I was formatting an external hard drive in disk utility, waited for a while, and it said that it failed. I unplugged the hard drive, and now when I plug it in nothing shows up. The hard drive makes a sound like it's trying to work, but no go. It doesn't show on my desktop nor in disk utility. Can anyone help me get this hard drive working again? I don't need to get any files out of it, I just want to format it and have it usable.
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Hard drive gone?
- Thread starter kevindosi
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Hi
This is Vasanth
The Only steps that you can try out is disconnect the External Hd -unplug the cables
--Turn on external HD on first and then connect to the computer
--check in system profiler-weather it is seen
--Try Connecting to a different computer-
--if it is seen there try formating that in that computer .
still have doubts chat with me --vasanth_4uu@mac.com
This is Vasanth
The Only steps that you can try out is disconnect the External Hd -unplug the cables
--Turn on external HD on first and then connect to the computer
--check in system profiler-weather it is seen
--Try Connecting to a different computer-
--if it is seen there try formating that in that computer .
still have doubts chat with me --vasanth_4uu@mac.com
Vasanth, what you suggest does nothing to address a hardware issue, which from the OP's description it may be. Please, let's solve this issue here.
OP, as mentioned already, what sound does it make? Hopefully it's not the disk surface being scratched or contacted in any way.
Unplug the cables, Reboot the computer, plug in the firewire or USB, and turn the drive back on (once OS X is logged in)
Also, if it doesn't mount in finder, does it show up in System Profiler?
HDD/Applications/Utilities/System Profiler.app
Also disk Utility, does it appear at all?
And finally, another step to check the drive.. Does it show up on another computer?
Edit:
Is it connected via Firewire or USB?
Unplug the cables, Reboot the computer, plug in the firewire or USB, and turn the drive back on (once OS X is logged in)
Also, if it doesn't mount in finder, does it show up in System Profiler?
HDD/Applications/Utilities/System Profiler.app
Also disk Utility, does it appear at all?
And finally, another step to check the drive.. Does it show up on another computer?
Edit:
Is it connected via Firewire or USB?
Could be the partitioning failed which means that there would be no partition scheme and thus the drive would not be recognized in OS X (wiped out the current partition scheme and tables).
Try using a Windows computer to see the unpartitioned space. Right click on (My)Computer (dependent on whether you use XP or Vista) and choose "Storage." The drive should show up with a black highlighted bar across the top and say something like "Non Allocated Space." Right click the drive and select "New" and run through the dialogue boxes. Once complete, unplug the drive and re-plug it into you Mac. Open "Disk Utility" and format the drive using the desired format.
Again, this could be the result of a partitioning failure and not necessarily a hardware fault. If anyone knows how to get a Mac to see "Non Allocated Space," then please pass along the information.
Try using a Windows computer to see the unpartitioned space. Right click on (My)Computer (dependent on whether you use XP or Vista) and choose "Storage." The drive should show up with a black highlighted bar across the top and say something like "Non Allocated Space." Right click the drive and select "New" and run through the dialogue boxes. Once complete, unplug the drive and re-plug it into you Mac. Open "Disk Utility" and format the drive using the desired format.
Again, this could be the result of a partitioning failure and not necessarily a hardware fault. If anyone knows how to get a Mac to see "Non Allocated Space," then please pass along the information.
First of all, thanks to everyone for the help.
The drive makes a fast clicking sound, stops, and repeats.
Following the suggestions by quotemeas, I booted up windows and popped the hard drive in. At first, it seemed to be working and I opened disk manager. The entire disk was unallocated, so i pressed new. It got to the part that said "formatting" and hung for a long time, so I ejected the disk. The next time I plugged it into a PC, I get a message saying "a problem occurred during hardware installation. your hardware might not work properly." I plug it into a mac, and it says something like "Disk is not recognizable... Eject? Ignore?" Now, the disk at least shows up in disk utility. This is what it looks like:
Any suggestions?
The drive makes a fast clicking sound, stops, and repeats.
Following the suggestions by quotemeas, I booted up windows and popped the hard drive in. At first, it seemed to be working and I opened disk manager. The entire disk was unallocated, so i pressed new. It got to the part that said "formatting" and hung for a long time, so I ejected the disk. The next time I plugged it into a PC, I get a message saying "a problem occurred during hardware installation. your hardware might not work properly." I plug it into a mac, and it says something like "Disk is not recognizable... Eject? Ignore?" Now, the disk at least shows up in disk utility. This is what it looks like:
Any suggestions?
Clicking sound? That doesn't sound right...
On a quick google search, it seems that the Drive is failing, or about to fail. The magnetic recording surface on the disk is probably being contacted by the recorder which usually hovers above it.
Good thing nothing important is on the drive right now. It would explain the failed format in disk utility, and also the failed mounting and unreadability of it on both windows and os x.
On a quick google search, it seems that the Drive is failing, or about to fail. The magnetic recording surface on the disk is probably being contacted by the recorder which usually hovers above it.
Good thing nothing important is on the drive right now. It would explain the failed format in disk utility, and also the failed mounting and unreadability of it on both windows and os x.
First of all, thanks to everyone for the help.
The drive makes a fast clicking sound, stops, and repeats.
Following the suggestions by quotemeas, I booted up windows and popped the hard drive in. At first, it seemed to be working and I opened disk manager. The entire disk was unallocated, so i pressed new. It got to the part that said "formatting" and hung for a long time, so I ejected the disk. The next time I plugged it into a PC, I get a message saying "a problem occurred during hardware installation. your hardware might not work properly." I plug it into a mac, and it says something like "Disk is not recognizable... Eject? Ignore?" Now, the disk at least shows up in disk utility. This is what it looks like:
Any suggestions?
Hmm, so the issue arose again when it tried to format (write) so I am thinking that the write mechanism is bad. Is it under warranty or are you able to return?
I'm not sure, that could be right. In Windows, I can create a partition but it hangs on "formatting." It still hangs on the same screen in Mac OS X. Unfortunately, the hard drive is a couple years old and no longer under warranty
I'm not sure, that could be right. In Windows, I can create a partition but it hangs on "formatting." It still hangs on the same screen in Mac OS X. Unfortunately, the hard drive is a couple years old and no longer under warranty
One last thing you could try, not even sure if it is possible tho. Under Windows, can u right click the drive and select "Properties" under the "Storage/Disk Management" screen (where you saw the "Non Allocated Space")? If you can, is there a tab labeled "Tools" available? Under the "Tools" tab, select the first option called "Error Checking" and make sure to check both boxes in the new dialogue box before starting the process. This will take some time to complete, so if you have a big drive, expect it to take hours.
You could have a bad sector and when it tries to partition that area, it causes the partition process to hang, maybe?
Good luck!Just a question: you say it's an external HD, out of warranty. Did you try opening the enclosure and connecting the hard drive directly to the PC?
It could be a problem with the enclosure and not with the drive itself. It's worth a try if nothing else works.
It could be a problem with the enclosure and not with the drive itself. It's worth a try if nothing else works.