HELP: Disk you inserted is not readable by this computer.

[smgc4216]

smgc...

You can try DiskWarrior first, but be aware that the ONLY THING it can do is repair or rebuild a bad directory.
That may work for you, or it may not.

If that doesn't help, you might have to go to data RECOVERY software, such as DataRescue.

Since you said you tried the problem drive on a pc, I'm going to -guess- that it's formatted "for the PC", and not as HFS+?
I'm wondering if DiskWarrior will even touch this. I was always under the impression that DW is for HFS+ drives only (but I could be wrong).

If the drive IS "cross-formatted" (such as fat32), you might have luck "on the PC side" using something like Spinright (I -think- that's the name, I don't do Windows).

Something you could try first:
- Download DataRescue from ProSoft. You can download and try it out FOR FREE.
- Does DR "see" the problem drive?
- If so, can you run the "deep scan"?

Thanks for your response.
I've been looking at Disk Warrior 5 and Disk Warrior Recovery and am still waiting to hear back from them about the difference and whether I get both before buying DW5 - then I'll have to figure out how to use it.

Sorry pc is meant to be girl friends mac. Ok I've downloaded the free trial and can advise it's a HFS format. Vital 2TB shows but 1TB doesn't. I see myself purchasing something to fix and manage these hard drives in the future. I don't like how DataRescue can't put the files/folders back to how they originally are as that's a lot of sorting to do.

Also after they're fixed will they be prone to the same problem? And in doing data recovery I think I'm right in saying that I need to purchase another 2TB so that the info can be transferred (probably wrong tech word) from the old to the new. My query with this is will the old one be reusable or do I need to bin it?

 

[Fishrrman]

smgc wrote:
"Sorry pc is meant to be girl friends mac. Ok I've downloaded the free trial and can advise it's a HFS format. Vital 2TB shows but 1TB doesn't. I see myself purchasing something to fix and manage these hard drives in the future. I don't like how DataRescue can't put the files/folders back to how they originally are as that's a lot of sorting to do."

So... you've tried DataRescue, and it DOES show that the drive in question is "recoverable"?

If so, that's the tool you want to use.

Be aware that you need A SECOND DRIVE of sufficient capacity to serve as the "scratch drive" to which DR can save the files during the recovery process.

Be aware that you are probably going to LOSE most or all previous folder hierarchies and most or all file names. This is "par for the course" with data recovery. Remember, DR can't "see" the original directory (if the original directory -could- be seen, you wouldn't be needing DR in the first place). It has to "go right to the platters" of the drive, scavenge around, and reconstruct the bits and pieces it finds into [what it thinks are] "files" again.

Even though you lose file names and folders, you GET THE DATA BACK.
That's the cost -- and the consolation of data recovery.

I can offer a possible "tip" for files that are music or perhaps pics.
It -might- be possible to "dump them" into iTunes or iPhoto (or Photos), and then let those apps "read the metadata" associated with the files. Even though the file names won't be present in the finder, such things as song titles -might- show up in iTunes.

This worked for me when I recovered a "lost partition" of mp3 files, many with lost names.
I took a spare hard drive, put a fresh copy of the OS onto it.
Then I "imported" all the recovered files into iTunes.
I was surprised to see most of the album/song name info restored into iTunes (even though the file names were incorrect in the finder).
Might work for you, too.

 

[mbehr24]

So I hate to hijack a thread but I am in the same boat and I am learning all of the intracicies of a mac on the fly... any and all advice appreciated

I am unsure what to do with this new external hard drive. It's a glyph blackbox pro 3TB. It appeared to be fully functioning upon delivery (one week ago) however I began to use it last tonight and the first hour of use was flawless.

I plugged it it. It was recognized. Then I partitioned the drive, designating 1.5 for backups and 1.5 for the automatic time machine backups ... so far so good

I transferred my files over from my macbook air (the Ssd was full) to the glyph external drive, deleted the originals from my mac to free up drive space, and then ran the time machine application which showed up as competed and fully functioning. 128 GB transferred in about 20 min time

Maybe an hour later noticed that the drive was not showing up in "my computer" and the pop up notification "drive removed without being ejected" warning was on my desktop. I didnt pull the plug on the USB connection but maybe my energy saver or screen saver kicked in and knocked it off without going through the proper disconnects? I am lost on that one

As of right now I have been attempting to trouble shoot the issue but i cannot get the drive to reappear on my mac. It appears to be powered up and has a tight connection to the laptop via USB... but it simply isn't recognized by the computer.

Everything I read online says macs are notorious for losing drive connections ... or the drive itself is bad. I've had the drive for less than a few days. As of yesterday the drive would not show up in Finder on the side bar nor in my disk utility... however today as of a few min ago it did show up in DU but i cannot access it and the two sub-drives that I partitioned off are not visible like they were the first day I set this up

And today the warning window is showing giving the the three options: initialize/ignore/eject). I did run first aid on it and it quickly says "done" in less than a second (did it do anything??)

All my mavic videos and all my DSLR pics are are then drive. Still cannot access it. Help me plz.
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In Disk Utility, there is a distinction between a drive and a volume. A drive is basically a hard drive that is physically connected to the Mac. A volume is a drive that is mounted.

Have you ever resolved one of these issues? Any feedback appreciated
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"@Fishrrman

You're probably thinking, "gee, do I really have to do that and buy that stuff?"

Reply: Do you want the files back?

Would you think I need to buy recovery software on a drive thats less than a week old?

 

[mbehr24]

Anyone?