External Disk Not Readable by OSX after Setting Drive Letter in Windows 7

My external hard drive, which was previously formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), contains all of my purchased music. I have this external drive connected directly to my iMac via USB. My iTunes in OS X points to this drive.
After installing Boot Camp, I was able to read this external hard drive in Windows 7, but I changed the drive letter used in Windows 7 from E: to G:. Bad idea, apparently...
Now when I boot into OS X, I can no longer read the drive (although I can read it in Windows 7 just fine). I get the error message:
"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." [Initialize] [Ignore] [Eject]
When I use Disk Utility to attempt to Repair Disk, I get the following error:
"2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Verify and Repair volume “disk2s2”
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Starting repair tool:
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: ** /dev/disk2s2
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Invalid BS_jmpBoot in boot block: 000000
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Volume repair complete.
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
2010-11-24 08:43:41 -0800: Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
I've searched for this issue in these forums and on the web and have not yet found a solution.
Is there any way to repair this external drive so that I can again read/write to it in OS X (WITHOUT losing my music)?
Thanks!

I had this exact problem. I bought a 1 TB My Book, formatted it with Disk Utility, and completed a successful backup. I also had some home videos on it and was using about 40% of the drive. One day, about a week later, I had the same "disk unreadable" message and soon panicked. Tried everything, but finally spent $100 for Disk Warrior and I was able to get my videos off, but it wasn't able to fix my drive, DW said I didn't have enough memory.
I reformatted and put my videos back on, but now will use a different drive for backups, so if it fails again I only lose my backups.

Similar Messages

Disk not readable - now programmes freezing

I recently used a new GoFlex Seagate external HD and had problems with it from the outset - perhaps I didn't format it correctly for mac. Statered getting 'disk is not readable', eventually sorted the disk out with disk utility so I can use it but kept getting the disk not readable alert even if the disk was not inserted. I've zapped the PRAM and reset the SMC, now not getting the disk alert but the compter keeps freezing. It only happens in some programmes, usually in Lightroom 4 which I use 90% of the time. I have to do a force shut down, then it'll work fine for about 30 min before freezing again. Seems fine if I just use it with Chrome.
Many thanks for any help you can give.

Weird.
You did some good troubleshooting. How stable does it feel when you boot the computer to safe mode?
Also sometimes stability issues can be user specific, so maybe its not the program itself causing a problem or the operating system. But maybe something else like start up items, or your user cache and plists may need to be troubleshot.
There was something I had seen from Apple about how to do safe mode and what it is lemme see if I can find it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564
this will show you how to create a new user to test with. The instructions are for 10.6 but the steps are the same.
Lemme know how it goes!

I bought a used PowerMacPC G5. I can burn and read DVDs, but I can't read or burn CDs. The CDs are not even recognized. After the drive searches for a while, the CD is ejected without any error messages. The CDs work okay on my iMac.

I bought a used PowerMacPC G5. I can burn and read DVDs, but I can't read or burn CDs. The CDs are not even recognized. After the drive searches for a while, the CD is ejected without any error messages. The CDs work okay on my iMac.
I am running Mac OSX 10.4.11. According to the System profiler the CD/DVD drive is a "PioneerDVD-RWDVR-112D." When I compare the information under this heading, the only unusual difference from my iMac is that the G5 reads "Burn Support: Yes (Unsupported)." My iMac reads "Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)."
Under the System Preferences the options are set to "Ask what to do" when a blank CD or DVD is inserted. Music CD set to open iTunes, Picture CD set to open iPhoto, Video DVD set to open DVD player.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks, Jack

Hi Jack, great help so far!
Internal...
http://eshop.macsales.com/static_pages/Framework.cfm?page=superdrive/sdl_powerma c_g5.html
External be sure it's Firewire & not Bus powered...
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives/

I am getting error message "Disk Not Ejected Properly Eject "FreeAgent GoFlex Drive" before disconnecting or turning it-" randomly.

I'm getting a "Disk Not Ejected Properly Eject “FreeAgent GoFlex Drive” before disconnecting or turning it…" message at random times. I have seen other comments about this happening after the iMac wakes from sleep. However, this is happening to me throughout the day even when I am working on the iMac.
The iMac is up to date with OS X Version 10.9. I had recently switched from a 500GB to a 3TB Drive, both are Seagate. I have never had this issue prior to the switch.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?
I verified/repaired in the Utility Disk and a message popped up indicating the GoFlex looks "OK".

No, I am not on the USB3 interface. I contacted Seagate and they indicated that there is no known issue with OS X 10.9. In my case, they are willing to send me a new Drive, since I just received the GoFlex on 12/06. Will post an update when I install the new one. Hopefully this will solve my issue.
I suggest you contact Seagate, if you haven't already, directly. The representatives are very helpful. Good luck.

Not showing company list after installing B1 2007 on windows 2003 standard

Hi gurus,
I am facing a problem regarding B1.System not showing company list after installing B1 2007 on windows 2003 standard edition.
Plz help me.
Thanks in advance
Regds
Maddy

Hi Maddy,
Please tell me did u upgrade from 2005 to 2007 or u performed a new installation of 2007???
Vasu Natari.

Ipod touch nano recovery and restore loop even after changing drive letter twice!

iPod Touch Nano
Software version: 1.2
OS: Windows 7 32bit
iTunes version: 10.6
I can't restore or do anything with my iPod nano touch. I followed instructions and the KB (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1493#changedrive) that recommended changing the drive letter in Windows. I changed the drive twice, restarted the machine, followed the instructions to restore after the recovery message, but still nothing. I even uninstalled / reinstalled iTunes.
I also reset the iPod multiple times (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1320), which is the last step recommended in the final KB article: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1441
This is very frustrating and a pretty poor software design by Apple! I am pretty sure my drive letter is free.
I also tried my Macbook Pro but still same issue.
Any other ideas to what I can do to fix this or do I need to go to the Apple store to fix this at this point?
Many thanks

UPDATE:
While the iPod Nano would not even turn on in the two computers I tried earlier at home (and posted above about), when I plugged it in on my work computer (PC, Windows 7), the iPod Nano turned on fine as a brand new set up on this computer's iTunes and now it is working.
Very strange that it would crap out at home every time even though I changed the drive letter and followed all the other instructions.
I have to yet check if I can sync at home or not or if it will ask me to restore again!

External HD "Not Readable" after Boot Camp Installation

After installing Windows XP on my Mac, I switched back over to OS X and tried to access my external hard drive which greeted me with the message: "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer." I assume that the Boot Camp process must've affected the external drive and made it incompatible with OS X. The external does show up in Disk Utility, but there are no options to repair the disk, only erase. Can anyone tell me how to reformat the drive, without losing all of the precious data on the disk, for OS X?

XP can't see Mac OS file system.
There is your drive, and your volume_name on the left side column. You have to click on volume_name and select the tab for Repair.
Best to backup before installing or updating any OS, and leave everything you don't need disconnected.
I doubt anything changed, should not have.

Need help with Mac & PC not recognizing external drive (disk not readable)

I am having trouble getting my computer(s) to recognize my Seagate External Drive.
Have tried on my MacBook, iMac, 2 Mini's & my roommate's PC and all reveal the same issue: The Disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
MacBook/iMac both are working off of Leopard
Both Mini's are on Tiger
It won't show up in finder, rendering it unobtainable. I need to get the information if at all possible off of this hard drive (very important!!) so any help I can get would be greatly appreciated!
It allows me to go into disk utility where it shows up with this information:
Name : ST316002 3A Media
Type : Disk
Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record
Disk Identifier : disk4
Media Name : ST316002 3A Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
USB Serial Number : 3LJ07T540000
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/USB7@1D,7/@4:0
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 149.1 GB (160,041,885,696 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 4
Partition Number : 0
And it is in the "about this mac" section with this information:
Seagate Mass Storage:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk4
Version: 0.00
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Seagate
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: MBR (Master Boot Record)
Product ID: 0x0500
Serial Number: 3LJ07T540000
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Vendor ID: 0x0bc2

Additional info:
on the disk4s1 info in disk utility, this information is seen:
Name : disk4s1
Type : Volume
Disk Identifier : disk4s1
Mount Point : Not mounted
Connection Bus : USB
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/USB7@1D,7/@4:1
Writable : Yes
Capacity : 149.0 GB (160,022,790,144 Bytes)
Owners Enabled : No
Can Turn Owners Off : No
Can Be Formatted : No
Bootable : No
Supports Journaling : No
Journaled : No
Disk Number : 4
Partition Number : 1
so it looks like a whole lot of no's that need to be turned around! I can't understand why it won't be read by either Mac or PC with all of this, or how I can fix it

External disk not seen after sleep on Yosemite

My sleep/wake issue on Yosemite affects the external disk (USB 3 connection) and the printer (HP 8600 all-in-one): On wake, after a long sleep, my iMac late 2012 shows an error message saying that the disk was not properly ejected and, in fact, the disk icon disappears from the desktop. The printer issue is even worse: no longer seen by the system after a long sleep but also right after a print, i.e.the next print won't start because the system no longer "sees" it.
About the printer, I originally thought it could be a driver issue but now that I see a similar problem occurring on the disk, I start thinking the driver could be only part of the problem.
Most of times, a restart fixes the problem but this is very annoying.

My sleep/wake issue on Yosemite affects the external disk (USB 3 connection) and the printer (HP 8600 all-in-one): On wake, after a long sleep, my iMac late 2012 shows an error message saying that the disk was not properly ejected and, in fact, the disk icon disappears from the desktop. The printer issue is even worse: no longer seen by the system after a long sleep but also right after a print, i.e.the next print won't start because the system no longer "sees" it.
About the printer, I originally thought it could be a driver issue but now that I see a similar problem occurring on the disk, I start thinking the driver could be only part of the problem.
Most of times, a restart fixes the problem but this is very annoying.

"No bootable device --- insert boot disk and press any key" after setting up Bootcamp

Hi guys,
I am trying to install Windows 7 via Bootcamp but after setting up Bootcamp and restarting the computer I get the error message "No bootable device --- insert boot disk and press any key".
I use an iMac with a DIY Fusion Drive consisting of a 120 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD.
Since Bootcamp can only be installed on the HDD I believe disk1 is the interesting one. Here is the output of sudo gpt -r -vv show disk1:
gpt show: disk1: mediasize=1000204886016; sectorsize=512; blocks=1953525168
gpt show: disk1: Suspicious MBR at sector 0
gpt show: disk1: Pri GPT at sector 1
gpt show: disk1: Sec GPT at sector 1953525167
       start        size index contents
           0           1         MBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600      1 GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640 1709658208      2 GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1710067848     1269536      3 GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
1711337384          88
1711337472   242186240      4 GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
1953523712        1423
1953525135          32         Sec GPT table
1953525167           1         Sec GPT header
And the output of sudo fdisk /dev/disk1:
Disk: /dev/disk1
geometry: 121601/255/63 [1953525168 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec [     start -       size]
1: EE    0   0   2 -   25 127 14 [         1 -     409639] <Unknown ID>
2: AF   25 127 15 - 1023 254 63 [    409640 - 1709658208] HFS+
*3: 07 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 [1711337472 - 242186240] HPFS/QNX/AUX
4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
Here is also the list of my disks:
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *120.0 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         119.7 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         875.3 GB   disk1s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk1s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                124.0 GB   disk1s4
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS FusionDrive            *975.5 GB   disk2
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2, disk1s2
                                 FFA13FBC-2001-40B7-8BBB-BE6EECF8AC11
                                 Unencrypted Fusion Drive
/dev/disk3
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                            GRMCPRXFRER_DE_DVD     *3.2 GB     disk3
I have gdisk installed and am ready to mess around. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

So, when I started my iMac yesterday morning it couldn't boot into OS X anymore either. Several hours of restoring later I am back to square one. I tried installing Windows 7 via Bootcamp again but got the same error message. This time I noticed though that Bootcamp asked me to remove the bootable option from the USB drive with the support drivers in order to install from DVD. Does that ring any bells? I am building another USB drive right now, hoping it would ask me again but this I will decline and try to boot from it.
When you restored, was a Time Machine restore used? TM does not backup Bootcamp and does an erase of the partition. It may also erase the entire disk (including the Fusion drive) if the specific backup of the volume layout of the disks indicates a pre-Bootcamp layout.
My MacBook Pro is a 2009 model and also once had a built-in optical drive. I have no idea why it would work on there but not on the iMac.
You also wrote
When I plug the external DVD drive in, the boot manager recognizes a "Windows" disc and an "EFI Boot" disc. If I select the "Windows" disc I get a black screen with a blinking dash.
The blinking dash indicates that it is working, but does not have the requisite drivers to enable the GPU/Mouse/Keyboard on the media being used.
In the MBP case, did you have two drives installed in the MBP, a Fusion configuration, and then were able to successfully install Bootcamp?
For example on a Mac mini I have a DIY Fusion drive, but the sequence was done differently. Bootcamp was installed using a USB stick+Windows 7 ISO.
1. The two disks are not in a CoreStorage set up initially.
2. The second disk is partitioned (64Gb) and a Bootcamp W7 install completed via USB (this is different HW as compared to IMac, because it has no Optical drive).
3. After the HDD is partitioned, the first partition and the SSD are then used to create a CoreStorage volume.
4. Here is the working version and disk layout. (I plan to erase both disks, put W7 on a partition on the SSD, and make the non-Bootcamp+entire HDD in a CoreStorage volume).
diskutil cs list
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group A8C00490-0E14-401F-AB69-59F37724E8C4
    =========================================================
    Name:         Fusion
    Status:       Online
    Size:         1190201270272 B (1.2 TB)
    Free Space:   0 B (0 B)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume 4772013B-5520-4801-9BE5-BCAEF4AEDAB3
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk0s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     255716540416 B (255.7 GB)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume A679A101-3C78-4A59-B5EE-A4339210CFAD
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    1
    |   Disk:     disk1s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     934484729856 B (934.5 GB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family 5EF5C7CA-0B9C-4169-82A1-41C84F206672
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         None
        Conversion Status:       NoConversion
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   No
        Fully Secure:            No
        Passphrase Required:     No
        |
        +-> Logical Volume 1512657C-ED13-4B31-82C6-7AECBBCA7F98
            Disk:                  disk2
            Status:                Online
            Size (Total):          1185508581376 B (1.2 TB)
            Conversion Progress:   -none-
            Revertible:            No
            LV Name:               Fusion HD
            Volume Name:           Fusion HD
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
diskutil list
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *256.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         255.7 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk0s3
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage                         934.5 GB   disk1s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               650.0 MB   disk1s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                64.9 GB    disk1s4
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                  Apple_HFS Fusion HD              *1.2 TB     disk2

Hard disk not readable by this computer

I have 2 identical WD2500JS HDD in my Mac Pro. Both worked fine for sometime, but now I'm greeted with an error message every time at boot up and the 2nd drive isn't usable/mountable/readable at all.
The drive appears in the Disk Utility as "Media" and Disk Warrior can also see the drive, but I'm unable to see any partitions, it's size, repair it, etc..
Disk Utility and Disk Warrior claim S.M.A.R.T is not supported on the drive, not sure if that matters (the other disk correctly supports it).
I'm not sure what I can do to recover the data on the disk or if the disk is permanently damaged.
Thanks for your help.

Sorry to hear. TechTool Pro 5 does an excellent media scan job. And it should be a warning to make backups more often, and more sets, two or more.
TTPro also has pretty good SMART test suite (Intech Speedtools probably has the best), though SMART "ain't" that smart.
I replace drives every two years or so, use the older drives for backups.
First I'd pull them, put them in FW case for SATA drives, and give that a shot. And you'll need disks to recover to, to replace them (even if you repair or are able to zero out or 7-way write - OS X tools are not that hot for mapping out bad sectors).
Disk Jockey is $500 but does full sector copy (no computer needed).

External HDD "not readable" - Any way to recover data?

I have a MacBook Pro with 10.6.4
The external HDD is a 320GB 2.5" Samsung. Using my MacBook Pro, I formatted it to have a 250GB partition for TimeMachine, with two other partitions for Windows computers as I was traveling without my MacBook and needed to backup photos.
I used the HDD successfully for 3 months with no problems. But when I returned and tried to put everything on my Mac, Disk Utility told me I needed to verify and repair the disk. As it wouldn't mount, I performed the tasks that DU suggested, but now I am stuck with four partitions(?) which are not readable. And now DU does not give me any options.
See screenshots here:
http://s1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc489/brkco/HDD%20Problem/
The disk spins up normally, with no abnormal noises. I suspect there were plenty of Windows viruses (as I had to use many PCs over the 3 months), but the last time I used the drive successfully, it was on a PC and I successfully transferred items onto it.
Please could you advise on actions or further diagnostics I should do. Luckily I bought a 16GB flash drive to make a 2nd backup of photos, but there still important documents which I need to recover off the HDD.
Thank you in advance.
Stuart

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
The Windows partitioning complicates matters. Some data recovery tools for the Mac include Prosoft Data Rescue, Subrosasoft Filesalvage, Boomerang's Boomerang, and Stellar Data Data Recovery tools. If none of them can read it you may need to take it to a professional data recovery like http://www.drivesavers.com/ which can cost thousands of dollars.
In the future always backup your data regularly*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Can not boot into OSX after boot camp installation and resizing of Macintosh HD

So from the beginning what I was trying to do was set up my iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) with boot camp so that I could play some old windows based games that can not be played in Parallels.
I went through the Boot camp process and everything set up just fine.
I had both OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 and Windows 8 Professional running but as I was installing games on to boot camp I discovered I did not allocate enough space and needed to extend the Boot Camp partition.
I used boot camp utility to set OS X as the default start up disk and had it restart
I launched into OS X and used Disk Utility to shrink Macintosh HD another 120GB
Restarted again holding option and launched into Windows
Used the disk management in windows to try and extend the boot camp partition into the unallocated space.
It was not an option to extend it so I tried to create a new simple volume from the unallocated space then delete it and try to extend it again.
It still was not an option.
From there I went to restart again while holding option and the only options I had were 10.10 Recovery and Windows
I tried using disk utility in recovery and Macintosh hd now only showed disk0s2
I tried to verify and it could not verify
I tried to repair and it could not repair.
I put the iMac in target disk mode and using a thunderbolt cable I tried using disk utility from my MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012)
Verifying volume “disk2s2”Verifying file system.** /dev/rdisk2s2
Invalid BS_jmpBoot in boot block: 000000
File system check exit code is 8.Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
Verify and Repair volume “disk2s2”Repairing file system.** /dev/rdisk2s2
Invalid BS_jmpBoot in boot block: 000000
File system check exit code is 8.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
This is the same error I got on my iMac
I used terminal diskutil list and got:
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk2
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:       Microsoft Basic Data                         799.3 GB   disk2s2
   3:                  Apple_HFS Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk2s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                70.3 GB    disk2s4
I can see that Macintosh HD was disk2s2 but it now shows its Microsoft Basic Data.
I did not format this partition and it was working fine till I restarted the computer after resizing Macintosh HD.
I am not sure what I can do to fix this.
I've found multiple articles about similar issues, but the issue thet they have was that they could not boot to Windows instead of my issue not booting to OS X

****************    Update    *****************
From the Windows Partition using Disk Management I can see that the drive is still labeled Macintosh HD and that all of my data is there.
I have a complete backup so i'm not worried so much about the data.
What I'm most interested in is trying to solve this issue because I'd like to continue using boot camp and I actually work with mac computers and would like to be able to help others if this issue arrises again.

"Disk not readable...", Verify & Repair fail, Zero Out, HFS+ still fail

First, a time machine error came up saying the volume could not be found. Tried disk verify, disk repair (in disk utility) restarting, reconnecting, but to no avail. On restarting, computer says "Disk was not readable by this computer." I then Zeroed out all the data and reformatted the drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). TM worked for most of the day until tonight when another error message came up saying that the next backup failed because it required 168GB, but only 49GB was available. Yet I had done virtually nothing since the last backup the hour earlier. I clicked "Back up Now" to try and get it to maybe re-evaluate the situation and maybe do the backup, but instead, I get the error that I got before - "The volume could not be found" (or something to that effect). Upon restarting, I again get "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer".
Is there something I am doing wrong? What can I do to fix this, or prevent this from happening later?

Alias7 wrote:
"Disk Utility stopped verifying "disk2s1" because the following error was encountered: Filesystem verify or repair failed" In the details box, it says:
"Verifying and Repair volume "disk2s1"
Invalid node structure
Invalid B-tree node size
Invalid node structure
Invalid B-tree node size
Volume check failed.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed."
This is what the error message was before, and is what it is now.
You had these sorts of errors, then zeroed-out the drive, now you have them again?
There's only one conclusion: your drive is failing. They don't always just crash and burn.
Note that the volume name should be "Time Machine", but Disk Utility sees it as "disk2s1" for some reason.
That's it's internal name to OSX. Use +System Profiler+ (Apple menu, +About this Mac,+ then +More Info.+
Look in the sidebar for FireWire or USB (whichever it is), select it, and you'll see disk2s1 listed as BSD name.
Time Machine Buddy seems to freeze most of my other widgets (can't type in calculator, can't delete Time Machine Buddy). It doesn't seem to do anything either, It just sits there saying "Backup Status" and "Messages" but no messages, just "....".
That's not normal, if you've had a successful backup recently, or one currently in progress.
An earlier post had a similar problem, because somehow he didn't have permission to read his own system log. From the Finder menubar, select Go, then +Go to folder,+ then type /var/log
That should list, among other things, system.log Double-click it. If nothing shows in the center portion, post back and we'll fix it.
But your main problem is an unreliable drive.

Can somebody please please help me! External harddrive not readable due to dumb mistake!

What is quite possibly one of the dumbest decisions i ever made in my life, I disconnected my external harddrive from my imac & plugged it into a laptop that has Windows 7 to trasfer footage from there to my imac more quicker. I clciked an option that allowed me to assign a letter to it to it can be read by the laptop (however, I would of needed to format the harddrive which I thankfully didn't). Please understand that erasing the entire harddrive is NOT an option! I am a filmmaker & I have so many years of work on there, including videos, music, & documents.
When the computer starts up I get hit with "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"! I tried Disk Utiity & even though it recognizes the drive's existence, I cannot repair or mount...nor can I access any of the files! I also tried Diskwarrior & got "directory cannot be rebuilt, the file system is unsupported".
If theres anything you guys can do to help me, please do so. My life was on that harddrive & losing it would be the most devistating thing I could ever experience. A movie I finished not too long ago...is also on that harddrive. I'll send you a full video completely thanking you for your help!

Call a professional data recovery service such as DriveSavers. Their services are very expensive, but without backups, you have no choice but to pay whatever they ask.

External Disk Not Readable by OSX after Setting Drive Letter in Windows 7

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