External hard drive isn't shown on desktop anymore

Hello!
I've got a problem with my external hard drive... I'm using a *G4 iMac* and an *external hard drive* by "iomega".
Today my computer crashed down and I had to relaunch it without having a chance to eject the external hard drive before.
When I get to my desktop again the hard drive wasn't there anymore. I turned the hard drive off ( it was turned on while relaunching the computer) and on again but it didn't work.
The hard drive is shown in the hard drive utility but I can't neither repair nor check it because all the buttons are "greyed out". And when I try to eject it with the utility, it says "Hard drive can't be ejected - Try to switch off all running programs". But I have no access to the hard drive to do so!
I also tried to attach the hard drive to another computer (this time I turned the hard drive off before!) but there's the same problem!
I need the data on it!
Is there any possibility to solve my problem without losing my data???
Thanks a lot in advance!!!
elbin_24

oh, already solved!
After the thousandth relaunch of the hard drive it is working now and it is shown on my desktop as it should be!!!
I'm sorry for causing this trouble here in the forum! Excuse me, please!!!!
elbin_24

Similar Messages

  • External Hard Drive Doesn't Mount on Desktop through FireWire 400

    I have an external hard drive that mounts on the desktop when connecting to my iMac via USB, but it fails to appear on the desktop when connecting via FireWire 400. It was glitchy in Tiger as well, and had problems since installing Leopard. I was able to get it to work once, after using Leopard Cache Cleaner (a 3rd party program), disconnecting the hard drive, and unplugging the iMac. I moved my computer this week, and had to unplug it and when I powered it back up, the hard drive doesn't appear on the desktop again through FireWire 400 (still works fine with USB). It also doesn't appear in Disk Utility through FireWire.
    What good are FireWire if they fail to recognize a hard drive so often?!

    upgrade to latest system, that computer will accept, then try again

  • I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up.  I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore.  How do I do a new full backup?

    I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up. 
    I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore.  How do I do a new full backup?
    When I bought the new (used) iMac, I also bought an external hard drive for backups.  It worked fine, but my husband stole it.
    Then I bought a new external hard drive (Seagate) and it worked fine for three weeks, then died.
    So I just got a new external hard drive, which was put together from an internal hard drive and a hard drive enclosure. 
    Time machine did the first backup today, and it should have taken 9 hours like it did on the previous first time full back up.  Instead, it took 30 minutes.  That can't be right.  I want to start over and do a full backup to make sure everything gets onto my new external hard drive, but I can't figure out how to do that.  Please help.

    Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
    tmutil compare -E
    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (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 (command-V).
    The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.
    Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
    Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
    Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
    At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
    Added:
    Removed:
    Changed:
    These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

  • HT2518 my external hard drive isn't showing up on my Mac desktop.  Does the external hard drive need to be an apple one?

    I have recently bought a Mac Book Pro and I am trying to transfer my files from my old PC to the new Mac.  I have put my files onto an external hard drive but when I plug it into my Mac is doesnt show on the desktop? 

    Check the settings in the General tab of the Finder's preferences.
    (66178)

  • External hard drive isn't visible, won't mount

    Hi,
    I have a WD MyBook external hard drive that is not working correctly with any mac. It randomly stopped showing up on the desktop or in the finder. I don't move it around at all, so I have no idea what the origin of the problem is. I have tried plugging it into a black Macbook, white Macbook and Macbook Pro with the same results. It shows up in both the System Profiler and Disk Utilities. In the System Profiler, I can get information on the drive. The only thing I see of note is that there isn't a mount point. In disk utilities the hard drive is gray. When I click on it to repair it, I can only repair or verify the disk. When I do that, it tells me that the drive "appears to be okay". I try to mount it and it tells me it cannot be mounted and to try running first aid. I also can't eject it.
    I'm at a loss at this point. Is there something else I can try?
    Thanks in advance for any suggestions and sorry for the long post!

    Had the exact same problem yesterday and wanted to share how I solved it. It first happened a couple months ago. Would not mount on my Mac Pro, but it did show up when I connected it to my laptop. I solved it by just shutting off the Mac Pro, unplugging it even, and unplugging everything from the My Book drive. I let it sit for 3 hours. Started the Mac Pro up, then put FW cord into My Book, then into Mac Pro, then connected the power cord for the My Book. That worked. For some reason.
    But I tried that again when My Book Pro Edition disappeared yesterday (could see it grayed out in Disk Utility, but it would not mount) and nothing would bring it back. After looking through the Western Digital site, I figured it had something to do with the partition being bad. I thought I'd have to buy Stellar Phoenix data recovery software, which might have recovered my data. But first I went out and bought Disk Warrior. Disk Warrior fixed it! I'm back up and running.
    My theory on why My Book Pro Edition had problems this second time. To save my on my electric bill I write this during the recession), every night after I shut down the Mac Pro, I also turn off the power strip. Cutting the cost of "vampire" electricity, as they say. Now I see I wasn't shutting down the My Book properly... you need to follow the Safe Shutdown instructions -- pressing Power Button once. Although I also have the My Book Studio connected which hasn't been affected by my turning off the power strip as it seem to shut off by itself when the Mac Pro is shut down. I think improperly shutting down the My Book Pro every night is likely the reason Disk Warrior diagnosed the problem as a "severely damaged directory."

  • External Hard Drive won't mount on desktop!

    Hey, guys.
    I ran into a problem this morning that I've never ran into before and I wasn't sure where to write it but I thought this is best.
    Here it goes...
    Last night I had a power surge and when I restarted my computer, my external hard drive did not mount on my desktop. I than proceeded with restarting my computer, I relinked all my connections and I cant seem to get it fixed. I have a lot of material on my external drive that I dont have backed up (I know, a stupid move) anyways, I dont want to lose that information. Also, when I open up disk utility, the icon for my external drive is there and the partition I made for my external drive shows up also but the title of my partition for my external hard drive is not in bolded font. I tried to click the button to mount my external drive cause the specs tell me that it is not mounted but when I press the mount button, it does nothing. I than tried clicking the unmount button and than restart my computer and still nothing.
    What problem am I facing and how can it be fixed?
    Thanks.

    Dear Jason,
    Gary's advised is, IMHO, a very sound one.
    The only thing I can think of about your problem, given the information you have provided us, is to run Disk Warrior on your external HD.
    In fact, DW is particularly indicated in events, like:
    "...you should run DiskWarrior when you suspect that there is directory damage on one of your disks. Directory damage can result in the disk not mounting (not appearing on the desktop when the computer is started), missing files or folders, an inability to move or copy files, or crashes when files are used...".
    You could actually buy your copy of DW Licence on-line and download it directly onto your internal HD, starting from this "Information you must read before you make your purchase" page. A hardware copy of the software you have so purchased, will follow by postal service (or currier, if so you choose), shortly.
    Follow all the instructions you will find in the download to install the DW software onto your main internal HD and then run it on your external hard drive.
    DW has saved my data several times and in similar situations as you are experiencing. IMHO, you should seriously give it a try and, even in the unfortunate event it does not manage to solve your problem, it is one of those Mac OSX utilities which ANY Mac power user MUST have handy at all times.
    So, no matter what, my opinion is that it is always well-spent-money those used to purchase your copy of DW: in the long run, you won't regret it.
    In the event that even DW is unable to retrive your precious data, my suggestion is to contact Micro Com data recovery. It's going to cost you some money, but if you make a leaving out of the data you've lost on your external hard drive, it's going to be worth it.
    All the best.
    Costa

  • External Hard Drive No Longer on my Desktop

    The external hard drive that I use for Time Machine is no longer on my desktop. In fact, when I open up the Time Machine preferences, it does not show my external drive as available. There is power available to the external hard drive AND it is physically connect to my iMac. What seems to be the problem? How do I get my computer to "see" the external drive again? Thanks!

    Excellent! Glad it worked. I suspect Time Machine automatically ejected the drive after it finished the backup. If this is, indeed, what's happening and you'd like to prevent in the future, you might consider partitioning the external HDD in two so that Time Machine only ejects a partition, not the whole drive.

  • External Hard Drive Doesn't Appear on Desktop / Won't Mount

    I have an external hard drive that is used as a server for 3 computers . . . it is hidden from the Desktop.
    The "home" computer is running 10.8.5, and the others (which also have the hard drive hidden) run 10.9.5 & 10.10.1.
    I can access the drive by going to Go > Recent Folders, and also from aliases to the drive I already have on my Desktop.
    The drive shows up on Disk Utility, and was fine when I verified the disk.
    I also reset the SMC and PRAM, with no affect on the hidden folder.
    The Thunderbolt connectors and Firewire 800 converters all seem to be in working order.
    I've seen some fixes out there for the same problem with users running OS X 10.9.3. They've used a Terminal command to reveal the hidden files. Am not sure if the code for 10.9.3 will work for my 10.8.5.
    Someone, please help!

    upgrade to latest system, that computer will accept, then try again

  • External Hard Drive isn't being found in Time Machine. Cant back up my mac.

    Just bought a samsung 500gb external hard drive because I need to backup my mac to do a full system reboot because it is completely messed up after downloading the new yosemite update.
    But when I go to time machine it isn't offered as an option for a backup disk. I go to disk utility and I can't reformat the hard drive from MS-DOS (FAT) to Mac OS extended (Journaled). I try to change it and it reverts back straight away and I can't change the name of my hard drive. I don't understand what I have to do, i'm currently in safe boot because my laptop runs too slow in normal mode.
    Any help would be great.

    Select the icon of the drive you want to partition—not any of the volume icons below it—in the Disk Utility window. Select the Partition tab.
    From the Partition Layout menu in the window, select One Partition.
    From the Format menu, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
    Click the Options button and select GUID Partition Table.
    Click the Apply button and confirm when prompted.

  • External Hard Drive icon not working on desktop

    My "MAC HD" and an external hard drive I have called "Music" show up on the desktop, but are not clickable.
    I cannot move them, open them, or select them in any way.
    Also, if I now drop documents onto my desktop, they show up in the finder on my desktop, but not actually on the desktop itself.
    Can anyone help ? This happens regularly. My only solution thus far has been to restart.
    I don;t want to keep restarting. I would like to know what the problem is and how to solve it permanently.

    No.  I just checked and it's not there. . .
    BTW, Thanks for your quick response!!!!
    The circle blue light rings are illuminated on on the front of the Western Digital External but interestingly enough, the inner ring which is usually as bright as the outer ring is dimmer?  Not sure what that's indicating.  Maybe it's just reflective to the point that it's no connected to the eMac current;y. . .

  • How can Time Machine backup automatically when your external hard drive isn't connected?

    Everywhere I search, it says that Time Machine will automatically backup every 24 hours and so on.
    However, I was wondering - how can these automatic backups take place if you are backing up to an external hard drive which is not always connected?
    Is this to say that if you do not connect your external hard drive for a day, no backups will be done that day?
    Thank you

    If the drive is not connected then TM pauses until the drive becomes available. Yes, if the drive isn't connected then there are no backups.
    A  whole  lot  about  Time  Machine for help with TM problems.  Also you can select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "time machine" to locate articles on how to use TM.  See also Mac 101- Time Machine.

  • My external hard-drive isn't appearing on my laptop?

    Both the laptop and hard-drive are new and had worked previously. I was using it as my external back-up and was working fine as my time machine. But now it isn't appearing at all on the computer anywhere. The hard-drive is still working, that is the light is on, it is making noise like it normally would, and when plugged into another mac it shows up fine, it's just my laptop? Can anyone help? Thanks!!

    swryker  
       The point is that the HD is working with another computer,
    That doesnt mean anything actually, seen that often, read the link above, ....
    Your dead external hard drive is likely fine! Great hope for your 'faulty' external HD
    People logically often think thats the case, but when a SATA card fails, it often, due to power faults will work on another notebook USB port and not on another.
    last test, verify that another HD wont connect to your USB ports on your Air.
    .......if it does, its a bad SATA card on the HD.

  • External hard drive isn't indexing in spotlight

    I have a 320gb Seagate external hard drive attached to my MacBook by usb. The drive works fine, but files on the drive don't show up in spotlight searches. Essentially, I can't search for files on this drive. I have tried adding it as private in the spotlight settings and then deleting it, but that didn't force it to be indexed.
    According to disk utility, the drive is formatted as: +Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)+
    Does anyone know how to include this drive in spotlight searches or why it isn't thus far?
    Thanks!

    Select the icon of the drive you want to partition—not any of the volume icons below it—in the Disk Utility window. Select the Partition tab.
    From the Partition Layout menu in the window, select One Partition.
    From the Format menu, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
    Click the Options button and select GUID Partition Table.
    Click the Apply button and confirm when prompted.

  • External Hard Drive not appearing on my desktop...

    I am encountering a major problem with my Maxtor external hard drive. I have had the drive a few weeks, and everything has been sweet, swwet enough for me to trust it enough to back up 10 years of professional work and irreplacable photos. Today however it has decided to not show up on my desktop, and instead give me the option of initialising it, ejecting it and ignoring because 'my computer can not read it'!!!
    I have tried disk utility but get get end of messages and am unable to repair the disk eeven though it says it needs fixing.
    My next step has been to download TechTool, which seems to be sticking a 3rd of the way through a disk surface test?
    I am pretty desperate as I REALLY don't want to loose what I have on it, so any light anybody can shed would be HUGELY appreciately.
    Thanks in advance
    s

    Some people recommend erasing a drive (write zeros) before using which may pick up and mapout most bad blocks. Then benchmark the drive over various areas with something like intech speedtools QuickBench 3 and Zone Bench.
    I like to load some test data to fill the drive to 90% and then erase and start using. but always keep two backups, one of which is off-line so if something happens you still have the alternate, as a minimum.
    Are you using TTPro 4.12? there were problems with earlier versions and FW, and, FW is not immune from problems itself, as each OS X upgrade has attested, and updates to Oxford 911/912/922 chipset.
    Also, you would not be alone in having trouble with Maxtor One-Touch. A search on http://www.macintouch.com for one, yields some hits. Another good place to look would be
    http://www.xlr8yourmac.com
    you can also good for Diamond Max 10/11 or Maxline III.
    While you can access the data, backup. Maybe look into external SATA, or build your own FW800 912/922/924 drive and case.
    I'm no longer a big fan of 3rd party tools, but Disk Warrior is good to have on hand.
    And never, ever, fill a drive beyond 80-85%. After 75% you start to lose performance and high fragmentation can be a problem.

  • External Hard Drive/Not Showing Up on Desktop

    I have a G4, running OS X 10.2.8 and recently my kids deleted some important data. So--we bought an external hard drive (WD MyBook 160 GB Essential Edition, which says on the box that it runs 10.2.8 and higher).
    We took the external hard drive and the computer to a reputable repair place, the guy there took the hard drive out and using a G6 system, restored what he could to the external hard drive.
    We bring it home, plug it in, and the computer is not reading the new external hard drive. I did check in disk utility, and it shows up as a greyed out item on the disk utility.
    The external hard drive does show up when hooked up to my husband's office PC.
    Any ideas as to why this is happening and how to correct it?
    Thanks, Ruth

    OK, I figured it out (in case anyone else needs to know) with this information from the Western Digital site:
    Macintosh Operating System 10.3.x or earlier will only recognize FAT32 partitions that are smaller than 128-gigabytes. Multiple FAT32 partitions smaller than 128-gigabytes will need to be created in order for Macintosh Operating System 10.3.x or earlier to recognize the partitions. You will need to use a Windows based computer to create FAT32 partitions, as Macintosh does not have the ability to create them.
    Macintosh Operating System 10.4.x or later can recognize FAT32 partitions over 128-gigabytes.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Problem printing / connecting with HP Officejet J6410

    My MacBook Pro can see the HP OfficeJet 6410 through the wireless connection, but can it print to it?  Well yes eventually or with some coaxing. If the printer is already turned on before starting my Mac, then print from Mac the print outs will sit o

  • One blank line

    Hi there, I have written a package which exports some lines into a .dat file. The below does the output. the file exported is correct and has got all the information except for the fact that the first line starts from row number 2 in the file: i.e. t

  • The little things that make you go "grrr"

    What minor issues get on your nerves? Perhaps we can all help each other out by airing our grievances. For me the main thing has got to be that every update of firefox is slower and more leaky than the one before it. It used to be fast and smooth, no

  • Placing a multi-page Excel document

    I have a 103 page Excel document that I want to place into an InDesign document.  Is there a way to place all 103 pages automatically without having to move the place cursor 103 times for each successive page?  I tried saving the Excel doc as a "more

  • Missing messages or warning in Monitor

    Hi, I am doing delta initilation from R/3 . In monitor the respective Request is turned into yellow. In the detail tab i found something wrong under 'processing' of a specific datapackage. In this step,upto update rules is OK,The remaining things( Up