macOS can't repair the disk "My Passport for Mac"

[jparker402]

Just got warning above, along with a Time Machine notification "Backup Not Completed. Time Machine couldn't back up to "My Passport for Mac". Pretty sure this means my WD Passport for Mac external HD is going down for the count, and that I need to get a new HD for use with Time Machine. One of the things I don't understand is what the notification means when it goes on to say "Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can." Does this mean to somehow back up the current, presumably bad HD to a new HD? How do I do that? And what does "reformat it" mean in terms of reformat what? I gather that since the warning says the I ca still open or copy files on the disk (old WD My Passport I presume), that I am to copy that earlier Time Machine back up to a new drive, as opposed to just hooking up a new HD to the computer and initiating a new backup. But I am old, it is late, and I am confused!!

 

[James_C]

Hi, Your Mac has detected an error it can't fix on your WD Passport. You are correct it is suggesting that you backup (copy) your data from that disk to a new (uncorrupted) disk. You could then potentially reformat the disk.

Formatting a hard drive means to delete all the data on the drive and reset the file system. As Part of the reformatting process if you had any damaged parts of the disk they will be flagged as such and not be made available for use.

Here is Apple's guide on reformatting a disk

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

In Disk Utility on your Mac, erase and reformat a storage device to use with a Mac.

support.apple.com

Be careful, if you are not sure what you are doing you could inadvertently reformat your internal HD rather than your external backup WD drive. I would recommend that reformatting a disk is done by someone that understands the process.

The current errors on the disk could be as a result of unplugging the disk while it was still writing data or other software errors, or it could be that the disk is starting to fail. Reformatting the disk would fix any non physical errors. While it can also make any bad sector (physical) errors not addressable, it may be a sign that the hard disk is starting to die, and you run the risk that more bad sectors to develop in the future.

Someone technical can make an assessment of what the HD problem is by running diagnostic tests.

To be honest if the WD HD is more than 3 years old, I would just replace it with a new one.

You are correct you can just replace the hard disk and start a new Time Machine backup. Personally this is what I would recommend if you are not technical, and a new HD is not a cost issue.

Before you add the new HD in Time Machine, remove the old disk (WD) in Time Machine first.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"But I am old, it is late, and I am confused!!"

What I would do at this point is ERASE the WD drive, and start over with a "fresh backup".

It doesn't hurt to erase a backup, because, well... "it's a backup" of data that already exists (on your primary drive). You just erase it and create another backup.

My procedure would be to do this:
1. Connect backup, let the drive mount on the desktop.
2. If the finder gives you an error, won't mount the drive, and asks if you wish to eject or initialize it, I'd choose initialize (same as erase).
3. Open disk utility.
4. IMPORTANT -- go to the view menu and choose "show all devices".
5. Look at the list "on the left".
6. Locate the WD drive entries. You want to click the "topmost" line (for the WD) that represents the PHYSICAL DRIVE itself.
7. Now click "erase".
NOTE: You haven't told us which version of the OS you're using. Older versions of the OS require the tm backup to be formatted to HFS+ (Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format). I believe newer versions require APFS (APFS, GUID partition format).
8. Erase the drive. Should take only a few seconds.

NEXT STEP:
TEST THE DRIVE.
1. With disk utility still open, choose "First Aid". Let it run on the WD drive.
2. Do you get "a good report"? Or do you get errors?
3. IF you get a good report, REPEAT THIS TEST 5 times in succession.
4. Do you get a good report every time? Then I'd keep using the drive.

At this point, you can try time machine again. However...
I DO NOT RECOMMEND TIME MACHINE for backing up.
Instead, I'd suggest either SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner.
Both are "pay for" utilities, SuperDuper is easier to use (and cheaper).
BOTH have FREE TRIALS that let you create a cloned backup so you can see how it works.

I'd try SuperDuper first:

SuperDuper!

Good luck.

 

[jparker402]

OS is Monterey 12.5.1. Earlier today I ordered a WD My Passport Ultra 2tb from Amazon. Did this for a couple reasons. The WD I had connected to Time Machine is six or seven years old, plus the old WD was a 526 drive on a 256 computer and my new computer is a 526. Everything pointed to a new and bigger one. As to what is on the old drive being a copy of something that already exists in the internal HD, I was wondering about trying to copy the old backup on the new TM HD so that I could "go back in time" through several previous iterations of individual files. But, thinking about this, I have never really ever had the need to do that before and honestly can't think of a reason to do it in the future. So perhaps I will just make a fresh start with the new HD when it gets here.

 

[James_C]

With a disk that old I think you made the right call. You can have multiple Time Machine backups, so keep the old one ( but disconnect it), and start a fresh TM backup with your new Drive.

1. Plug your new drive into your Mac.
2. In the Time Machine system preference pane, click Select Disk.
3. In the dialog that appears, select the new drive under Available Disks and click Use Disk.
4. When asked if you want to replace your existing Time Machine volume or use both drives, click Use Both.
5. Disconnect the old WD drive, before the next backup.

I personally have not had a problem with Time Machine, but @Fishrrman raises some good points, once you have enough history on your new drive, it may be worth taking the steps he suggests in clearing the old drive and getting a copy of carbon copy cloner so you have two different backups.

 

[jparker402]

Just tried to erase the My Passport for Mac with Disk Utility. Operation failed. Could not mount. Anything else to try? How does one dispose of it if not?

 

[James_C]

In terms of disposal drill a few holes in it, that will ensure that the disk is not readable. This is how professional disk disposal company’s do it.

 

[LARoussel]

When I have had difficulty mounting a failing drive, I have been able to erase and reformat with a PC format and then reformat with the Mac settings. e.g. after you give it a name, click the first pull-down menu and select MS-DOS (FAT), then click the second pull-down menu and select Master Boot Record. Go ahead with the reformat. When it completes, just re-format again with the Mac settings.

Regards and Good Luck,
LARi

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Just tried to erase the My Passport for Mac with Disk Utility. Operation failed. Could not mount. Anything else to try? How does one dispose of it if not?"

Before you toss it out, try this:
Connect it.
Open disk utility.
Click on the drive to select it.
Click "erase" ... BUT...
Try to erase it to a WINDOWS format (such as "exFAT")

Does this make any difference?
(I see LA Roussel already suggested this, but I wrote this beforehand, so posting it anyway!)

 

[sgtaylor5]

I'd recommend buying a bare 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD of the size you want and getting a separate case. That way, if the controller goes out, you can always put the bare drive in another controller to keep using it. Even better, have more than one copy of the data on that backup drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with sgtaylor above.

It's easy to "build your own" drives by buying a "bare" drive and a USB3 external enclosure to go with it.

For example, look for 2.5" SATA SSDs -- reasonably priced in different sizes.

Then, get an enclosure like this:

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)

www.amazon.com

The drive just snaps into the enclosure, no tools need.