MacBook does not recognize USB hard drive

Hello,
I have a MacBook 10.5.8 and I have been using an external hard drive (Mobile Drive Clasic 2.5'' 80-GB USB-2.0) to keep saves of important files. It has been working fine until now but I have recently used the same USB drive on a Windows 7, which would often not allow me to eject it, so I did the unwise and simply plugged it off at any rate a few times. This did not appear to cause any problems - but when today I tried to copy one file from my desktop to the USB drive it seemed to lag, I hit cancel, I restarted the computer and since then the USB drive does not show up at all. I plugged it in my Mac to see if it was a Windows problem, but to my surprise it does not show up there either, not in the Finder (I have the box checked in my Preferences) and not even in Disk Utility.
Is it possible that the USB drive was damaged beyond repair and that I cannot retrieve the data? What could possibly be the problem? :/

If the drive used to work with both computers and now works with neither one of them, the fault is with the drive. If it is not showing up in Disk Utility that would suggest a hardware fault.
There are a number of data recovery services that are usually able to get data back off of even badly damaged hard drives, you might try working with one of them. DriveSavers is well thought of. They are not cheap though. You will want to decide how much that data is worth to you.
Best of luck.

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My macbook does not recognize my hard drive

I bought a new hard drive and have gotten a new OS disk but now it shows the folder and blinking question mark every time i turn it on.
What do i need to do next.?

If you insert the OS disk (is it one for this model MacBook or a generic retail OS install disk, or something else?) and boot the computer while holding the C key down on your keyboard, will it boot to the install disk?
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Once this has been done, quit Disk Utility and try to run the installer.
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Hi
I changed BIOS setup from AHCI to Compatibility and indeed it worked.
However there is easier way to reload new system on thinkpad.
I didn't know that but you can press ThinkVantage button when you start your laptop and IBM utilities start up.
Then there is an option to reload the system to be in original state as shipped from the factory. It loads or drivers and initial programs. It also formats your hard drive.
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My iMac does not recognize external hard drive

My iMac does not recognize my external hard drive. Disk utility recognizes it and a test of the hard drive does not review any error. I use the hard drive as a back up for the time machine. This problem comes and goes. It comes when I turn off and turn on the computer, with the hard drive attached.
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Insightful

can be this reasons
01 , you have problem with connection ? check the port if you can find any problems physically .
02. if not try to change the cable and with connection ,
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Did you note any diference of sound from Hard Drive ? listen to it that carefully to note some unusual sound comes when the hard drive works.
check this link this might usefull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjgOSxKy-FQ

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Glad I was able to help.
Just be careful, the usual "if it doesn't fit, find a bigger hammer" doesn't apply to this model laptop.
Also, there is a part available to adjust the frustration level, I don't happen to have the FRU number available, but I do have a photo and I'm sure you can find a local shop to provide it. Any experienced vendor should be able to match up a similar item from this photo.
It comes in many varieties, this model has a handy extention to aid in installation so you can easily do it with one hand. Others may require two hands to safely install. Use care when installing, one slip can destroy your laptop. Acute abuse can lead to severe embarassing situations and cronic abuse can have impact on your health, so use wisely and always get a spare to share with a friend. They tend ot come conviently packaged in quantity of 6, so you can invite a few friends over.
This invention has saved many a laptop from sailing out of windows worldwide.
ThinkPad W-510 i7-820QM(1.73-3.06GHz) Quad Core... ThinkPad T500, T9900, 8gb SSD...FrankNpad T-60p/61p (X9000 2.8ghz) 8gb SSD ips FlexView...ThinkPad T-61p (T9300 2.5ghz) 8gb ram...Thinkpad X-61 Tablet 4gb ram...ThinkPad A-31 (1.9ghz P4 1.5gb ram)

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Let us resume the required steps, after putting inside a new, virgin disk:
1. Start up machine and as soon as possible put CD/DVD, press key C to force boot from CD; if the sequence is not fast enough and machine passed over the initial phase, and ? was displayed, force shut down by pressing button key, then start again, with CD/DVD inside
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- for external disks or flash drives intended to smoothly work with Windows, format should be FAT 32 and Master Boot Record; NTFS may be done with an additional utility like NTFS-3G or NTFSmounter

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I need some direction on fixing an issue with excel and lion x which has a compatibility issue - can't save my work to a hard drive.

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Thank you. That's what I thought will need to happen.
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Craig H100 wrote:
Thanks. Realized something though...on the old computer, Windows XP had a problem (R6034) that prevented iTunes from opening or upgrading.
For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.
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Your library should be unaffected by these steps but there is backup and recovery advice elsewhere in the user tip.
tt2

Old hard drive broke, Macbook will not recognize new hard drive

Hi,
My Macbook wouldn't boot, hard drive was making an odd sound, only would go to the gray/blue screen with the flashing ? folder. I bought a new hard drive and installed it, used Leopard DVD to boot, went to Disk Utility and the only thing that showed up was the DVD. I tried re-seating the drive and still nothing.
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Hey hauebj01 and welcome to the forum -
I know it's a hassle but I've heard of some folks having quite a bit of trouble seating replacement drives. You might try that again. Sometimes you have to push harder than you think you should. Make sure that nothing is obstructing the connection.
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jbromley wrote:
GRUB uses the BIOS to access the disk since when you boot, since there is no OS loaded. This is why GRUB can work but Linux can't find the hard drive Only once Linux boots will the /dev/sd* devices come into being.
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The error message I get is:
"Attempting to create root device '/dev/sda6' ERROR: Failed to parse block device name for '/dev/sda6' unknown ERROR: root fs cannot be detected. Try using the rootfstype= kernel parameter.
Root device '/dev/sda6' doesn't exist, attempting to create it
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There are some troubleshooting steps for this problem at A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac.
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Why does my MacBook Pro not find USB hard drive after waking from sleep?

is this a known issue? i have to manually turn off/on the Mac's Airport to re-establish USB HD connection (or Time Machine won't find it either).

bender73 wrote:
is this a known issue? i have to manually turn off/on the Mac's Airport to re-establish USB HD connection (or Time Machine won't find it either).
I hate to have to tell you this, but backing-up that way is "iffy" and *+not supported by Apple.+* See [Using Time Machine with an Airport Extreme Air Disk|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Airport.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
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After sleep, retina MacBook Pro (Mid 2014) does not recognize usb connected mouse movement

After sleep, retina MacBook Pro (Mid 2014, on 10.9.4) does not recognize usb connected mouse movement. I have tried a generic usb mouse and my Razer Deathadder usb mouse. Both mice work before sleep; but after sleep, the computer no longer recognizes mouse movement while still recognizing the mouse buttons when pressed. Any idea why this is occurring?

Hello, chocotac0.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
Here are some troubleshooting steps that I would recommend when experiencing this issue.
OS X Mavericks: Reset your computer’s PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph14222
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
OS X Mavericks: If a USB device isn’t working
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13876
Cheers,
Jason H.

MacBook does not recognize USB hard drive

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