External Harddrive will not mount

[Kirk]

I have an external LaCie drive connected to my eMac and it has always worked fine. Now, I have got another external LaCie drive, but I can not get it to mount on my desktop. In know the cables are good, and it starts up when I start my Mac, but nothing comes up on my desktop. It has been formated on another Mac.

Is there any thing I can try to get it to mount on my desktop? As I don’t have Firewire 800 on my Mac, can I connect it to my other Firewire drive with the Firewire 800 cable?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

How is it connected now? If one of the hard drives has two FireWire 400 ports, you could daisy-chain the two together, putting the drive with two ports first, then the drive with one port. If that prevents you from connecting other devices, like iSights or iPods, you'll need to use a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 port adapter to allow you to connect your additional devices. If that still isn't enough, you'll need a FireWire hub - they aren't cheap, though.

 

[Kirk]

I have connected the drives directly to my Mac with Firewire 400.
Both drives have one Firewire 400 port and two Firewire 800 ports. My eMac has two Firewire 400 ports (but no Firewire 800).

How is it connected now? If one of the hard drives has two FireWire 400 ports, you could daisy-chain the two together, putting the drive with two ports first, then the drive with one port. If that prevents you from connecting other devices, like iSights or iPods, you'll need to use a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 port adapter to allow you to connect your additional devices. If that still isn't enough, you'll need a FireWire hub - they aren't cheap, though.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I have connected the drives directly to my Mac with Firewire 400.
Both drives have one Firewire 400 port and two Firewire 800 ports. My eMac has two Firewire 400 ports (but no Firewire 800).

First I would try swapping the drive's FireWire connections to rule out a malfunctioning FireWire port on your Mac. If swapping causes the second drive to mount but not the first (as opposed to the first but not the second, as it is now) suspect a bad FireWire port. If you get any other result, there's a different problem (possibilities include a corrupted filesystem on the second drive, a bad FireWire port on the second drive, and insufficient power for the drive to work).

 

[Kirk]

I have tried swapping the connections, so the ports on the Mac are ruled out. I have also tried swapping the cables, so it seems there is something wrong with the new drive. If the problem is the FireWire 400 port on the second drive, is it then possible to chain the second drive to the old drive with FireWire 800?

Appreciate the help by the way!

First I would try swapping the drive's FireWire connections to rule out a malfunctioning FireWire port on your Mac. If swapping causes the second drive to mount but not the first (as opposed to the first but not the second, as it is now) suspect a bad FireWire port. If you get any other result, there's a different problem (possibilities include a corrupted filesystem on the second drive, a bad FireWire port on the second drive, and insufficient power for the drive to work).

 

[jeremy.king]

Can Disc Utility see it?

 

[Kirk]

No. It lights up when I turn on the computer, then nothing.

Can Disc Utility see it?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I have tried swapping the connections, so the ports on the Mac are ruled out. I have also tried swapping the cables, so it seems there is something wrong with the new drive. If the problem is the FireWire 400 port on the second drive, is it then possible to chain the second drive to the old drive with FireWire 800?

Appreciate the help by the way!

That would work if both hard drives have FireWire 800 ports and you have a FireWire 800 cable. The drive should handle the different links internally.