Can't see external HDD while wanting to restore

I just had to restore my Mac, and luckily I backed up to a Ex HDD with Time Machine, but now I'm trying to restore it I've had nothing but problems.
Cmd+R gives me: No full system backups
Migration Assistant: Can't see drive
Setup: Can't see drive
I've run multiple repairs on it, and even mounted it to the network on another computer, but it still didn't come up.
I'm getting really frustrated, please help =/

austenfromononono wrote:
I've checked via Finder and TMB, no Applications, System, Library,
Those are the ones the bug makes TM skip.
But /Users, with your home folder inside it, should be there.
I lost the 200GB after I had to restore my Mac (when I tried to restore from my backup), then had to reinstall again due to me playing with the partitions =D
Well, that does complicate things.
If you're sure it's gone, I won't bug you anymore, but if you think there's a chance, I'm willing to try . . .

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Can't see external HDD

This is a weird one. I have an external HDD that is visible in System Profiler, but nothing else sees it: not CCC, not Disk Utility, not Disk Warrior, not the Finder. Nothing sees it except System Profiler.
I've tried every possible way of connecting the drive: FW, USB, daisy chained, not daisy chained, direct to the iMac, through a hub. Nothing.
I do know that the drive is formatted. But in any case, wouldn't at least one of these apps be able to grab it? I don't care about anything that might be on it. Just want to format and use it.
I'm stuck.

As a licensed user of DiskWarrior you are entitled to technical support. Your situation is something that our technical support staff are experts in. They are available by phone 9 AM to 5 PM CST. There is also a web form for submitting your question in writing. However, I believe it would be best to have a one-on-one conversation to get to the bottom of your problem quickly without emails going back and forth with questions and answers.
Tech Support phone number is: 281-353-1510
Web form: http://www.alsoft.com/Support/techsupportform.html
Rusty Little
Alsoft, Inc.
Makers of DiskWarrior

Can't see external HDD when plugged into TC

So I have done research here and haven't found an answer yet. My first problem was the the drive was NTFS so I moved all the data and formatted it to exFAT. Both the PC and macbook pro can read and write to the drive when plugged into each system. When I plug it into the TC it won't show up anywhere. It is an externally powered drive. What have I missed or doing wrong? I want to use this drive as a network drive to keep my itunes library on so 3 systems can access it.

The problem is that the USB port on the TC will only support drive formats of Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or FAT 16/32.
To confirm:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2426

Fire Wire: MBP OS X.4.11 Can't see external devices. PLEASE HELP!

Fire Wire: MBP OS X.4.11 Can't see external devices. PLEASE HELP!
My MBP will not "see" my new MB or my back-up drive—both connected via a firewire 400 (6 pin) cable. Both running Tiger X.4.11
I have used this cable to connect my MBP and a TiBook in the past as well as to back-up onto the LaCie e-drive.
I have run "disk repair" and "permissions" on both machines.
BTW—"permissions" are regularly out of wack on the MBP. But, the disk is OK according to Disk Utilities.
I also cannot put the machine to sleep after logging out. Has a hard time shutting down as well. Sometimes I need to force a re-boot.
Can't run Disk Doctor because I don't have a bootable disk yet. It's coming via snail mail.
The new MB "sees" the e-drive connected with the same cable.
I can't transfer my files to the new MB nor can I back up.
Is it time for a "clean install"? Makes me nervous that I cannot backup before trying anything drastic.
Can someone please help me?
Thanks in advance.
Tek

Put the more recalcitrant computer into Target Drive mode by starting it with the T key down until you see the yellow on blue screen. Then connect it to the other machine by firewire cable while both are already awake.
I hope that you did not do any upgrades while you had external drives connected... that is an automatic problem. Always disconnect from externals and accessories before doing any upgrades. Always back up before doing any upgrades.
Firewire networking is not the same as using a computer in Target Disc mode. In Target disc mode, you are using the internal drive of the Td computer as an external. That should allow you to run disk utility. Do use the proper disc utility version for the OSX version that is on problem drive. ie don't use the Leopard disc utility for the Tiger disc or vice versa.

Since upgrading to Mountain Lion, I cannot restore emails with time machine. In Lion TM created a folder in Mail called recovered emails(or similar) No such folder is created since ML. I am able to see the email I want to restore, but it then disappears

Since upgrading to Mountain Lion, I cannot restore emails with time machine. In Lion TM created a folder in Mail called recovered emails(or similar) No such folder is created since ML. I am able to see the email I want to restore, but it then disappears

I am inside Mail, waiting for the TM 'recovered mail' folder to appear - which it doen't.
I only looked in my home folder after trying several times from within my Main app.
Marion

Migration Assistant can't see external Time Machine

I appreciate Macs and all they can do but I am not great with the technical side. I apologise if this is an stupid question. Probably all my technical questions seem stupid to people who can find their way around the mac.
Shiny new iMac. Yah!
Hmm there's a problem.
External drive with Time Machine backups on it shows on the desktop, however when I use Migration Assistant to transfer info it can't find it.
The external drive is plugged directly into the iMac.
I can open the external drive and see there are Time Machine backups.
The Time Machine App is currently set to off on my new iMac. Is it as simply as switching it to "on"? I was concerned about overwriting the old backups and losing them.
Thanks for assistance.

Most likely, some folders were excluded from your backups as the result of a failed or aborted software installation.
Starting from a clean installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible.* Select the one you want and navigate to your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)
You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
Restore all the visible items at the top level of your home folder.
Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
You'll have to reinstall all third-party applications from scratch, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
You'll have another problem if this is a new computer, or if you erased the startup volume: The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of your backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set your backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.
*If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting
Browse Other Backup Disks...
from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of your computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked
Show Time Machine in menu bar

How can I see the bitrate while playing a DVD?

(I posted that also on the DVD Studio Pro page, but there I got an advice that points to a professional and expensive tool - Digigami's 'Mpressionist'. Maybe here someone can help me with a simpler sollution. I will post on both sides potential sollutions.)
So, I have a DVD encoded with variable bitrate, and I want to see the bitrate while playing the movie. In QuickTime I can see only the "global" bitrate, not the one of the actual scene.
Thanks.

For the moment I got only that:
- MPressionist, a very nice tool, but very expensive too;
- MacDVDBitrateParanoia that displays the bitrate of the whole DVD as a graph, but not while the DVD plays, so I can not see the relation between complexity of a scene and the bitrate.

Can't see external exFAT hard drive in finder - but can see it under disk utility

I have tried it all.
Running Mac Air OS X Lion 10.7.3 - connected to wifi network via 3TB Time Capsule. Just bought an external HDD for moving around. Formatted as exFAT and loaded files from a friends Windows 7 PC. Tried to plug into TC but couldn't see it neither in Finder nor Time Machine. Then plugged it directly into Mac Air, still not visible under Finder. Tried the following without much success either:
- Used the Verify & Repair functions in Disc Utility: No errors found
- Tried to Mount in Disc Utility: Refused (advised to run First Aid) - Ran first aid twice and still can't mount
- Used various apple scripts to unhide it: still not visible
- Went to Finder - Go - Computer: Still not visible
I'm now creating an image of the disc with the hope that I can mount the disc and acccess the files in it. Should this not work (and I have a strange feeling that it wont), what can I do (without the need to format the drive?)
Thanks
Spinellixx
Mac Air 13" 128 GB, Time Capsule 3TB, Ipod Touch 32GB, Ipad 2 3GWifi 16GB, Airport Express, Apple TV 2

Gesux wrote:
I can see it and access the files only using ... "Path Finder"
been there
try this:
use [_*Path Finder*_|http://www.cocoatech.com> (30 days trial period) to mount the drive and +get info+.
find the entry for *alias bit*. if the box is checked, uncheck it
that should do it.
JGG

Sharepoints - Can't see external drive

Hi all,
I've created a normal share for my external HDD (root directory) and turned on AFS and SMB sharing, "Update share" and a quick restart to make sure it took.
I can't see my external HDD when connecting from another computer. Any idea what I may have missed?
Steve

Okay, here are the answers:
1. Reset to User. Update.
1a) Power cycle all devices. Reboot, restart, whatever. Macs, routers, HDD's.
Now then -
2. Let's go all the way back to the beginning and get some answers:
a) is this a brand-new drive? [1 month old]
b) make/model, please. [Western Digital MyBook Special Edition 500gb]
c) Using what filesystem has it been formatted? [FAT 32]
d) Does it show properly to the mac that it's plugged into? [Shows fine when directly connected to either Mac, or any Windows PC]
e) In Sharepoints, what is the Share Name? [Share name is "IBROX" (all caps)]
f) In Sharepoints the directory should appear something like:
/Volumes/[volume'srealname]
(yes?)
there might be a case-sensitivity issue here. [Yes, this is how it appears in Sharepoints]

Help Please - Can't See External Hard Drive

Hi,
Apologies for the length of this post, I'd really appreciate any help anyone can give me with this problem.
I've been using an Lacie external firewire drive for ages and suddenly I can't see the icon on my desktop or access it.
I realised a few months ago I changed the name of the drive and accidently put a space at the start of the title - is this the problem? I think it's been working fine up to today.
I can see the disk in Utilities and get the following error message when I try and verify the drive:
Disk Utility stopped verifying “ Audio Drive 1 ” because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit
And:- Verifying volume “ Audio Drive 1 ”
Invalid Volume Header
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
The volume Audio Drive 1 needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
When I try and repair, I get the following:
First Aid Failed
Disk Utility stopped repairing “ Audio Drive 1 ” because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit
And:- Verify and Repair disk “ Audio Drive 1 ”
Invalid Volume Header
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
Many thanks for your help,
Rob

Can anyone help me with this: I recently bought an external hard-drive (maxtor seagate 1Terrabite) to backup everything on my macbook/PC/Playstation 3, but at the time of purchase i forgot that they all use different formatting systems (FAT32,NTFS etc) how silly of me.....
is it possible to partition my External HDD in separate formats e.g: one partition as FAT32 and another as OSX, so that i can backup all my data from all my different systems, like my PS3.
if this isent possible, the only other option i could think of is to just buy another external HDD but then it all becomes to costly
if anyone has an answer please email/IM me on [email protected]

Can't See External Hard Drive

I have just bought a Pleiades USB/LAN External Storage Enclosure and put a G2-lan Seagate 200gb hard drive in it. I’ve connected it through via USB and network cable (not at the same time) and I’m pulling my hair out cos I have no freakin idea how it works.
The network cable seamed to complicated by my pathetic excuse for a brain so I’m trying to connect it via USB and even that simple task seams too much for me. My manual says “Turn your computer on and start Mac OS X, connect the Pleiades and turn it on, no river installation is required, the external drive will mount and show up on your desktop”. Pitty it didn’t. I noted the footnote “For factory new drivers and formatting, see “Partitioning and Formatting” So I go there: “Select “Disk Utility” in the utilities folder. Chose your external drive and create a FAT32 partition”. Would be good, if my external drive showed up in the list. Then there is a side note that says “If you can not see the drive, make sure the settings of your hard drive are correct, there are no extension conflicts and the power is turned on”. The power is turned on, but I have no idea how to see the settings on the hard drive let alone know what they should be.
And that’s my conundrum. Help please.

Hello! A couple of things. First pull the drive and check the jumpers to see if it's jumpered as "master". The cable select position won't work on an ext case. Was the drive new or pulled from another computer? It could be set to the "slave" jumper and again would need to be changed to "master". The jumper settings are usually noted on the drive but you might have to go the the Manf. site to find them. Once your sure the drive is set to master plug the usb connector in and turn it on and see if it either pops up on the desktop or gives you the "do you want to initialize" window. Post back with your results. Tom

Can't see external disks on Finder

I can't see my external Storage (whether it be TimeMachine hard drive, USB sticks) in Finder (side bar). I see them in Disk Utility. I see them if I open "/Volumes/" but that's not really convenient. External Disks are enabled in sidebar.
Please see attached pictures for details
My system is also very slow. Would you recommend a clean install ?
And Yes

Move the mouse to the right of "Appareil" in the Finder sidebar. The option "show" should appear. Click on it.. et voilà! The disks are back!!!
Also a clean install did help me improving some perfomances. You may want to try Onyx first, and clean all caches. Don't forget to do a "repair permission" with Disk Utility or Onyx (it should be the same) before nything else.

Macbook can't see external HD connected to iMac

Hello,
I just bought a Macbook and set it up with my iMac on the wireless network. Everything else works fine, but my Macbook can't see the external drive that is connected to my iMac. I want to be able to back up the Macbook to the drive. I tried turning on file sharing on the iMac and adding the LaCie drive to the list of shared folders, but its still not showing. Is there something I need to change or configure to get it to show up?
Thanks

I believe this Airport update, released in the spring (2008) did enable AirDisk usage with Airport Extreme wireless devices:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/timemachineandairportupdatesv10.html
MacWorld: Update allows Time Machine backups on AirPort Extreme
http://www.macworld.com/article/132613/2008/03/airporttime.html
Unfortunately, it is Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) only, and I see form your stats that you are still on Tiger (10.4).
It will be interesting if Tadd's tip works though. Let us know.
Cheers!

Can't see external hard drive in 10.3.9

My friend has a MacBook G3, using OS 10.3.9. I tried to give her an external hard drive, a Western Digital pocket drive (runs on USB power). But, the drive won't mount on her desktop, and we can't even see it using Disk Utility on her computer. The drive's powerlight is ON after we plug it into the USB port, but we just can't see the drive, not even to format it.
It works fine on my MacBook running OS 10.5.6, and I reformated it several times, with several different format options, on my MacBook. But no matter what we do, the drive is not visible on the G3, even though it is getting power from the G3 USB port.
Any suggestions?

Look at these links.
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151?viewlocale=en_US
Common fixes for USB device issues (unrecognized, etc.)
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070824012114701
Try the above fixes first. It's possible that there's not enough power in the USB port to spin up the HD. Although usually you will get an error notification. You could get an AC powered USB hub to connect to the PB & then to the HD if this is the situation.
 Cheers, Tom

Can't see external hard drive after error code -36

Hi, was copying iphoto data from an WD My Passport 750GB external hard drive to my MACBook when the system said it could not complete the copy as it had encountered a problem and indicated error code -36. Now I can't see the external drive (or any data) on any computer. I have tried 3 different MACs to no avail. The drive makes a soft beeping noise but then stops but the light stays on.
Any ideas on how I can get access to my data??

Make sure the cable is securely seated on the device side.
If that's not the problem, then either the drive mechanism or the enclosure has failed. If you don't have backups, you'd better hope it's the latter. Remove the mechanism from the enclosure and install it another enclosure. You can buy fairly inexpensive USB docks that a SATA drive drops into with no need for disassembly.
Failing that, your only chance is to send the drive to a recovery service such as Drive Savers. They disassemble the drive mechanism in a clean room and mount the platters in another drive. Cost will be in the 4-5 figure range, and the results are uncertain.
If you don't have backups, you don't have data.

Can't see external HDD while wanting to restore

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