External disk drive not recognized

[gigatoaster]

Hello there

I use a Seagate External HDD to back my files. I wanted to back up today. First, I backed-up some files from my Mac mini. It went OK. Then I ejected it and plugged it to my MacBook Pro to backup some files.

It was very slow: like creating a folder took ages. I ejected it and disconnected it.

I plugged it again and on the Finder he doesn't appear anymore.

I went to disk utiity but it is grey.

Is it dead? Any recommendations how I can make it work again?

 

[Taz Mangus]

Try doing a SMC reset.

 

[gigatoaster]

Thanks for your message.

I tried but still having the same issue. I tried other HDDs, they work and excluded an issue with the USB cable. I am looking online for some solution but it is not conclusive.

I am trying terminal and it shows this:

 Device / Media Name:       BUP BK

   Volume Name:               Not applicable (no file system)
   Mounted:                   Not applicable (no file system)
   File System:               None

   Content (IOContent):       GUID_partition_scheme
   OS Can Be Installed:       No
   Media Type:                Generic
   Protocol:                  USB
   SMART Status:              Not Supported

   Disk Size:                 4.0 TB (4000787029504 Bytes) (exactly 7814037167 512-Byte-Units)
   Device Block Size:         512 Bytes

   Read-Only Media:           No
   Read-Only Volume:          Not applicable (no file system)

   Device Location:           External
   Removable Media:           Fixed

   Virtual:                   No

Also the command diskutil eject disk2 doesn't work.

Any ideas what that means?

 

[Taz Mangus]

It looks like it got corrupted somehow or the disk is starting to fail. How much data was backed up on it?

Maybe unplug the drive, disconnect it from the computer and let it sit for a while and then try plugging it in again.

 

[gigatoaster]

Sure. I’m going out and I’ll try again in a few hours.

Im surprised it got corrupted it was bought a few month ago and I use it only twice a year

 

[DeltaMac]

I'm pretty sure that means your hard drive is not showing a formatted volume, so you might guess that nothing is stored on that (now)
I have an 8TB Seagate (BUP hub for Mac) that failed recently, but it was still in factory warranty, and Seagate replaced it easily.
Yours should be a spinning hard drive, so you could try to listen to the drive as you plug it in. You might hear the drive spin up. Mine then clicked a couple of times, then shut back down.

 

[gigatoaster]

Thanks. I’ll check the noise on the HDD.

Still no improvements. It looks like there is a blinking light on it.

I’m going to the store to get a new one. I wish there was a way to avoid corrupting my HDD. It’s not the first time.

By the way, I should use ExFat when I get the new one, correct?

 

[DeltaMac]

If your Seagate is only a few months old, you can contact Seagate directly to replace it.

Warranty & Replacements | Seagate US

Seagate Warranty & Returns - Policy, FAQ's, Warranty Status & More.

www.seagate.com

Do you need to use ExFat? Do you share the drive with a Windows system? Or only connect to a Mac? If you don't connect to a Windows PC (or use a Bootcamp system, and need that external storage for that), then you don't need to use ExFat. Just use the normal default for macOS. HFS extended would work fine

 

[Fishrrman]

OK, before going further...

Did you just use this drive to back up other drives?
If the answer is yes, the next question is, do those source files STILL EXIST in their original places?

If that's the case, you ought to be able to wipe this drive and start over (and still have your files in their original locations).

IF you are comfortable erasing the Seagate, do this:
- open disk utility
- on the left, click on the "top line" for the Seagate, which is the representation of the physical drive
- BUT... this time, erase it to "Mac OS extended with journaling enabled", GUID partition format.
- then click through to erase it.

NEXT, I suggest you do this with the "empty" drive:
- disk utility should still be open
- click on the left side, the "second line down" that now represents the new volume you just created
- click the first aid button and let it "run through".
- what kind of report do you get? do you get "a good report"?
- if so, REPEAT THIS TEST five times in succession
- do you get a good report every time?
- if that's the case, I would consider "your problem" to have been due to some kind of software error. I'd use the drive again for backups. But I would not let it be the "only backup".

Final thought:
External drives work best with Macs when they are "Mac-formatted".
That's what I'd suggest you use.
If you need to move files back-and-forth with a PC, use a PC-formatted USB flash drive instead.

 

[gigatoaster]

Thanks both of you for your messages.

This HDD is my music collection in DSD & FLAC. I share it sometimes because these are rare files, as you can imagine and because I truly have exquisite tastes in music, haha, they can be shared with Windows users.

That’s why I chose ExFat and on top of that, I don’t think using a MacOS file system would have prevented the issue.

I still have the original files so I spent a few hours transferring all files to the new HDD, 100 GB per 100 GB.

I will definitely erase the defect one but I’ll call on Monday Seagate to see if they can do something and if it is still under warranty. Hopefully they can send me a brand new one and I’ll keep or get a refund of the one I just bought.

Ideally, I’d like to recover or at least get the first directory of the HDD to check I haven’t forgotten anything. So it will be a backup of the backup but honestly I’m disappointed by the poor quality of these products. In the last 3 years I had issues twice, thanks god the first time I managed to recover my data and I can see I registered the today’s defective HDD in November 2018.

Ideally, I’d like to recover or at least get the first directory of the HDD to check I haven’t forgotten anything.
[automerge]1593876616[/automerge]
EDIT: I remember now, I had a similar issue end of 2018. 🤦‍♂️

External HDD failure: are my files corrupt?

Hello there I use a Toshiba external HDD where I saved all my music in FLAC. That HDD was connected to a Mac mini 2014 for 4 years, then for a few month on an old MacBook Air 2011 and now on a Mac mini 2018. Last night, I had few error messages: "Hard disk not eject properly". I didn't eject...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Fishrrman]

"This HDD is my music collection in DSD & FLAC. I share it sometimes because these are rare files, as you can imagine and because I truly have exquisite tastes in music, haha, they can be shared with Windows users."

My first thought upon reading this is to reply:
"Don't be doin' that no mo' !!!"
(not if the drive and the files on it are important to you)

 

[gigatoaster]

How should I keep my precious files, any suggestions? iCloud? I have actually less than 700 GB, might be worth it but I’m not sure about transfer rates and file retention.

 

[Fishrrman]

For 700gb, I'd suggest getting TWO 1tb SSDs.
Since these are primarily "backups", I'd recommend the 2.5" form factor.
Get 2 "bare drives" and put them into enclosures like this one:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

tinyurl.com

I recommend that these drives be formatted to HFS+ (Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format).
Now, get your files arranged as you want on ONE of the drives.

Next, use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to "clone" the first SSD to the second one.
Now you have AN EXACT COPY of your "primary backup drive" on a SECOND drive, as insurance.
If possible, keep the second drive stored elsewhere than the primary drive, to prevent against "home disasters".

You want security for your files?
The above routine GIVES you "security".

 

[gigatoaster]

Thanks for the recommendation. I wish I could get a 4TB SSD but it's too expensive.

I called Seagate this morning. I tried their recovery program but it failed. So I am sending the drive to the Netherlands to them for advanced recovery. It might take one month to get it back.

Hope it will work. I asked what could be the reason, they told me I didn't unplug it correctly or just the drive is faulty.

 

[gigatoaster]

Spoiler

So I finally received a replacement HDD after a little trip in the region but it looks like a refurbished one. There is a 1 GB of hidden files and I can't get rid of them, nor access them. I tried disk utilities in MacOS Extended "erase" but no it is still showing up. Do you know how I could delete this 1 GB?

My defective HDD is still in the lab and I should get a report of it in the following weeks.

 

[Fishrrman]

"There is a 1 GB of hidden files and I can't get rid of them, nor access them"

Is this a Seagate drive?
If so, check Seagate's web site for a special utility app they have.
I believe you need to run that app, to remove the "additional stuff" they have placed onto the drive. This is in a "protected partition" that disk utility can't remove (but the Seagate utility CAN remove it).

Once you have removed the protected partition (assuming there IS one), NOW you can use disk utility to erase the ENTIRE drive.

TIP:
When you open disk utility, before you do anything else, go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".

 

[gigatoaster]

It takes 13 hours to delete the disk, it's long.

However I have noticed the following: when I format in MacOS Extended, I have 1.1 Gb of used space. When I select ExFat, I have 99 MB. Then, I do MacOS Extended, I have 99 MB.

Is this normal?

 

[gigatoaster]

Just wanted to share an update. They recovered my data and sent the drive on Friday. I received it today and I’m transferring files to the replacement drive. I can keep the one they sent so now I have two disks: 2TB & 4TB. It took 3 weeks in total, pretty decent customer service.