This Mac, under firewire or usb, what are the next steps if a) it shows up there or b) it doesn't?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8tfly

If the device itself doesn't show up, then no, it sounds like hardware (either the external drive enclosure/drive or even cabling.

If you go to System Preferences, then to Firewire or USB (depending on which you're using), see if the device shows up (i.e. the enclosure). If it doesn't, then it could even be as simple as a bad cable. Usually, if a drive inside a case dies, the interface itself will still show up.

gr8tfly · Sep 13, 2009, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

I don't think it's a cable, this is happening with any number of cables. Once I see whether it's showing up under About This Mac, under firewire or usb, what are the next steps if a) it shows up there or b) it doesn't?

If it does, the case probably is good and you might be able to just replace the drive inside - sometimes cheaper than a new enclosure w/ drive.

spacepower7 · Sep 14, 2009, 09:36 AM

If they are LaCie brand drives then it is probably a power supply problem.

Soundhound · Sep 14, 2009, 02:01 PM

The dead ones are Lacie. What is the power supply problem you speak of?

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacepower7

If they are LaCie brand drives then it is probably a power supply problem.

fhall1 · Sep 14, 2009, 03:57 PM

http://www.google.com/search?q=lacie...supply+problem

Soundhound · Sep 14, 2009, 04:38 PM

Hmmm, so some of those reports say the power supply with the d2 drives are bad/don't supply enough power. Is that what you meant by posting that search??

If so, do you know what power supplies I should get to rectify the problem?

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhall1

http://www.google.com/search?q=lacie...supply+problem

gr8tfly · Sep 14, 2009, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

Where do I find Firewire and USB in Preferences?

Sorry, was thinking about System Profiler (hey, they both start with "p"

). As someone already surmised, that's what I meant - and, you get to it (easiest) through About this Mac > More Info...

GeeYouEye · Sep 14, 2009, 04:55 PM

Make sure the drives are actually not working before going to any drastic measures: connect one, open up Terminal.app (in /Applications/Utilities/) and type

Code:

ps ax | grep fsck | grep -v grep

and hit return. If there are any results, wait 10 minutes and try again. Keep doing this until you get no results. If the disk doesn't show up after that, then you have a problem and should try one of the solutions above.

fhall1 · Sep 15, 2009, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundhound

Hmmm, so some of those reports say the power supply with the d2 drives are bad/don't supply enough power. Is that what you meant by posting that search??

If so, do you know what power supplies I should get to rectify the problem?

I don't own any LaCie drives...I posted that search because you asked "The dead ones are Lacie. What is the power supply problem you speak of?" to show you that with 5 seconds of searching you could find info about the issue. If you read some of those sites you'll see that LaCie could replace the supply for you depending on model/warranty etc. Since you don't give the models you're having issues with, it's pretty tough for anyone to recommend a replacement - even if they had the same problem.

Sep 13, 2009, 04:48 PM	#1
Soundhound macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2006	Growing pile of dead external drives. Help! I've got several drives that have died over the last year or so. I've got six or seven drives hooked up to my iMac that I use for storage, backing up etc, and it seems like one just dies every six months or so. Maybe one a year. What happens is it suddenly doesn't show up on the desktop anymore, and it never stops churning. I try connecting any of these dead drives to another one of our macs, macbook pro, etc, but it behaves the same way. Is there anything to be done about this? I'm thinking of getting a Drobo system, rather than buying new drives so often. Is there any special software for dealing with drives in a state like this? Or a place you can take them to to see if they can be fixed? (I have all the data backed up, so that's not an issue. I've called the manufacturer (lacie) but I think they're all out of warrantee, though they're only a couple of years old. Help! And thanks.

Sep 13, 2009, 04:55 PM	#2
gr8tfly macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 119W 34N	Have you tried Disk Utility's First Aid repair? As to why it's happening so often? Do you have power failures and/or are the drives unmounted and powered down properly? Sudden power down while mounted can sometimes cause data corruption, though it's usually repairable by Disk Utility. If Disk Utility fails to repair the drive, I suggest giving Disk Warrior a try. Many times, when Disk Utility fails, Disk Warrior has been able to repair/recover a drive, __________________ Macs from 1984 to 17" UB MBP, from Newton to iPhone 3G S⃣ , iPods, and tv.

Sep 13, 2009, 07:35 PM	#7
SomeSwede macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Land of ice and snow.	Try placing the "dead" drives inside an enclosure you know is working to see whether the drives or the enclosures are malfunctioning. __________________ Get DropBox  Spelling mistakes are due to being Swedish

Sep 14, 2009, 03:57 PM	#15
fhall1 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NY State	http://www.google.com/search?q=lacie...supply+problem __________________ 1.83 GHz CD Mini, 2GB RAM, 200GB 7200RPM HD 2.93 GHz iMac, 4GB RAM, 640GB HD, GT120 iPhone 3GS, 32GB, Black iPod classic, 80GB, Black

Sep 14, 2009, 04:55 PM	#18
GeeYouEye macrumors 68000 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: State of Denile	Make sure the drives are actually not working before going to any drastic measures: connect one, open up Terminal.app (in /Applications/Utilities/) and type Code: ps ax \| grep fsck \| grep -v grep and hit return. If there are any results, wait 10 minutes and try again. Keep doing this until you get no results. If the disk doesn't show up after that, then you have a problem and should try one of the solutions above. __________________ I bring order to chaos. You are in chaos Windows, you are the contradiction, a bug wishing to be an OS. Visit Softyards Software NEW DEFINITION OF GEEK Like politics, free speech, computers, entertainment, and more? Join us at Wordforge.net

Sep 14, 2009, 09:36 AM	#13
spacepower7 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2004	If they are LaCie brand drives then it is probably a power supply problem.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode