My new Mac can't find my external HD

[kmig]

I am new to Mac and the External Hard Drive that I used for my PC isn't coming up on my Mac. I have looked thru a lot of these forums and found that the NTFS HD's should read on Mac but that I wouldn't be able to write to/from it. My problem is that the External HD isn't registering on my Mac at all. I looked at the system profile and disk utility and do not see it. Does this mean that my external is corrupted? Is there anything that I can do to recover the data?

Thank you

 

[gr8tfly]

If you don't see the physical device listed under USB or FireWire (or in Disk Utility), I would suspect cabling or some other interface issue. Once the device is detected, then the question of whether the partition(s) are healthy or not can be dealt with.

 

[balamw]

Details. What interface (USB/FW/...), what specific drive model, what OS9es) have you used it successfully with, does it still work there ...

B

 

[kmig]

Re:

The external is a Seagate via USB. I used it on my PC Windows 7 and XP. It doesn't work on my PC any more but I originally thought it was because my PC is corrupt (might have a virus).

 

[balamw]

Plug it in on the Mac and post a screenshot of Disk Utility. Does it show up in the left hand column? If so, highlight it and post a screenshot of the "Partition" tab.

B

 

[kmig]

It doesnt show up in the disk utility at all

 

[balamw]

It doesnt show up in the disk utility at all

Sounds like a dead controller or HDD.

If it's a GoFlex you might want to make sure the adapter is connected properly.

Otherwise you might want to take it apart and see if you can get at your data with a simple $20 USB->SATA adapter.

B

 

[kmig]

It has over 600gb of data, do they make those adapters for that much data? Where can I get one? Is it pretty self explanatory? Step by step?

Thank you so much, you've been very helpfull

 

[gr8tfly]

They're available through most vendors (Amazon, Otherworldcomputing, NewEgg, etc.). Do a search on "USB SATA Adapter". I have the kit from OWC, but they're all pretty much the same. They can adapt any SATA or IDE, 2.5" or 3.5", and come with power supply for 3.5" drives. They seem to be between $15-$30.

Once you have the drive out of the case, then follow the instructions that should be included with the adapter (OWC will, most others should). It's pretty much plug and play.