Ok, so I have had two external drives hooked up for the last three years to my imac. One day, there was an issue with something and the computer (I forget what it was) and I accidentally unplugged the firewire (I think that's how it's connected) that went to my lacie drives from the Imac. Ever since - they won't mount. I tried to reconnect them...nothing....turn them on and off...nothing. It is very frustrating and I just don't know what to do at this point. Any suggestions?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
My Lacie Hard Drives no Longer Show
- Thread starter vermonter16
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Oh yeah - I will say that at one point when I rebooted the system they did show....but then disappeared at some point after that. I was having initial issues where the system would just not shut down and half my icons were missing. All of that has been normal for quite some time. I think that's around the time they got unplugged. I've unplugged and plugged in again and even taken out the power cord to COMPLETELY shut down the computer...nothing though.
They don't show up in Disk Utility either.....sigh.
They don't show up in Disk Utility either.....sigh.
simple stuff. Run Disk Utility - the free application from Apple and after starting the program, icons for you disks should appear in the window to the left side of the screen. Select the disk, and then hit MOUNT which appears in the menu bar at the top.
If this doesn't work, use Disk Warrior. When you start that utility, whether or not your LaCie disks are mounted, Ikons will for them will appear in the selection window on the left. Select on disk at a time, and give the command to Rebuild Directory.
If in fact you have 1Tb of data recorded, this will take a good bit of time. I've prematurely turned off my LaCie two or three times (without Ejecting the icons on the desktop first) and have used Disk Warrior successfully to remedy my error.
If this doesn't work, use Disk Warrior. When you start that utility, whether or not your LaCie disks are mounted, Ikons will for them will appear in the selection window on the left. Select on disk at a time, and give the command to Rebuild Directory.
If in fact you have 1Tb of data recorded, this will take a good bit of time. I've prematurely turned off my LaCie two or three times (without Ejecting the icons on the desktop first) and have used Disk Warrior successfully to remedy my error.
When you don't 'Eject' a remote HD before shutting the power on it, that is precisely what happens. My LaCie is connected by Firewire 400 cabling, by the way. On the other hand, when you shut down your computer without first ejecting the remote HD it doesn't seem to matter.
Before spending the money on Disk Warrior, perhaps somebody else on the Forum can suggest an alternative. I just read through To help you, I just scanned through the index of David Pogue's "Missing Manual (for OS Leopard). No mention of the topic of Mounting.
Before spending the money on Disk Warrior, perhaps somebody else on the Forum can suggest an alternative. I just read through To help you, I just scanned through the index of David Pogue's "Missing Manual (for OS Leopard). No mention of the topic of Mounting.
I appreciate the advise and will definitely invest in Disk Warrior if that's what it takes. But, what if I wanted to attach two brand new hard drives....I'd think as long as I followed the same process it would be ok.... But - what can one do....it will be worth the investment in the long run as long as it makes everything work again 
. I was hoping there was some work around. I guess that's what I'm used to. I've only had a mac for a few years and apparently I'm still not used to it....wouldn't get anything else though!
. I was hoping there was some work around. I guess that's what I'm used to. I've only had a mac for a few years and apparently I'm still not used to it....wouldn't get anything else though!Ok....so, I downloaded Disk Warrior....and my drives still are not showing? When I open Disk Warrior, just my main drive and bootcamp appear. Oh, what the heck?
With your ext. HDs turned on, unplug, and then plug in again to see if the disk icons appear. LaCie has an extensive website with a number of solutions. One of them is FAQ roster.
See if anyone else has noticed this. I know that when I first got my LaCie 1Tb Quadra it came with an install disk containing a few utlities. Maybe some reference is made to recognizing an new external drive. Perhaps a utility that won't disturb the data, but just mount the disk.
I'm going to sign off and read the literature and open the LaCie utility to see if I can find something. Get back to you soon.
See if anyone else has noticed this. I know that when I first got my LaCie 1Tb Quadra it came with an install disk containing a few utlities. Maybe some reference is made to recognizing an new external drive. Perhaps a utility that won't disturb the data, but just mount the disk.
I'm going to sign off and read the literature and open the LaCie utility to see if I can find something. Get back to you soon.
Another clue:
http://8help.osu.edu/35039.html
Your LaCie came in a box with a 400/800 Firewire cable, USB cable, SATA cable. Try another cable type. Make sure the LED power indicator is illuminated on the LaCie.
http://8help.osu.edu/35039.html
Your LaCie came in a box with a 400/800 Firewire cable, USB cable, SATA cable. Try another cable type. Make sure the LED power indicator is illuminated on the LaCie.
Gary - I appreciate all of your help! Ok, so - I was able to get my back up drive up and running and recognized (which makes Time Machine happy). But my drive that I used for all photos/video, etc. is still not showing. However, I went ahead and connected it up via USB....it shows fine. But, when I daisy chain it back up....she doesn't show again. So - good news and bad news. And hey - at least Disk Warrior optimized both my drives
I thought of a few practical diagnostics after sending the earlier material. When a drive Ikon doesn't show, on the Finder menu bar, go to Finder>Preferences>General. There are selection options to SHOW various disks and peripherals (or hide them). That would be the first place to check.
Secondly, under the Apple Menu (upper left on Menu bar) select ABOUT THIS MAC, and click the lower button for MORE INFO. All possible cable choices are listed. So if your external drive is hooked up via Firewire 400, click on the Firewire info and everything connected should show. If it doesn't, I would suspect a dirty connecter or a bad cable. Here on this forum I recently saw a few threads from folks who found crud in USB ports.
I know that my USB cable to my Airport loses contact once a month or so. I simply plug, and unplug it a few times and all returns to normal. We have coastal fog and lots of corrosion on cars in my area. It's not rocket science.
Secondly, under the Apple Menu (upper left on Menu bar) select ABOUT THIS MAC, and click the lower button for MORE INFO. All possible cable choices are listed. So if your external drive is hooked up via Firewire 400, click on the Firewire info and everything connected should show. If it doesn't, I would suspect a dirty connecter or a bad cable. Here on this forum I recently saw a few threads from folks who found crud in USB ports.
I know that my USB cable to my Airport loses contact once a month or so. I simply plug, and unplug it a few times and all returns to normal. We have coastal fog and lots of corrosion on cars in my area. It's not rocket science.
Again, years to reply . So, here is the latest. The one drive won't show with the firewire, it will show with the USB. How could I possibly test to see if the firewire port just does not work anymore? Bummer.
. So, here is the latest. The one drive won't show with the firewire, it will show with the USB. How could I possibly test to see if the firewire port just does not work anymore? Bummer.