MacBook Pro won't recognize 1TB external drive

Hey team,
My mid-2010 MacBook Pro won't recognize my WD My Passport 1TB drive. I was copying files from the drive to my computer when my computer went to sleep (didn't run out of power, just went to standby mode). Turned computer back on and now it won't recognize the drive.
It is a USB 3.0 cord (computer is only USB 2.0 and the cord works with other drives) and when plugged in, the light turns on and the disk spins but isn't recognized my this or other computers (also not in Disk Utility).
Tried a handful of disk recovery programs but nothing wants to 'see' the disk plugged in.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.

yes yes yes, I warn people about WD drives on this link:
Your dead external hard drive is likely fine! Great hope for your 'faulty' external HD
theReKleiner wrote:
What now?
Only option is to buy the SAME exact HD and swap controller boards, or pay someone a LOT more $$$ to do the same thing.
its not soldered there, its just a controller/ SATA "one piece"
They do that to save 50 cents in mfg. costs.
I mention your "issue" in that link. Which is why you do NOT buy WD ext. HD.
they make the controller board and SATA card one piece.
CURRENT MFG. THAT HAVE controller board and SATA cards as one piece are : WD USB drives, and Toshiba USB Canvio
However Toshiba didnt USED to do that, but they started doing it at the end of 2013.
avoid those 2.
To avoid that nonsense, buy Hitachi drives in USB.
Or, the best option:
Save money and invest in a bare hard drive backup and redundancy plan
Its cheaper
less fuss
more reiable, removes the nasty failure point of SATA card interfaces.
takes up lot less space.
Bare hard drives and docks. The most reliable and cheapest method of hard drive data storage, archives, and redundancies
The best method for your data archives and redundancies, which is also the least expensive, the most reliable, and the most compact option is the purchase of naked hard drives and at least one USB 3.0 HD dock ($40 roughly).
While regarding Time Machine and your Macbook or desktop, your primary backup is best saved to a conventional USB (or Firewire / thunderbolt) hard drive inside an enclosure, the most important part of your data protection begins after your 1st / primary Time Machine / backup; and these are your secondary (most important) data storage devices, archives and their redundancies.
However bare hard drives and docks (below) also work perfectly as a Time Machine backup, this is for home use, since the docking station is certainly not very portable as a notebook Time Machine backup device should be; nor should bare HD be packed around with a notebook, rather remain at home or office.
Six terabytes of 2.5" HD pictured below in a very compact space.
Bare hard drives and docks have the lowest cost, the highest reliability, and take up the smallest storage space
Drawbacks:
1. Care and knowledge in general handling of naked hard drives (how not to shock a bare HD, and how to hold them properly). Not a genuine drawback.
Advantages:
1. By far the least expensive method of mass HD storage on a personal basis. Highest quality naked HD can be purchased in bulk very cheap.
2. Eliminates the horrible failure point of SATA bridges and interfaces between external drives and the computer.
3. Per square foot you can store more terabytes of data this way than any other.
4. Fast, easy, no fuss and most simplex method of data storage on hard drives.

Similar Messages

Unibody MacBook Pro won't recognize WD External Drive

I just upgraded from the old MacBook Pro to the earlier model unibody MacBook Pro. I had a WD external drive with firewire 400, and bought an expresscard adapter with firewire 400 so that I could connect to my new computer. the computer recognizes the adapter, but the drive will not power on or appear on the computer. It works fine with the old computer, though. Some help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I just upgraded from the old MacBook Pro to the earlier model unibody MacBook Pro. I had a WD external drive with firewire 400, and bought an expresscard adapter with firewire 400 so that I could connect to my new computer. the computer recognizes the adapter, but the drive will not power on or appear on the computer. It works fine with the old computer, though. Some help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

HT1444 Running 10.8.2 on MacBook Pro. Purchased Toshiba 1TB external drive. Calls for installing NTFS driver for Mac. Any concerns here?

My MacBook Pro is running Mountain LIon 10.8.2. I just purchased a Toshiba external hard drive offering USB 3.0 & 2.0. The NTFS driver for Mac is included. The compatability indication includes Lion ... but not yet ... Mountain Lion. Should I be concerned about loading this software?

Or you could just reformat the drive to exFat or FAT32 and then you won't need any additional software. Also, you can check app compatibility at www.roaringapps.com. I don't know if this includes any type of drivers.

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you think it is? It won't recognize any hard drive I put in the machine, so might it be the sata cable?

Boot the Recvoery USB, use Disk Utility to select the internal drive makers namea and size on the left.
Now select erase and select the midde option and click erase, it will take a bit to complete but it's best for the drive.
Now select Partiton tab, click the big box and Options: GUID and then Format: OS X Extended journaled and click apply.
Quit and you should be able to install OS X now with your Apple ID and password.
see
http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/08/lion-recovery-disk-assistant-tool-makes-external- lion-boot-recovery-drives/

My macbook pro retina wont recognize my external hard drive

my macbook pro retina wont recognize my external hard drive.
i opned the hard drive in the past on my computer and used it alot.
one time when i took it out i forgot to eject it, and since then when ever i conect it it would never show up on my computer or ever recognize the device.
please help me!

For starters try a PRAM reset.
DALE

Macbook Pro won't boot with external HDD plugged

I have a weird problem. My late 2008 Macbook Pro won't start with external HDD plugged either FW or USB... The screen stays white until I unplug it and then the Apple logo is there.
Anyone know any solution for this? Or anyone have the same problem

yeah I had the exact same issue with one of my 750GB externals too. I just left it for a while (about an hour or so) and it was fine..
I believe its so slow because the system is indexing the drive, which can be a very slow process if the drive is big, has a complex folder-hierarchy, and/or is fragmented.
Does the hard-drive appear quite quickly in Finder once OS X has started up? if its slow it may confirm what I've just said.

My macbook pro can't find my external drive after upgrading os

I have a macbook pro from 2009. I recently upgraded to Yosemite and now it won't read my external drive (Toshiba). I am able to find it in disk utility but I am not able to open it. The device works fine in other computers. I have all my pictures there. How can I fix this problem?

Have you tried following through the trouble shooting tips in this knowledge base article on Firewire?

MacBook Pro won't recognize Canon MP800, even after reloading print drivers

Time Warner Cable updated servers. We had to update the DNS address for the MacBook Pro to maintain internet access. After doing this MacBook Pro doesn't recognize the Canon MP800 printer - shows no print drivers for Canon IJ Network , even after reinstalling printer software and downloading print drivers from Canon website - MPNavigator 2.0 keeps saying print driver has not installed. The MacBook is wirelessly networked with the printer and an EMac. We haven't updated the DNS address for the EMac because it still recognizes the printer and prints; however, we now don't have internet access with EMac as a result.

If printing wirelessly check your printer sharing settings - System Preferences/Sharing
If printer is connected directly to your computer, check your printer connections, read the troubleshooting section in your printer manual and check the printer manufacturer website for drivers you may need to update.

My macbook pro retina 13inch won't recognize my external drive (LaCie 1TB porsche design)

Hello,
I've had this drive for about 8 months and it's always worked fine. But when i connect it now to my macbook it won't show up anywhere, not with disk utility system profiler, nothing. However it does turn, i can hear and feel it spinning. Also when i connect to a windows it does show up. So I checked if it was the usbport of my macbook but when connecting my ipod there was no problem.
Any ideas?
Thx!!

Hello valleke92,
It sounds like you are unable to see your external HDD when you plug it in via USB. I would use the troubleshooting from the following article named:
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1151
Check the connections
If you're using a cable, make sure that both ends of the cable are properly and securely connected to your device and Mac. Try unplugging your device and then plugging it back in. If you're connecting a FireWire device, make sure that the cable is no more than 15 feet (4.5 meters) long. If you're connecting a USB device, make sure that the cable is no more than 16 feet long. If you're making a direct connection, make sure that the device's connector is fully seated in your computer's port. If your device also connects to a power outlet, make sure it has power.
Check the system requirements
Check your device's documentation or packaging again, or go to the manufacturer's website, to verify that your Mac meets the minimum system requirements to use the device.
Check your device's power
If the device has a power switch, make sure it is on. Try turning your device off and then on again. Some devices require more power that the bus supplies. If your device came with an external power adapter, always connect it to a power source in for the best performance from your device.
Restart your Mac
Sometimes a simple restart can resolve issues. From the Apple menu, choose Restart to restart your computer. Once your Mac is finished starting up, test your device again.
Check the software
See if a newer version of software is available for your device if it requires software. Visit the product manufacturer's website.
Check your device's power
Make sure that your device is on if it has a power switch; try turning your device off and then on again.
Try a different port and cable
Connect your device to a different USB or FireWire port on your Mac. If you connected your device to a USB or FireWire hub or to a port on another USB or FireWire device that's connected to your Mac (known as daisy chaining), connect your device directly to a port on your computer. Some devices need to draw power from a USB or FireWire port to work; if you connect a device to a non-powered hub (one that isn't plugged in to a power source) or to a low-power port (such as the one on your USB keyboard), it may not work. If you have another known-good cable, try swapping the cable to see if that works. If it does, you should replace the problematic cable.
There is additional troubleshooting in the article if you need it, but it should all work you towards a resolution.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
Sterling

MacBook Pro won't recognize external drive via usb, will recognize same drive by firewire.

Title pretty much sums it up. I've had an external firewire 800 drive (Iomega eGo) for about 2 years now. I've got it partitioned and am using part as a time machine backup and the rest as a data storage/ data moving partition. A few days ago I realized that any data I put on either partition can't be copied off by either my computer or either of my two friend's MacBook Pros. The copy starts fine, but then always screeches to a halt around 5% (this is via firewire). This same drive also cannot be recognized via USB by any of our Macs (I plug it in, light comes on, but doesn't blink), but if I plug it into my Windows Desktop the USB recognition is immediate. I found this very strange. I could also copy files off of the drive via USB onto my desktop. If I let it sit long enough on a failed copy on our macbooks eventually it gives me an error code 36. I traced that to a likely hard drive failure on the part of the external. I found this odd because not even 3 days ago I was pulling iTunes songs off the drive onto my desktop with no trouble. Is there any way to fix this via software or the terminal or anything? Disk Utility says both partitions are 'OK'. I'd really like to not spend another chunk of change on an external, as I just spent $180 on a new HDD and SSD for my desktop.
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
{ diskutil list; echo; diskutil cs list; } | open -ef
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.
A TextEdit window will open with the output of the command. If the command produced no output, the window will be empty. Post the contents of the TextEdit window (not the Terminal window), if any — the text, please, not a screenshot. The title of the window doesn't matter, and you don't need to post that.
If any personal information appears in the output, anonymize before posting, but don’t remove the context.

MacBook Pro no longer recognizes USB external hard drives or built-in iSight

I have an older MacBook Pro 17" Intel that I use with various external USB hard drives (8 of them). It is connected to my LG 720p 32" flatscreen and works perfectly. Recently, when visiting, I disconnected my external HDs and connected my MBP to my brother's LG 1080p and it was OK.
When I returned home and reconnected my external HDs and TV, it would not recognize the HDs and couldn't find my built-in iSight. Viewing System Information, the USB buses showed an assortment of items, such as the Apple Internal Keyboard/Trackpad, IR Receiver, and Bluetooth USB Host Controller in the buses. The High-Speed Bus showed an external HD as a Vendor-Specific Device, but none of these appeared on the desktop. I plugged in my external iSight to Firewire and it showed up in Photobooth, iChat, and Skype.
What is the problem and can I fix it myself or must I take it to be serviced?
Has anyone encountered the same problem? Got any answers?
I really would appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks.

I have never heard of this before, but the fact that your external iSight works shows that at least some parts of your Macv's AV circuitry are undamaged.
Depending on exactly how you "disconnected" your "external HDs and connected" your "MBP to" your "brother's LG 1080p", I suppose it is possible that your software settings have been compromised somehow. Here is what I would try if my system showed the symptoms you describe.
(0) Start by making a current backup if you do not already have one.
Then try any of the following you have not already considered or used. Use them in any order you think appropriate and test after each one to determine if the problem is resolved:
(1) Shut down (do not merely restart) your MBP. Wait a couple of minutes before starting.
(2) Test in a different user (NOT the "Guest") account: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mtusr001.html
(3) Reset SMC http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
(4) Reset PRAM: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mh26871.html
(5) Repair your startup disk: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mchlp1718.html
(6) Reinstall Lion and apply the 10.7.2 Combo Update: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1459
(7) Contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider for service
Message was edited by: EZ Jim

Macbook Pro will not recognize my external hard drive

I just updated to a newer MacBook Pro. I ran Time Machine on my old Macbook from a 2TB external USB hard drive. When I hooked the hard drive to my new Mac, it wouldn't allow me to select it as the drive for Time Machine. So I dismounted the hard drive and hooked it back to my old macbook to see if it still registered there (which it did). Now when I try and hook the hard drive to my new macbook, it will not recognize it at all. First question, why will it not recognize my new macbook, and second question, why does Time Machine not recognize the hard drive? It has my old time machine files on it...hopefully I don't have to reformat it and lose all my backup??

My hard drive is now connected. But Time Machine will not let me select the hard drive as my back up drive. This hard drive was used on another Macbook, so Time Machine doesn't seem to recognize the hard drive on the new one. Do I need to reformat the hard drive? I hate to do that because I have the previous backups on there.

MacBook Air won't recognize iOmega External Hard Drive

I just bought my macbook air and I wanted to transfer my data over from my old MacBook. The MacBook died so I was using my backup. The problem is that the Air won't recognize the ext hard drive. I connected the ext hard drive to my AirPort Extreme for the migration assistant but I keep getting a connection failed message. I tried plugging in the drive to the air directly using USB but it won't recognize it at all. The drive won't mount. The drive begins spinning and the light is on so the drive does work. It always worked with my old MacBook. I did alway connect it with FireWire so could that cause a problem since I have to connect it with USB to the Air?

I had a similar issue with mine but it was because I tried to connect to an external drive that was already connected to my iMac via FW800. When I disconnected the FW cable and plugged in the USB, everything worked perfectly.

Macbook pro won't recognise WD External hard drive

Have just purchased a macbook pro and it won't recognise my Western Digital external hard drive!!
It appears as 'Time Machine Backups' and doesn't show all my photos and music files. (deleting and reformatting WD hard drive not an option)
Can anyone help??
Many thanks

Sorry, meant deleting hard drive contents not an option, if required to do so to reformat.
Thanks

My bran new Mac Pro, won't recognize my external hard drive?

Hello,
I just got the new mac pro about a month ago (the cylindrical kind) it has 16 MGs of ram and 250 GBs. I got a 2 TB external hard drive for time machine, and i already have a 500 GB portable hard drive for transferring files. They worked fine initially, but the computer has stopped seeing them all together. I've already restarted my computer several times. I plug them in, they light up, but the icon doesn't appear on the desktop or finder or even in disk utility. I've tested my portable drive on my laptop and it works fine, so its not the external hard drive or the cords. I also tested a flash drive and an external CD drive in the USB ports and they work fine, so i've deduced that its not a hardware issue. The best i can come up with is that its a softwear issue, but i have no idea how that would even work. Has anyone else heard of this?
On a side note: before the computer stopped reading my hard drives, they kept unplugging themselves and saying "this hard drive was not removed properly" and then they would reappear without me touching them. I'm pretty sure this is the root of the problem. I'm out of ideas and google hasn't revealed anything to me, so if anyone knows whats going on i would really appreciate it.
Thanks.

Neither hard drive is working on the mac pro. They do not appear in disk utility.
My chords seem fine. I don't have another cable to try on the Mac Pro. but both cables worked on my 2011 macbook pro with my external hard drive. my 2TB didn't work on my macbook pro however... it didn't even appear in disk utility. I wonder though if that has to do with the usb 3. I know my laptop has USB 2 and my external hard drive is USB 3 and i'm not sure if its backwards compatible.
I have tried all of the USB ports on the Mac Pro, the hard wear seems fine.
I will try resetting the SMC shortly and see if that works.

MacBook Pro won't recognize 1TB external drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for