External HD won't mount (plus other problems now)

I have a LaCie 1TB that stores my Time Machine backups that now won't mount.
I actually have had a litany of issues since yesterday afternoon, which I'll list here - - perhaps all just coincidence?
iTunes offered to update our iPad 2 to iOS 5.
     Did that fine.
iTunes then offered to update my iPhone 4 (Verizon version; 3G network) - - which surprised me as I thought it wouldn't be compatible with iOS 5
     The download of the iPhone iOS 5 indicated it was over 750mb in size and took an hour or two just to download the iOS.
     Software extract failed and iTunes indicated it couldn't verify my iPhone with Apple - try later. Got same results several times, leaving my iPhone apparently in a 'new' pristine, empty state.
     iTunes no longer recognized my iPhone and offered to restore it, but it wouldn't restore as Apple couldn't verifty it.
     As far as I knew, I now had a new(ish) empty iPhone after 10 months of app downloading etc (though I hoped my backups were still on my iMac
Then I noticed shortly after all of the above that my wireless router (Cisco Linksys E1000) had suddenly failed - - its bank of lights were blinking and I had no wi-fi.
     I wired direct between the iMac and cable modem which at least got the iMac on the internet.
Then I tried following suggested steps at Apple.com support to restore/repair iPhone issues, one of which included ensuring all iMac software wals up to date
     Sure enough, it wasn't - there was a new Security Update 2011-006 plus iPhoto update and 1 other I don't recall
     It was a 569mb download in all which took 5-6 hours to download (THAT seemed awful slow as did the earlier iOS 5 download - and this was direct throught the cable modem).
     The iPhoto update failed but apparently the other two updates were installed successfully
Re-started iMac and noticed my external 1TB LaCie was not mounting
In the midst of all of the above - at one point I'd had my iPhone connected by USB and using the direct cable internet access I thought I'd try iTunes again to restore the iPhone - - no luck again.   HOWEVER, letting the iPhone sit there in its blank state for several minutes, it suddenly came to life on its own with no software interaction. Up popped the password screen on the iPhone, I entetered my PIN and there was my iPhone in its normal state (what the ?????)
So I have my iPhone back in its normal state under iOS 4.2.10 with apparently every app still on it - - this without a backup restore. Why it was dead - with only the iTunes + USB connector picture on its window before - I have no idea.
But - -I'm without my external HD. Disk Utility won't give me an option to mount it.
Any thoughts? (and sorry for the long post - - this has been a frustrating 16 hours so far)

Hi whatstin
See the lower part of > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317
+1. Shut down the computer.+
+2. Disconnect all devices and all other cables, except the keyboard and mouse cable(s).+
+3. Disconnect the computer from the power outlet and wait for 3 to 5 minutes.+
+4. Plug the computer back in and turn it on.+
+5. Reconnect the device(s) (one at a time if there is more than one) and test. Test with each port if you have more than one.+
If nothing then try a different USB cable.
If still nothing contact WD support @ http://support.wdc.com/?wdc_lang=en
Dennis

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Is the Apple Thunderbolt Display at the END of the daisy-chain? That's where it should be - all other TB devices should be connected first, with the Display at the end of the chain.
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Hi Support Crew...
I have a 13" MacBook(2,1) running OS X 10.6.2. This is a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo machine w/ 4 GB RAM & 320 GB hard drive.
Today, I had the Iomega drive plugged in via USB, along with my soundcard (MOTU 828mk2) plugged in via FW. This is a very normal setup for me which has been bug free since I bought this computer over 2 years ago. When I plugged in my iPhone 3G via USB I got an error message which comes up when you incorrectly remove a device. This was strange because I didn't unplug anything, I only plugged in the iPhone. The iPhone was playing music when I plugged it in and I had to unplug and plug is back in to get iTunes to recognize it.
Ever since this happened, my Iomega external drive won't mount. I am able to access it via Disk Utility (and ran the Verify Disk/Repair Disk - everything is "ok"), however I can't access the data on the drive. I really really need the data but of course can't access it to backup.
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500.11 GB Ext Hard Disk Media (black text)
Iris (grey text) - I ran Verify Disk & Repair Disk
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Verify and Repair volume “Iris”
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Starting repair tool:
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
2010-01-22 14:20:52 -0800: Checking extents overflow file.
2010-01-22 14:20:52 -0800: Checking catalog file.
2010-01-22 14:20:56 -0800: Checking multi-linked files.
2010-01-22 14:20:56 -0800: Checking catalog hierarchy.
2010-01-22 14:20:58 -0800: Checking extended attributes file.
2010-01-22 14:21:00 -0800: Checking volume bitmap.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Checking volume information.
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2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Repair tool completed:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
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System Profiler: Device Tree log:
Iomega eGo HDD:
Capacity: 500.11 GB (500,107,862,016 bytes)
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk1
Product ID: 0x047c
Vendor ID: 0x059b (Iomega Corporation)
Version: 0.01
Serial Number: 000000066273
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Iomega
Location ID: 0xfd300000
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0
Partition Map Type: APM (Apple Partition Map)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
Iris:
Capacity: 499.97 GB (499,972,702,208 bytes)
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk1s10
When I tried to run Migration Assistant, I just get the spinning search circle and none of the drives come up, just endless searching.
The fact that I got the "Improperly removed device" error when I plugged in the iPhone makes me think something weird is up and it's not actually the external drive. There is clicking/whining/noise, the drives powers up fine and is recognized by the system but the mount point is now "not mounted".
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J

I meant to say; "There are NO clicking/whining/noise sounds made by the external hard drive"

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Message was edited by: Daniel W, stupid grammer!

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Message was edited by: clarity23

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External drive won't mount. Options?

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Thanks for quick reply. Boy, I really screwed up. I guess I didn't think I could permanently ruin a drive that way. I just assumed as long as the drive could spin and wasn't going bad, you could always reformat it.
Just so you know, I let my iBook run untouched for literally 20 hours in the zero out erase mode, but the progress bar showed no progress at all, so I think the drive must have already been broken by that point. I was prepared for it to take a day or more, but with no visible progress in 20 hours it would have taken weeks.

External HD won't mount (plus other problems now)

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