New drive not showing up in DU

[black3vgt]

The drive crashed on my 13" mbp, I got my replacement drive in the mail since it was under warranty still but when I go into the utility to partition the drive for install it's no where to be found. It spins up fine but it won't show up. Is it likely the drive is bad? Will a damaged drive still show up in the disk utility? Any ideas?

Ps I replaced the hd cable a few months back and it worked at the time but I haven't used this laptop since then.

 

[r0k]

The drive crashed on my 13" mbp, I got my replacement drive in the mail since it was under warranty still but when I go into the utility to partition the drive for install it's no where to be found. It spins up fine but it won't show up. Is it likely the drive is bad? Will a damaged drive still show up in the disk utility? Any ideas?

Ps I replaced the hd cable a few months back and it worked at the time but I haven't used this laptop since then.

Whenever I'm working with a new HDD or SSD, I do everything externally using a USB to SATA cable. They cost around 10 dollars. I get everything completely working before I consider turning any screws on my Mac to install the drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

r0k above makes a VERY good point.

For less than $30, you can buy something called a "USB/SATA docking station" that will let you work with the new drive and get it "proofed out" before you actually install it.

To see what's available, go to amazon.com and enter "usb sata dock" in the search box. There will be many choices shown.

I've had good experiences with products from plugable.com and syba, but many others will also work.

You can "switch boot" from the dock by doing this:
- Restart
- As soon as you hear the startup sound, hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN. In a few moments, the startup manager will appear
- Use the tab or arrow keys to select the external (docked) drive, then hit the return key
- The Mac should boot from the external drive (to be sure, check "about this mac" under the Apple menu)

By doing this "test boot", you can see that everything is working as intended BEFORE you attempt to "do the switch".

Once you have the OLD drive "in your hand", you can put it into the dock and see if it can be revived. If it suddenly starts working, don't toss it out, just keep it aside somewhere, perhaps as an alternate booter if you ever need one.