Can't mount second external hard drive

[laclef]

Hi all,

I've searched the threads but can't find an answer to my problem. I have two problems really but am hoping if I can fix the first, I can work out the second with existing information on the forum.

I have a WD 500gb external drive which I use with my Powerbook G4 through firewire. It works fine but now I can't seem to use any other external drive. I tried connecting another WD 320 gb external drive which I am plugging in through USB, but get nothing. I also tried running my other mac (Ibook G4) in target mode to access information on its hard drive but have the same issue - the Powerbook just won't recognize/mount (i.e. I can't see it in finder or desktop or disk utilities).

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Apple Ink]

As a rule of thumb.... have you tried repairing the permissions and the disk?

 

[laclef]

Just ran that repair a couple of days ago. Didn't fix issue. Any other suggestions would be great.

 

[Poncho]

No advice as yet but am I understanding you correctly?

1. Before you plugged in your WD drives you could see any other drives.

2. Since plugging in WD drives you can see these but no other drives.

 

[Apple Ink]

Try connecting any drive(s) and open Disk Utility. Check if disk utility can 'see' them! Try mounting drives from Disk Utility by selecting any mountable partition which should appear just beneath your HDD (if it shows in DU)!

If DU is not showing anything, open System Profiler and Select USB/FireWire (while the drive is connected) and see what it says!

Also, have you tried connecting anything else to your Mac from any other port? Like maybe a flashdrive in USB and a handycam in firewire....

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Another thing to try is updating the firmware on the 500GB WD drive, if a newer version is available.

 

[laclef]

No advice as yet but am I understanding you correctly?

1. Before you plugged in your WD drives you could see any other drives.

2. Since plugging in WD drives you can see these but no other drives.

Yes. I have used the smaller external drives before - just plug and go. Since using the 500gb drive, it is the only external drive I can see. Just for clarification, I can only see the 500gb drive when connected. When I connect the 320gb nothing is recognized.

the 500 has an external power source. The 320 does not. The Ibook (target) obviously does. I thanks for any help you can give.

 

[laclef]

Try connecting any drive(s) and open Disk Utility. Check if disk utility can 'see' them! Try mounting drives from Disk Utility by selecting any mountable partition which should appear just beneath your HDD (if it shows in DU)!

If DU is not showing anything, open System Profiler and Select USB/FireWire (while the drive is connected) and see what it says!

Also, have you tried connecting anything else to your Mac from any other port? Like maybe a flashdrive in USB and a handycam in firewire....

Tried pretty much everything available in disk utilities. Problem is that only my harddrive or my 500 gb drive (when it's attached) is listed to choose from for repair.

My video camera is recognized in IMovie and small flash drives work.

This maybe for a different thread but what I am really trying to do is access the hard drive on my IBook using my Powerbook. I installed Leopard recently on my IBook and am getting the imfamous blank blue screen. I found some threads on how to fix, but nothing seems to be working. Apple says I should archive and reinstall but I need to delete some files to free up the space first.

 

[sickmacdoc]

Yes. I have used the smaller external drives before - just plug and go. Since using the 500gb drive, it is the only external drive I can see. Just for clarification, I can only see the 500gb drive when connected. When I connect the 320gb nothing is recognized.

the 500 has an external power source. The 320 does not. The Ibook (target) obviously does. I thanks for any help you can give.

The WD line of portable drives (Passport Essentials, Passport Elite and others) and some other external 2.5" drives require more power than SOME USB ports can provide individually. That is why in the WD documentation they make note of that- and that they will send you at no charge a "Y" USB cable that plugs into two USB ports at once if you need one.

My guess on that part anyway is that you do indeed need one. It is not uncommon when using Passports with Macs, but some work fine without it. Kind of luck of the draw I guess, as I am assuming you have tried it in other USB ports.

While this doesn't apply to yours, the Macbook USB port towards the front has been documented as providing more power than the one behind it, so folks using USB drives with them should always plug them in the front port for more success.