External superdrive won't mount to desktop

I have an almost new external superdrive attached to my January 2014 iMac 27". It has seemed to be slow to load up the DVDs that I have my images backedup on and today it refuses to mount on the desktop. Because it's not on the desktop or in the Finder window, I can't eject the DVD that is in it. Any suggestions besides unplugging it, restarting the iMac, all of which I have tried?
Thanks!

try a different usb port. mine does the same in the port furthest away from the stand, although everything else works fine in that port.

Similar Messages

External HDD won't mount to desktop from 1/2 of USB Ports

I have an external Iomega HDD and when it's plugged into my left USB port it works fine but when it's plugged into the right USB port it won't mount to the desktop and I can't access it. It doesn't show up in the system profiler or disk utility either.
However other usb devices (wireless mouse for example) work fine when plugged into that port. So I don't think it's the drive because it works in other ports and the port seems to be at least partially functional... But not with the drive.
Any ideas?

Is the drive bus-powered or does it have its own AC power adapter? Are you using a hub?

External drive won't mount on desktop or disk utility

iMac w/optical drive, running 10.6.8
Using a 2 TB Seagate Backkup drive for Mac for Time Machine backups. Time Machine notified me that no backups had been made for 22 days. Drive icon does not show on desktop and is not listed in Disk Utility. Tried unplugging/plugging power and USB cable without success. I had shut down the computer before leaving for vacation (about 22 days ago), but am pretty sure I did not move the drive icon to trash. Could this be the basis for the problem?
How do I get this drive mounted again?

Eric, nifflerX and nbar:
That's what I was afraid of.
Thanks for your help.
Stonely

Thunderbolt external SSD won't mount

I'm using the Elgato Thunderbolt SSD as an external hard disk with my 2013 MBP. Since I'm also using a Thunderbolt display, I usually daisy-chain the disk to the display.
Recently I disconnected the Thunderbolt display from my computer without unmounting the external SSD. Since this also disconnected the disk, I got the usual ticking-off ("You should eject a disk before disconnecting it").
However... since then, the external disk won't mount. It doesn't show up on the desktop or in Disk Utility, though it DOES show up ("Thunderbolt SSD") in System Information.
Because the SSD gets warm when it's in use, I think it's still working. I just can't access it.
Can anyone help?

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.
As to why you're having a problem getting the TB SSD to work, I'm stumped. It seems as if you've done everything that I would try to do to get everything working... and I'm assuming that you have powered down and unplugged the Display and all other devices for 15 minutes or so?
Just make sure that the Display is at the end of the TB chain - that's really the only advice that I can offer.
Clinton

CD/DVD's won't mount to desktop

CD/DVD's won't mount to desktop. All of the boxes under PREFERENCES->GENERAL are checked. When I hold the "C" key during start up with the OS/X install disc 1, it still boots from the hard drive.
I can open the disc tray with the keyboard eject button; the eject logo appears on screen.
Any help?

Hello Justin,
First, are you using an external CD/DVD drive?
Second, if not, try starting up holding down the Option key until you see the Startup Manager (which will show all bootable systems available). Either click on or use the Tab key to get to the startup disk you want.
HTH
Jeff

External drive won't mount after plugging in iPhone - MacBook 13'' (2,1)

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.
Disk Utility log:
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.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: The volume Iris appears to be OK.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Volume repair complete.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Repair tool completed:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
System Profiler shows the drive (on both FW & USB ports when I tried other cords). This drive does not require power and I am not using a USB hub, strictly the laptops ports. And yes, the laptop's power adapter is plugged in.
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".
Does anyone have any idea how to fix? If you live in SF, I will buy you a beer.
J

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

External HD won't mount on PB

External HD won't mount on PB but, will on iBook, G5 iMac, MBP, and Mirror Door G4. I have a USB 2 HD that will mount on everything but 15" Aluminum PowerBook. I even tried updating the IOUSBFamily.kext but no luck that just made my camera to start working with my PB. When I plug in my HD the LED just blinks back and forth orange and green instead of Blinking orange and turning a solid green when connected.
Any sugestions?

In reply to arnie: Good tips!
I'll just add - booting holding "AppleOption+OF" boots into open firmware. I've never booted into this mode (on purpose...) but it seems to be (correct me if I'm wrong) a unix interface to OS X. Just make sure to type the commands EXACTLY. Unix is much pickier than OS X.
I've heard problems like this before - usually with those little bus-powered HDDs and Powerbooks. It's something to do with the amount of power the Powerbook puts out, although it should be the standard 500 mA that the USB 2 specs require. This can happen with firewire, however. If there's a power cord, use it.
You might try plugging the drive into a self-powered USB 2 Hub - one with a cord that plugs into an AC wall socket, then connect it to the Powerbook. If the Powerbook recognizes the drive, then it probably needs extra power.
Good luck
-Dan
15" 1.67 Powerbook G4 (Jan 2005), 400 mhz AGP Sawtooth G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 4G Clickwheel and 5G Vid iPods
Message was edited by: Daniel W, stupid grammer!

My external drive won't mount. Disk Utility says it can't repair disk and to backup the disk and reformat, but how can I do that if it won't mount?

My external drive won't mount. Disk Utility says it can't repair disk and to backup the disk and reformat, but how can I do that if it won't mount?

See mount section in 1st linked article.
Disk Unmount Using Terminal
Disk Utility – Force Mount Disk

LaCie external drive won't mount on iMAC

Hi,
My external LaCie external drive won't mount on my iMAC running 10.6.8 but will mount and show up on my PC as working fine, however I am not able to read the information on it as it was formatted for my iMAC. Therefore it leads me to believe this is a software issue.
I have reason to believe someone had changed the permissions and prevented the mounting of this external drive (which belongs to me) so that the contents won't be found on my iMAC.
How to resolve this issue?
Thanks in advance,
Cait

Cait,
Please try a SMC reset, it may take 2-3 attempts for it to work. Look over the instructions below carefully.
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

External HDD (for Time Machine backup) detected but won't mount on desktop

I have been using this external HDD as my Time Machine backup for many months now. No desktop display settings have been changed (I checked), but now it won't mount on my desktop. I suspect one of my kids was banging around on the keyboard, as they have done in the past, and renamed it. Unfortunately it appears they renamed it to NULL this time around. I didn't think that was possible, but I've plugged it into 3 different Windows and iMac machines, and in all cases the external drive gets detected, but then in all cases it doesn't mount. The Volume Label does appear blank in the device properties.
Is there a way to access my drive again to rename it? Will that allow it to mount again? Or is there a way to access it to just reformat the whole darn thing?
Thanks!
Tom

I don't think it's possible to have a null name for a drive so i suspect there is a problem with it. open disk utility. does it show the name of the drive? try repairing it (repair disk not permissions). if that doesn't help you can always reformat it with Disk Utility. select the whole drive ( model, not name) and use the partition tab.

External disc won't mount in Leopard, but will in Snow Leopard

I have a 5-yr-old G5 networked to a new iMac. I have had a 1-TB external HD attached via Firewire 400 to the G5 for about a year. Yesterday it didn't show up on the G5 desktop. I went to this forum, searched under "disc won't mount", got some ideas, ran DiskWarrior and Disk Utility...but nothing worked. They all said the disc was fine, directories rebuilt, etc., but it wouldn't mount. This AM it occurred to me that I had the correct cable, so I tried plugging it into the iMac instead. It worked. The data is safe, the disc shows up, everything seems to be OK, but it won't mount to the G5. Why would that happen, and how can I mount it to the G5? And how likely is the disc to remain accessible?

May I hop onto your thread as I have a similar problem.
I have a 5 year old G5 PMac with 10.5 onto which I have daisy chained two UltraMax 1TB firewire 800 drives. For the last 5 years I have been able, even with out sharing enabled, to connect to the G5 from a G4 Graphite with 10.4, a G4 Powerbook with 10.5 and now a MbP with 10.6.
After completing the login dialogue in the past from any other mac it would give me a list of the G5, it's Hard disk, user directories and the two Firewire Drives. On selecting them the drive would mount onto the desktop as a network drive. This went well until monday when it became temperamental in the morning and after a few restarts and one successful mount it has not shown up since. If I come to the G5 via the Go > Connect to Server I get a dialogue "Could Not connect to the server because the name or password are incorrect". If I try to connect via the network icon in the side window of the finder window I get a network dialogue log in, I get a list of folders and drives but then when selecting the FH drive get an error message which relates to the alias to the G5 Server requiring deleting or fixing.
Originally it just connected without any messing but now unless i make the firewire drive a shared drive the process on the other macs cannot see the firewire drive. NOTE - After having made the internal boot HD of the G5 shared, I can now see and mount this drive from the other macs but not the external drive.
This is causing me to pull my hair out, I have run disk utility, powered down unconnected and reconnected everything .The HD's appear to be working ok from the G5.
I urgently need to connect the FW drive to my G4 to do some work but it also needs to be connected to the G5, has anyone got a clue why I cant get G4 (or any other mac) to mount G5's external FW drive

External HD will not Mount on desktop

I have a MBP and I have been working with an external Lacie HD and then yesterday when I go to hook it up it won't mount on my desktop. I checked my firewire connection in the system profiler and it is reading the drive. I just cannot see the icon on my desktop. I have to hooked up with a firewire 400 cable.
Any Suggestions? Thanks.

I don't see it in the finder and I went into the preferences and the external HD was checked. I also ran a verify disk and disk repair o it and it came up with an error message that my keys were out of order.

External Drive does not mount on desktop

Hi,
I did a Leopard upgrade and most everything went smoothly. But when I boot, Leopard pops up a window telling me that a disk I inserted is unreadable (it took me a time or two to realize it WAS referring to my USB 2.0 external hard drive).
It gives me the option to ignore, initialize or eject. Thus my hard drive won't mount on my desktop. It DOES show up in Disk Utility, however, so maybe there is hope.
So what are my options? Am I looking at burning DVDs all day so I can re-initialize or reformat this drive for Leopard?
I appreciate any help, and I did a lot of searching on this topic, so I'm aware that there may not be any solutions as of yet.
Many Thanks, Frank B.

Hi Andre, I can't remember except to say that it was mounting fine with tiger and I was able to copy files to it for backup purposes.
I just hooked it up to a PC and windows tells me the drive is not formatted. That's not a good sign, and this was stupid: I think I had the drive hooked up to my Mac Pro during the upgrade.
Idiotic, granted. But this was an upgrade, not a full install and I maybe was trusting in Apple's ability not to do extraneous stuff during an install like windows does. Oh well...
I appreciate any further ideas. Many Thanks, Frank.

External drive won't mount; works on all other computers

I have a WD My Passport Ultra external drive (USB) that is nearly brand new. It mounts / works fine on all other Mac desktops and laptops (older and newer), but won't mount or even show up in Disk Utility on my personal MacBook Pro. I am running OS 10.7.5. My computer recognizes other externals, and the USB drive I'm using definitely works. The drive is getting power - when I plug it into my laptop the light blinks and the motor whirs for a while, but the drive never becomes accessible.
I have already tried:
     • Repairing disk permissions
     • Resetting NVRAM/PRAM
     • Waiting several hours in case it was indexing
What could be the problem?

Okay so after a half hour on the phone with Apple support, I finally figured it out myself: I just needed a USB 3.0 driver. The tech said usually the driver is automatically installed when you plug in the drive (which apparently it was on all the other computers I tried it on), but for some reason that didn't happen with my laptop. Soon as I installed the driver, it worked fine!

External HD Won't Mount, Only Shows up in Disk Utility

My external Time Machine drive won't mount any more. It seems like it's very sensitive to being disconnected
without putting it in the trash, and my USB interface seems to spontaneously disconnect -- possibly loose.
The drive shows up in HD Utility with the mounted name greyed out, but it can still be selected to try a repair.
It always says it cannot repair the disk and to back it up. Well, it IS a backup. Disk Utility does seem to give up
on repairs quite frequently anyway. I've tried df -hl and then fsck_hd, but df -hl doesn't give me a /dev name that
fsck_hd can use.
I've gotten into terminal and been able to look at some backups, so apparently something is mounted, just not completely
to the point of seeing it on my desktop.
Is there a way to moving these backups to another drive? Perhaps via an OSX-specific darwin *nix command for copying
an entire directory in Terminal?
Is there an app that's particularly good at disk recovery other than Disk Warrior (which tends to take days to work)?

Have you tried another USB cable?
Also, you may need to take the drive out of that enclosure and use a different one.

External superdrive won't mount to desktop

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for