External backup drive doesn't show in System Preferences/Startup Disk

Using SuperDuper!, I thought I created a bootable backup on my LaCie FW 200GB ext. HD. I opened System Preferences/Startup Disk to try booting from the LaCie by changing the Startup Disk to the LaCie. The LaCie didn't appear, there. My Mac HD is there, and a Network Startup icon with a question mark in it, is there. I'm on a standalone machine. My Ethernet port is used for a cable modem.
I Restarted and held down the Option key to see if the LaCie would show up that way. No luck. The LaCie is mounted on my desktop, and the System Profiler shows it on the FW bus. So, I don't really have a bootable backup drive (or volume). The LaCie is not partitioned, nor is my internal startup disk.
I did use Disk Utility & found I had to repair the LaCie. Initially, DU said the disk couldn't be repaired, but on a repeat, the LaCie shows as repaired.
How can I get the LaCie to show up in System Preferences/Startup Disk?

Select the external drive's icon and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. In the pane labeled "Ownership and Permissions click on the small triangle gadget beside the word Details. You should see at the bottom a box labeled "Ignore permissions on this volume." If there's a checkmark in the box uncheck it. Close the Get Info window. Now see if the drive appears in the Startup Disk preference.
If you still have a problem then you might try the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled, if supported.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
Next clone your system to the external drive:
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked. Set Ownership and Permissions as follows: Owner=system with read/write; Group=admin with read/write; Other with read-only.
2. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
3. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
4. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
5. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
6. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
7. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
8. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
For added precaution you can boot into safe mode before doing the clone.

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My external hard drive doesn't show up in finder, is it dead?

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If the Disk Utility sees it, you might be able to repair it or recover the data on it with a product such as DiskWarrior or Data Rescue.
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System Preferences Startup Disk Vs. Boot with Option key depressed.

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Powerbook PPC.

Charly,
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If this answered your question please consider granting some stars: Why reward points?

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After a long period of not taking backups, I plugged in my external hard drive today, but I can't mount it because I can't find it in dev (it used to show up as /dev/sdb, but now my only /dev/sd* is /dev/sda, which is my internal drive). The drive still shows up in dmesg and in lsusb. I've attached the dmesg lines and the lsusb -v entry, in which you can see that the drive is indeed recognized as a mass storage device.
I'm not sure if it's relevant, but lsusb -v pauses for a couple of seconds before outputting the final line.
Any ideas?
Dmesg output:
[160782.137424] usb 1-5.3: new high speed USB device number 7 using ehci_hcd
lsusb -v output:
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 059b:0370 Iomega Corp.
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x059b Iomega Corp.
idProduct 0x0370
bcdDevice 0.00
iManufacturer 10 lomega
iProduct 11 exernal hd
iSerial 5 1590925965FF
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 32
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 4 USB Mass Storage
bmAttributes 0xc0
Self Powered
MaxPower 2mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 8 Mass Storage
bInterfaceSubClass 6 SCSI
bInterfaceProtocol 80 Bulk (Zip)
iInterface 6 MSC Bulk-Only Transfer
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x02 EP 2 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Device Qualifier (for other device speed):
bLength 10
bDescriptorType 6
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
bNumConfigurations 1
Device Status: 0x0001
Self Powered
Edit: fixed code tags
Last edited by jneem (2011-11-19 23:36:18)

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hi.
i'm having an issue with my external hard drive. this morning i went to plug it in since that's where i store all of my music, and for some odd reason it didn't work. i have a feeling it's because the night before i unplugged it without ejecting it. my mistake, i know, but now the drive is all messed up. earlier i was able to view the volumes on it in disk utility, and before deciding to erased anything i plugged it into my sister's dell where i transfered everything on the drive. now, when i plug it in my macbook it only shows up in disk utility without the volumes, it doesn't show up on the dell anymore, and when i go to erase everything it tells me "operation timed out".
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Try this:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
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3. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
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Evan

johng67 wrote:
Hi Everyone,
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Message was edited by: Luis Sequeira1

New drive doesn't show in System Profiler

I put a Seritek 1S2 SATA controller card and a Hitachi 500GB SATA drive into my Gigabit Ethernet G4 450 Dual Processor box yesterday. I cloned my boot drive onto the new SATA drive and rebooted from it without incident. And it's a pleasure to see the words "395 GB available" in the Finder window!
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Another anomaly- SP showed the computer as having a single CPU. I opened Activity Monitor, which showed two CPU windows, but one was blank- no activity.
I rebooted and the second CPU reappeared in SP and AM.
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BC
395 GB Available

I was thinking you must have a GigaDesigns cpu upgraded and that was why the 2nd cpu is "MIA" in SP, but no, normal G4/450DP.
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External hard drive doesn't show up on Mac Mini

Working with pre-installed Snow Leopard on a Mac Mini.
External firewire hard drive does not show up on desktop or in sidebar. Also tried the same hard drive connected with USB. Tried another USB drive -- nothing.
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If they worked on those other computers, then you should try the Apple article listed above to see if all that is needed is to get the FW ports to cooperate.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
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Thanks.

Prep the drive for the Mac:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
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Need help: External Hard Drive doesn't show up

i havent use my external hard drive in 3 months. Before when i connect the usb, the hard drive shows up in the finder and i can transfer files and ext, but now it doesnt show up in the finder at all. I've check the disk utility and the EHDrive appears there, i've tried to click the verify and repair but it doesnt mount in the finder. I've also tried opening the HDrive in my player and it does open..
so please help me with regard to this ..

How is the drive connected to the computer? USB, Firewire......
Do you have another computer to see if the hard drive will mount there?
Restart the computer holding down the command - option/alt - P - R keys before the gray screen appears. Continue to hold until you hear the startup chime for the second time.
Reset NVRAM/PRAM
Disconnect the drive from the computer, shut it down for about 1 minute, connect it to the computer and turn it back on. While, doing that, restart the computer.
Try using another cable to connect the drive to the computer.

External backup drive doesn't show in System Preferences/Startup Disk

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