External hard drive not visible in Finder, but is operating

iMac, 2 Gb RAM, Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
It has 4 external USB drives attached through a powered hub. All of a sudden, after about a year, one of them no longer shows up in ‘Finder’. However, all four drives have an icon on the desktop. The drive is visible and verifiable in ‘Disk Utility’. Double clicking the desktop icon opens the drive and I can copy a file from it. iTunes can see it. From a Macbook’s ‘Finder’, over WiFi, I can see and copy files to and from the drive. Finder Preferences shows nothing amiss. I’ve shut down and restarted the iMac several times with no change. The drive just does not show up in Finder on the host iMac.
Searching this forum has not helped. Any suggestions?
Max

Well, this is embarrassing. A suggestion from an older thread on Macrumors.com called "Hard Drive does not appear in Finder / Desktop", solved this problem. Simply drag the missing drive icon from the desktop to Finder! Perseverance and different search wording AND reading a lot of stuff pays off.
If other's problem is not solved with this fix, you might benefit from this 10.5-based thread. They also mention an Apple 10.5 fix. Both URL's below.
The op's problem was that the drive did not appear in Finder OR the desktop but was operational. There was a lot of in-depth information with this fix embedded.
Thanks for the interest and suggestions.
Max
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-209905.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25203?viewlocale=en_US

Similar Messages

  • External hard drive not visible in Finder or Disk Utility

    Hi everyone,
    My Wester Digital 2TB external hard drive has disappeared, so to speak, with all my photos. I work as a freelance photographer. Mostly on Lightroom 5.6
    When I plug it in, with firewire, I can feel the disk rotating normally however it does not appear in finder or disk utility.
    I've tried using a USB cable, restarting my mac, forced restart, changing firewire ports (HD has 2 ports), plugging the HD into a different laptop and nothing.
    Ive also searched Finder prefrences and visibility is enabled.
    I have no idea what could have caused this as I was using the HD the night before. I didnt pullout without properly ejecting. Maybe the HD is full or almost, but I dont think that would the cause of these troubles.
    I'm using a late 2011 Macbook Pro OS X 10.9.4
    Any suggestions??
    Thanx

    An update for anyone who can help me:
    I have tried the external hard drive in other computers (mac and windows), each time I get the same problem above.
    I have removed the HD from the enclosure and purchased a docking station for it (3.5" SATA). When I plug it in to the laptop it disconnects itself straight away before it is visible. With the windows computers it installs the drivers and says that the device is ready to use, then disconnects before it shows up.
    As the HD is not visible there is no option to re-format or anything.
    This is very frustrating as I was using the HD with no issues and it randomly disconnected and I have not been able to access since.
    Thanks in advance for any help.
    Bruce

  • External hard drive not visible on Mac Mini

    I just purchased a Mini with Lion.  The Seagate Freeagent external hard drive is visible from finder on the Mini but it is "read only" and it is not visible on the wireless network to my macbook.  How can I make the external hard drive read write and make it visible on the network?

    OS X can read an NTFS formatted drive, but not write to it.
    Sharing drives | Utilities - Page 1 | Macworld
    If you want to use the drive for sharing files between Window's and Mac's, then MS-DOS / FAT-32 works fine, except that it has a 4GB single file size limit.
    If you are going to use the drive exclusively with your Intel Mac's for sharing, backup and booting, then use GUID Partition Table / Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the Partition Scheme and Format.
    Format a Drive to Boot Intel Macs | Tips | The Mac Observer

  • External Hard Disk not accessible in Finder, but OK in Disk Utility

    My external hard drive suddenly disappeared from Finder, but is still there for the disk utility. I connected this Firewire drive to anouther Mac, and it couldn't find it either. I then copied a disk image of this external drive the system hard drive, and that disk image is also invisible. How do I get back my 89 gigabytes of data, which is still there? The disk needed no repairs, and my permissions on the system disk are OK.
    G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
    G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

    My external hard drive suddenly disappeared from
    Finder, but is still there for the disk utility. I
    connected this Firewire drive to anouther Mac, and it
    couldn't find it either. I then copied a disk image
    of this external drive the system hard drive, and
    that disk image is also invisible. How do I get back
    my 89 gigabytes of data, which is still there? The
    disk needed no repairs, and my permissions on the
    system disk are OK.
    G5  
    Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
    G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
    Well, I got the terminal utility to work alright, but the disk name, Extra 80 GB, which the program correctly lists, then won't work with the chown command. It picks up the Extra, then the 80, then the GB, and thinks they are all separate names, and then can't find any of them.
    I thought I was there .........

  • External hard drive not visible in disk utility or finder

    Hi all,
    I have had a good look through previous discussions and I can't seem to find an issue relevant to mine.
    My external hard drive has 2 partitions (1 time machine back up, 1 general hard drive). The issue is that the HD is running when it is plugged in however it is not visible in either disk utility or finder.
    I am running OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) on a 2010 MacBook Pro. I also have parallels desktop running windows 7. When I boot windows and plug in the HD I usually get the option to mount the HD to either OS X or Windows. With this issue the option window appears for a split second (not enough time to select either) and then disappears. It seems that the HD may be ejecting itself as soon as it is registered by the computer. I have tried using a different power cable for the HD and also a different usb cable, this doesn't help.
    The external HD is a Samsung D3 Station, which i have had for 6 months now and never had an issue with.
    Any help is appreciated
    Thanks,
    Bruce

    An update for anyone who can help me:
    I have tried the external hard drive in other computers (mac and windows), each time I get the same problem above.
    I have removed the HD from the enclosure and purchased a docking station for it (3.5" SATA). When I plug it in to the laptop it disconnects itself straight away before it is visible. With the windows computers it installs the drivers and says that the device is ready to use, then disconnects before it shows up.
    As the HD is not visible there is no option to re-format or anything.
    This is very frustrating as I was using the HD with no issues and it randomly disconnected and I have not been able to access since.
    Thanks in advance for any help.
    Bruce

  • External hard drive not visible in library. Same catalog, but none of my editing for these photos can be seen.

    I have always used the same external hard drive, and I have not created a new catalog. I plugged in my external hard drive today, my library does not show it. When I look for my external under 'folder' and try to 'ad'" a folder from that drive in attempts to find it, all of my editing work is no longer in the catalog. I deleted some of my older catalog backups earlier this week, which I do every few months, without an issue.

    Ya, that's what I thought, but I have always worked within one catalog (minus changing from LR4 to LR5) and these are the recent catalogs that show up, mainly because I was searching to see if I really was in a wrong catalog so I opened all the ones I could find. I deleted old backups last week, but I do that regularly. The only thing that has changed in this last week was upgrading to OS Yosemite, which I really don't think should matter.

  • External hard drive not recognized in Finder or Disk Utility

    Two weeks ago, my 2007 black Macbook stopped recognizing the hard drive. I was told by some IT friends that the controller had likely failed and I needed to purchase a new laptop. I removed the hard drive and placed it into an enclosure (turning it into an external hard drive) and hooked it up to a new Macbook Pro which I purchased a couple days ago. The external hard drive did not show up in Finder or Disk Utility but the light on the enclosure was on and it was making a very soft whirring noise and got warm after a few minutes. I usually backed up the hard drive but, of course, hadn't done it in a couple of weeks before it died so everything I worked on in that time is lost to me at the moment. I'm trying to avoid paying tons of money for a data recovery service so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

    That whirring noise might be due to physical damage on the disk. I know data recovery services are costly but that remains only the solution for damaged HDD. You can get latest quotes on services from different dealers. Proceed only when your data is very important to be recovered.

  • External Hard Drive not recognised on Intel but is on G4 iBook

    Suddenly yesterday my iMac 5,1 running 10.6.8 stopped seeing the Time Machine External Hard Drive. The warning was that it had been disconnected not ejected properly,which I wasn't aware of. I couldn't afterwards get my iMac 7,1 running 10.9.2 to recognise it either. I tried Disk Utility verifying and repairing on both computers. Wouldn't finish, said needed backing up and re-formatting. It wouldn't erase on either because it couldn't be unmounted when it wasn't showing as mounted in the first place. Most of the data were backed up elsewhere and there was a recently used Time Machine I could put in its place.
    Then I plugged it into my ancient G4 iBook running 10.4.11 and there it was on the screen with the contents accessible. I've tried verifying and repairing it there but either it's very slow or not really happening at all.
    So what's going on? Ideally I'd like to copy the contents over to another drive but will have to get one first, then reformat somehow. I can imagine my G4 iBook will struggle with that. I've reconnected to the iMac 5,1 but it's still not showing there.

    Well, this is embarrassing. A suggestion from an older thread on Macrumors.com called "Hard Drive does not appear in Finder / Desktop", solved this problem. Simply drag the missing drive icon from the desktop to Finder! Perseverance and different search wording AND reading a lot of stuff pays off.
    If other's problem is not solved with this fix, you might benefit from this 10.5-based thread. They also mention an Apple 10.5 fix. Both URL's below.
    The op's problem was that the drive did not appear in Finder OR the desktop but was operational. There was a lot of in-depth information with this fix embedded.
    Thanks for the interest and suggestions.
    Max
    http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-209905.html
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25203?viewlocale=en_US

  • External hard drive not visible, following Mavericks install

    I mac user for 2 years, have a Lacie 2big Thunderbolt external hard drive for my photo catalogue.
    Always connected but with the old operating system had to manually switch on and off with blue light button. fine.
    Upgraded to Maverick over the weekend, not the lacie drive switches on as soon as the mac powers up, blue light and noise from the drive.
    If I have shutdown the mac then when the start up occurs the lacie drive is seen and present in finder, fully functional.
    If the mac is switched on from sleep mode the lacie starts up noise and blue light showing, but it is not seen in finder or the disc utility programme.
    I then have to switch the drive off, (which it does not like, forced shutdown) and restart manually, then it is seen and works fully,
    Have switched off, unplugged, switched thunderbolt ports but no success.
    Is there a simple cure for this, setting in sleep mode etc...
    Regards Neil

    I would start by doing a SMC reset, could take 2-3 attempts. If those do not work then restart in Safe Mode and check and if that does not work try different cables.
    SMC reset: Shut down computer remove power cord from computer and wall for 15-20 seconds and restart normally.
    Safe Mode: Shut down computer and restart, when you hear the startup tone hold down the Shift key until a progress bar appears. Then restart normally

  • External hard drive not visible.

    When I plug in my external hard drive through a USB it doesn't show. I thought it was bad so bought a new one and it doesn't show up. Where can I find it?

    Hi Jonhnie on the spot
    *1. Check the System Profiler and Disk Utility to see if the External HD(s) are seen by the iMac*
    For System Profiler Go to: Apple > About This Mac > More Info... in Hardware select USB.
    For Disk Utility Go to: Applications > Utilities and open Disk Utility.
    *2. Check Finder Preference settings*
    With Finder on the Menu bar select Finder Preferences select the General tab and make sure that all the boxes are checked for Hard disk, External disk, etc. Then before you leave the Finder Preference panel select the Sidebar tab and make sure that all the boxes for Hard Disks, External Disks, etc. as well.
    *3. Then if your iMac still does not see the Drive(s)*
    Reset the iMac's System Management Controller > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1543
    and then restart resetting the PRAM and NVRAM > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
    *4. Test some other USB Device(s) on the same port(s) to see if they are working properly.*
    Example: Mouse, iPod, Flashdrive, Camera, etc..
    *5. Sorry, but I have to ask*
    You are connecting the External HD(s) up to a port on the back of the iMac, not the keyboard right!
    Let us know how it's going so far and will go from there.
    Dennis

  • External hard drive not visible on macbook

    Hi all
    I am brand new to the mac from windows, so far so good! However I have an external hard drive that I want to plug into my mac and back up onto. Problem is when I connect it it is not "seen" in the finder window. The drive is presently formatted as NFTS. I want to reformat it for mac but unable in the disk utility option as it can't see it! Covered the basics ie drive works and is powered as checked on the (ex) windows machine. I have tried reformatting it under windows, the only choice I have is to NFTS. Am I missing something glaringly obvious here. Am sure this may be the first of many posts.....!!
    Thanks in advance
    Ynot

    Hi! Is the drive a portable drive that doesn't have a separate power supply? If it's a portable put the drive up to your ear when you plug it in and see if it spins up or clicks. Inadequate usb power is often the problem. tom

  • URGENT!!! external hard drive not readable in Finder

    I have a G-Raid external hard drive. Yesterday I accidentally plugged out the cable while it was connected to the iMac. there was usual notice that "the disk was not ejected properly". What happens now is that whenever I plug it back via Firewire 800 it doesnt appear neither in Finder nor disk utility. But when I plug it vby USB 2.0 it works... help me what to do, I appreciate it
    Message was edited by: vladog

    Hi vladog
    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    You may have tripped the FireWire overload protection when you disconnect or reconnected the Drive.
    Eject and disconnect all peripheral devices FireWire and USB, then reset the iMac's SMC.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    +1. Shut down the computer.+
    +2. Unplug the computer's power cord.+
    +3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.+
    +4. Release the power button.+
    +5. Attach the computers power cable.+
    +6. Press the power button to turn on the computer.+
    Then test the G-Raid by reconnecting it to the FireWire port.
    Dennis

  • 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.

  • External Hard drive not showing on finder or desktop

    My hard drive is only a week old and was working fine until i plugged it in today. The hard drive light still lights up when plugged in and it works when i plug it into a tv and my roommates pc.
    However on my macbook the hard drive won't show up in finder or the desktop... it shows in disk utility but options to verify disk etc are 'greyed out' so i can't click on them. THere isn't anything wrong with the hard drive because as stated above it worked on other devices.
    Other usb and external hard drives are being recognosed fine and show up in finder. 
    Can anyone please help?

    Same problem here.  Sometimes drives disappear completely from the Finder sidebar.  Sometimes they just gray out.  Quick 'n' easy fix:  In Terminal, type:
    chflags nohidden /Volumes/MY_PARTITION
    (where MY_PARTITION is the name of the drive you can't find). 
    For the UNIX impaired, if there's a space in your drive name, you can use "\ " to represent the space (no quotes, just the backslash and the space).  So for example, Macintosh HD would be typed:
    Macintosh\ HD

  • External Hard Drive Not Found in Finder

    I have an Oxford 120gb external hard drive that I am using with my PPC iMac G5. It is connected via firewire. My computer is not showing the drive on my desktop like it normally does. I have tried using a different firewire cord, using a different firewire port, etc. After booting up the drive, System Profiler indicates that the drive is there. It gives me all the information about the drive. What could be causing this, and are there any possible solutions? It's freaking me out, because I haven't backed up our digital photos in probably 5 months or so! Any help is GREATLY appreciated!
    PS - I've tried restarting the drive and the computer/connectng the cord in every combination I can think of, still to no avail!

    The good news is that I think I'm narrowing down what my problem is. The bad news is that I've got a huge video project due next Sunday and I'm not able to transfer video from my Canon GL2 video camera to my computer!
    I am now putting it together that neither firewire port is working. The reason I say this is because I've tried my external HD in both ports, using two different firewire cords. AND I have tried capturing video to my computer using two different video cameras, and on both firewire ports.
    I've trashed the old quicktime receipts and installed the newest version. I'm on OSX 10.4.9. I've also done the "turn everything off, unplug everything, drink a guinness (or two), sit for 30 minutes, plug it back in, plug the power cord back in while simultaneously holding down the power button, then hitting the power button". Still nothing but the good old "maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec!"
    Here's what is odd. After trying the Guinness method once, it worked. So I was finally able to start capturing video. While capturing, I hit a break in the sequence, and this somehow kicked me back off the firewire port.
    My external drive is showing up in Disk Utility, and will now usually show up in system profiler, but only in profiler if the camera is not also plugged in the firewire.
    ALL that to say, even if this is something that can be fixed by Mac's repair program, I'm still screwed on my project. Any other ways I could at least get the video from my GL2 onto my computer? In crisis mode...
    Also, are there any details available online on how to open up an iMac to reset the SMU? Or perhaps a PRAM reset? I've never "been inside", but am more than willing to try if I had a proper walkthrough on how to do it (what to look for, etc.). I know the link in the response above talks about how to do it from outside of the Mac, but I've also heard talk of opening the case and looking for the logic board...

Maybe you are looking for

  • 15 in Macbook Pro with Retina

    I bought this computer for school thinking it would last me a good 5 years. Since I've started school, I have had very glitchy experiences with applications such as web browsing and word. I attached an example below. I try to type something, but some

  • File name with spaces

    Hi,   I am unable to upload files with file name having blank spaces to cFolders 4.0. Kindly help me to resolve this issue. Regards, Shynu John

  • EJB access from C++ client / Failover+LoadBalancing

    We are accessing an EJB from VisiBroker for C++. The EJB is deployed in a WLS cluster. Trying to achieve something like 'failover', we discovered that VisiBroker supports multiloc addresses, so we are able to start our client as follows: ./client -OR

  • Adobe Compatible Issue

    Hi All Actually we have installed SAP ADS 7.4 ON SAP NetWeaver 7.4 JAVA STACK HUB SYSTEM. In Front-end we have installed Adobe Livecycle Designer(ALD) 10.0. While Iam opening the form in SFP transaction it is very slow and before opening the layout t

  • Installing Workflow Builder

    Hi I am having problems locating the install files for Workflow Builder on windows. I understand it is part of the dbase client install however it doesnt seem to be available on OTN downloads for windows, can anyone point me in the right direction? T