External hard drive continually restarts my mac

I have a Mac mini running the latest version of OSX. Everything with the Mac is fine. It works perfectly.
Recently I had an issue with my email which led me to find out that I had two viruses on my computer. Fine. I downloaded a free Anti-Virus app that had found these and it was able to delete one of them. The one on my computer. Fine. The other was within the email back up within Time Machine. And this is where my troubles started.
First off Time Machine conveniently makes it impossible for Anti-Virus software to do its job of deleting a virus. OK, no problem. I decided I would manually delete the file. Could find it. So I decided to just delete all of the email back ups in Time Machine. I could see how this was done. Eventually out of frustration I decided to delete Time Machine completely as this would surely solve the problem.
The Time Machine file is kept on an external hard drive. An extremely important one that contains, separately all of my work and associated files (kept separately from Time Machine). So I opened up the hard drive, and put the Time Machine file into the trash. I then clicked on delete. The file wouldn't delete and the delete dialogue box hung, and then the system hung. So I pulled the mains cable from the Mac in order to switch it off.
The computer is fine. The operating system is fine. Everything works. However, the hard drive with partly deleted Time Machine file continually restarts my computer. I've run the D-key-on-start-up diagnostics and my computer is fine. I tried opening up Disk Utility and connecting the external drive, in the hope that it would be able to fix the problem. It doesn't. Or at least it doesn't get a chance because the computer restarts. And will continue to do so while that hard drive is connected to the computer.
Incidentally, having the external connected while attempting to run D-key-start-up diagnostics has the diagnostic software hang.
So I need help.
I've checked online and of course there's absolutely nothing (that I can find) to help me.
Incidentally, I tried connecting the external to a friend's PC. The drive is recognised, and by the sound of things is working perfectly. However because Time Machine requires a specific type of format to work the PC was unable to read the files. I was hoping to delete this destructive Time Machine file which has now proved more upsetting, more destructive and ultimately more trouble than the original virus that started this sorry mess.
Whoever is unfortunate enough to read this, thank you for your time, and I apologise if I come across as sarcastic or anti-Apple in any way.
Regards,
Ian

Already have. It's fine. As it alway has been, the start up disc is the main hard drive in the computer.
As I mentioned in my original message I was hoping that Disk Utility would be able to see the disc, find the problem and resolve it. I deeply regret formatting that disc for Time Machine now, as had I not done so (ignoring the fact I wouldn't have ever used that thing) I would have at least been able to connect to my friend's PC. I wonder if there's a clever application out there that will allow the hard drive to mount and not take down my computer to allow either the files to be removed and the disc reformatted, or actually be able to fix the problem. I'm genuinely shocked that a semi-deleted file can cause such a big problem.

Similar Messages

How can I use my external hard drive from PC to Mac without reformatting???

Ok, so I am computer illiterate. I have always used PC's and have just bought a MacBook. When I plug in my external hard drive into my new Mac, it says it needs to be reformatted to use with Mac, which would cause all data to be erased. Is there anyway to get around this?
Please help me!

OK... as Woggledog indicated, OS X cannot write to NTFS formatted drives. NTFS is a proprietary Microsoft format. Conversely, Windows can neither read nor write to an OS X formatted drive.
Both Windows and OS X can read and write to FAT32 (this is a fairly old format). The down side to FAT32 is that the largest file you can work with is 4GB. That is probably fine for most people... but if you're working with large files (videos, virtual drive images, large backup files, etc...) FAT32 is not suitable. There are applications that you can purchase for both Macs and Windows machines that will allow them to read and write to the other format.
An immediate option provided you have the space on either your PC or Mac is to create a folder on either machine and move everything from your external drive into that folder. Then you can format the drive to FAT32 and then copy everything back over to the external drive (and delete it from your Mac or PC's internal drive). It might take some time depending on how much data you have... but you'll only have to do it once... and this is assuming you have enough space on one of you machines to copy the data from your external drive.

I am not much of a computer technician. I bought a time capsule thinking I could use this for an external hard drive and keep my MAC hard drive free. Was I mistaken? One I back everthing up on the TC, can I delete everything off of my MAC?

I am not much of a computer technician. I bought a time capsule thinking I could use this for an external hard drive and keep my MAC hard drive free. Was I mistaken? Once I back everything up on the TC, can I delete everything off of my MAC and then use my TC as my hard drive??

Once I back everything up on the TC, can I delete everything off of my MAC and then use my TC as my hard drive??
TC was designed to backup your Mac. The TC literature is pretty clear about this:
If your Mac's hard drive has a problem....it will sooner or later....you can use your backup on the TC to rebuild your Mac.
But.....if you move all of your data to the TC from your Mac....you only have one version of that data now, and it is on the TC.
Have you thought about what will happen when....not if....the TC has a problem? Since the only version of your important data was on the TC, and the TC has failed......you lose all of your data.....because you have no backup.
A much better plan would be to add a USB or FireWire hard drive and connect it directly to your Mac. Move the data on your Mac over to the hard drive.
Then, the TC will backup both your Mac and the hard drive. So, you have original data on on one drive and backups on another drive.
That would be a minimum backup plan. Most of us have more than one set of backups.

If I have to format an external hard drive to make it Mac compatible, will it delete all the content in the external hard drive?

If I have to format an external hard drive to make it Mac compatible, will it delete all the content in the external hard drive?

As others have said, the answer to your question is a big YES. Formatting a drive will delete everything!
To keep your data, yet reformat the drive for optimal Mac compatibility, you will need to:
1) copy your files to a different hard drive (I would recommend two different locations if you value your data)
2) repartition/format the external drive
3) then copy the files back to the external.
You haven't given details but if you need the external to ONLY be compatible with the Mac (and no longer care if if can be read by Windows), then you will want to partition the drive using the GUID partition scheme, and format as the (HFS+) "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" filesystem. You can do so using the built-in "Disk Utility" application on your Mac (in the Applications/Utilities directory). Here are instructions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph5845
If you need the drive to be compatible with both Mac and Windows computers then please post that so someone can recommend a solution for your specific needs.

Viewing External Hard Drives on both PC Mac and in Parallels.

If someone could give me a clear answer on how to use an external hard drive b/w my Mac, Parallels and my work computer (PC) that would be most helpful.
I bought a external hard drive overseas and was having no problems with it on a PC but when i bought this Mac Book Pro i could only view and retrieve data and not write to it. I then partitioned it in the disk utility (master boot record) and am now unable to see the drive on a PC where all my files are, but it works perfect with the Mac.
I figured it was my dodgy hard drive from indonesia so i just bought a LaCie and i can't see it in the Parallels where i need to use a PC program even when i disconnect and connect when parallels are loaded. I haven't tried it on my work PC yet.
Is it possible to use a EHD between all 3 (Mac, Parallels and a PC)? if so how? and if not what are my options to maximizing the ability to access data on all three?
Thanks would appreciate any insight.
Mac Book Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
the reason why your MBP could not write to the HD was, because it was most likely formated using NTFS as file system, which OSX can read from, but not write to.
The best file system for all three is FAT32, which is read- and writeable for all three.
Two problems with FAT32:
1. single files can not be bigger in size as 4GB
2. Windows can not format partitions with FAT32, that are bigger than 32GB.
The first limitation can not be overcome with FAT32.
The second can be overcome, when using Disc Utility from OSX with MBR as partititon scheme and MS-DOS (OSX name for FAT) as file system.
Or you can use command-line program to do this with your PC: http://www.heise.de/software/download/h2format/40825
(Sorry, link is in german).
That way all three should be able to see and use the external HD.
Although it is a fact that Parallels can be picky sometimes with USB-connected drives, but with the newer versions of it, this problem has become less evident.
And since up to now Parallels does not support FireWire, you must USB with it.
Regards
Stefan

Hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive?

hey, can i clone my Macbook Pro internal hard drive and then paste it all onto a formated external hard drive, then make the Mac use the external as the primary hard drive? please help for i only have around 618mb left out of 189GB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If what doesn't work?
If cloning your internal drive to the external drive is not successful, I expect CCC will tell you so. Assuming that doesn't happen, you will have a bootable replica of the internal drive on the external drive once CCC has finished.
You can then do any of several things:
1. Replace your internal drive with a much larger one (320GB or 500GB, or even larger), and clone the external drive's contents onto the new drive so you'll have all your data in one place. Note that if you do this, you'll also need to buy an external drive that's large enough to back the new internal drive up on.
2. Boot from the external drive as a temporary measure while you clear at least 30-40GB of data off the internal drive, allowing you to keep using it and saving small amounts of data to it. The external drive will then contain the only copies of the files you've deleted from the internal drive, so you'll need a seond external drive large enough to back both the other drives up on.
If you can't comfortably clear a minimum of 30GB off the internal drive, you really need a larger internal drive right now, and you shouldn't bother fooling around with the inadequate one you have — you'll just quickly overfill it again.
3. Replace the optical drive in your MBP with a large conventional hard drive, giving you two hard drives inside the machine. You will then need one or more external drives large enough to back up both of the internal drives.
If you sense a theme here — back up, back up, back up — you are correct. It's flat-out foolhardy to own or use a computer without maintaining complete, up-to-date backups of everything at all times.

TS1550 Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless Apple external back up disk? How can I see what folders have been actually stored in the wireless back up disk?

Do external hard drives mounted on my Mac get backed up by time machine on a time capsule wireless apple external hard disk? How can I see what folders have been actually backed up in the external wireless disk? any help would be appreciated

They can provided you remove them from the Exclude list. Normally, Time Machine does not automatically backup external drives.

I'm attempting to transfer files, address book, etc from an external hard drive to my new Mac-mini using migration assistant. The external drive is showing up on my desktop but Migration Assistant is not seeing the drive when searching for devices

I'm attempting to migrate files, address book, maile, etc to my new Mac Mini using an external hard drive and Migration assistant. I followed the instructions on using Migration Assistant to do this but Migration Assistant is not seeing the external drive, which is displayed on my desktop

I've been chasing this problem all afternoon. I had to reformat my internal drive on my MBP and reinstall Mountain Lion Start up assistant wouldn't see my extrnal drive with the Time Machine files on it. After many tries, I skipped the restore there and let the system boot. I could see my external drive from Finder and the files looked OK. I was told to use Migration Assistant and it had the same problem.
I saw a hint on one of these posts that the icon that you see and is label Macintosh HD is actually your backup disk and it is telling you that it has a copy of your internal Macintosh HD. I went ahead and told it to continue and it started to restore my apps, settings, and documents. It's been going for a couple of hours, and is close to being done. I expect to see my old system restored when it is finished.
Wish that Apple would put some type of note that it is seeing the backup. That is most confusing and seems to be a problem for lots of users.
It's been a month or so since your post Did your get it to work?

Seagate external hard drive not connecting to Mac

I plug in a Seagate GoFlex 500GB external hard drive into my PowerBook (specs at bottom of post). I go into Disk Utility to try to resize one of my partitions so I can back my Mac up. I click the final "Continue" button, and a few seconds later I get an error saying that the partition was not completed correctly and that the drive was removed. It was not. It shut itself off briefly (less than a second because I saw the light (normally always on) go out and come back on)!
I disconnect my hard drive and plug it into a PC. I pull up Disk Management (Windows equivalent of DU) and I try to resize the volume. Not possible. Okay. But they both are read and I could open each one's folder. So I plug it into my Mac again and after several seconds of it not showing up, I hold it to my ear. First, it spins up. It clicks the whole time. Next, it gradually spins down while making four whines/beeps (inaudible unless you are holding the unit up to your ear), each seperated by 3/4 of a second. Then it spins up again and repeats. I now plug in another 640GB unit and it clicks rapidly (inaudible unless held to ear). Both drives are then plugged into the PC. In Disk Management they show up. I format one of the volumes on the 500GB drive (I realized I did not need the data) and I removed the volume's drive letter. But the drives do not show up on my Mac anymore. (The 500GB model used to!!!!!)
One drive had a USB 3.0 adapter. One had a 2.0 adapter. I swap around the adapters and I achieve the same result. BTW, I also have a keyboard in the other USB port. It was there from the start.
The 500GB drive is NOT corrupted. In fact, I used to use it for Time Machine. My TM data is still on that drive and I dare not erase it. The drive is not powered by an AC adapter, either.
I don't want to go out and get another hard drive because I'm looking to sell my PB.
What went wrong? How come it no longer connects? I can't have killed the drive becuase it reads on a PC.

Solved the problem.
First of all, it seemed that it would not connect the second time because I plugged in the drive to the USB port on the RIGHT side of the keyboard. It worked fine on the LEFT side USB port. Huh?
Second of all, it shut off because of an issue with there not being enough power. (thanks a brody, the computer was underpowered, see below)
My solution: My father had a card that you could put in a PC card slot that provided two more USB ports and a port for an AC power adapter. I couldn't find the adapter cord (it was DC-to-USB, likely not enough power) but I plugged in a Palm Pilot wall plug (making it the equivalent of a powered hub, thanks a brody again for the underpowered system solution) and it backed up like a charm.
Thank you all for all your help!!!

Lacie External Hard Drive not recognized on Mac but recognized on PC

I just got both a MacBook Pro and a LaCie 1TB Rugged Safe External Hard Drive just a few days ago. I just plugged in my external and I installed the needed software from the drive, restarted and the drive wasn't found in LaCie Safe Manager. I tried restarting the computer without the drive plugged in, with Firewire and USB, and then I even tried it on my PC -- which it worked on there. I was able to make an account onto the drive and put my finger prints and everything on the drive, but when I came back to the Mac it didn't work at all.
I can't say it's the drive itself because it worked on the PC. I don't Tried the Disk Utility and it's showing "999.91 GB LaCie" and then "NO NAME" under it, but tabed over.
And help/suggestions?

Thanks for the ideas, JaEvo and Paul Cuciti.
EDIT: I tried this, http://vimeo.com/7539772. I did this on the Mac but I still don't have anything. I tried both USB and Firewire. I have power to the drive because, after I swipe my fingerprint, the red blinking light turns steady green. Also, I don't know if Macs make a sound when something is connected to the computer, kinda like a PC, but mine doesn't make a noise when I connect in the drive -- I don't know if that'll help anything or not.

Formatted external hard drive from PC to Mac - Data Recovery Needed

I formatted an external hard drive configured to (PC) for a Mac.
I clicked erase data by accident during the process of formatting -- My old files are no longer there now.
Is there a way to recover the old files that I had on there before the reformat?
Someone please say yes and tell me it's possible......

Not very likely.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

I transferred data from my external hard drive to my restored Mac Book Pro via migration assistant and now my external hard drive in time capsule has red minus signs. How do I get rid of that without getting rid of any of my data?

I used Migration Assistant to transfer my data from my external hard drive via Time Capsule to my restored Mac Book Pro. When I now go into Time Capsule I there are red minus signs in the corner of all the folders that are contained in my back up. How do I get rid of this and access my previous back-ups?

Select the drive and Finder > Get info and at the bottom "ignore permissions on this volume"
You can copy the files, but the ownership on the files still belongs to the other user account, once your done copying, then perform a #6 Reset Users Permissions and that will set all the ownership to that account.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Another method is to copy the entire folder, then change it's permissions.

I Tunes from External Hard Drive to new i- Mac

I have just purchased a new Apple i-mac.
I have used i Tunes for a number of years, but before upgrading, I copied my i-tunes library from my old Windows XP computer to an external hard drive.
Is it possible to install my old i-tunes library on my new i-mac ?

Welcome to the forums SteadyOn
Two articles that should help you :
http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/geek-to-live--how-to-move-an-itunes-librar y-from-a-pc-to-mac-and-back-242468.php
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive
If you have more questions after reading those, come back and ask.

How can I backup an external hard drive connected to my mac with time capsule?

The hard drive on my IMac is 500GBytes. It is just about full. I have purchased an additional drive to attach to it permanently through the Firewire 800 interface. My plan is to move my photographs and iTunes to the attached drive. I currently use 2TB time capsule to backup my hard drive. Can I get time capsule to back up the external hard drive as well?
Thanks,
Herb

Can I get time capsule to back up the external hard drive as well?
I assume that you are asking about Time Machine backups to the Time Capsule here, correct?
Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock)
Open Time Machine
Click Options
Here, you will see list of items that are excluded from backups. By default, the hard drive attached to your Mac will appear here.
Click on the name of the hard drive to highlight it
Click the - (minus) button to remove the drive from the list of items that are excluded from backups
Now, the drive will be backed up along with your Mac on the next pass that Time Machine makes, and any changes that you make to the hard drive will be backed up as well in the future.

How can I partition my external hard drive into NTFC and Mac OS Extended Journaled?

I brought a 1tb external hard drive from Western Digital. It currently have one partition which is Mac OS X (Journaled). I want to have two partition, one Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and one NTFC for Windows. When I try to choose 2 partition and choose a partition type, I only get the following choices:
1. Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)
2. Mac OS X Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled)
3. MS-DOS (FAT)
4. ExFAT
5. Free Space
I don't want to use MS-DOS (FAT) because I am limited to only 32gb of space and I need plenty of space for Windows files.

Assuming that entire drive is GUID and you keep the existing journaled partition.
Make a second partition that is exFAT (more storage ability than FAT) using DU.
Then mount the drive on a Windows 7 and reformat that exFAT as NTFS. But remember that Mac can read and write exFAT natively, but cannot write NTFS without special software. Perhaps exFAT is what you want.
But more the the point: is the journaled partition used as a backup device? If it is, I would leave that drive alone as a backup drive and use a second device for "data only" sharing between types.

External hard drive continually restarts my mac

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for