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

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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 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

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?

Replacement hard drive not recognized in mac mini

Hi folks,
I have an issue similar to several threads that were active during 2007 and 2008, but the information and answers given then do not solve my problem.
The original 80 GB Hitachi drive in a 1.5 Mhz PPC failed. I replaced it with a Western Digital PATA 320 GB ide drive and reassembled the Mac Mini.
The original Apple OS X was put in the optical drive and the computer was started with the "c" button pressed when powered on, but repeatedly the disk was ejected after a short time. Since the mac mini does not boot from the proper install cd, I cannot use disk utilities to partition and format the WD drive per the other thread messages.
The WD drive is not formatted for Apple yet. I connected the headless mac mini to an older ibook with a firewire cord and I attempted to boot the mac mini in target disk mode. The ibook never mounted the mac mini as an external drive, an icon did not appear on the desktop, and running disk utilities on the ibook did not recognize the mac mini connected by firewire as a mounted drive. I mounted an Acom hard drive connected by fire wire as a test of the ports and wires and that device was recognized in disk utilities and an icon for it was seen on the desktop.
Back to the issue at hand. What else can I do to partition and format a new hard drive installed in an older mac mini where 1) the install disk is kicked out of the optical drive and 2) the unformatted drive cannot be accessed via target disk mode from an ibook?
Is 320 GB incompatible with a PPC mac Mini?
Thanks in advance for offers of help and correct answers.
Mich

Hi Mich,
the older PPC computers are usualy limited to 128Gb max. HD size.
You need something like this:
"MacOS X 10.4.x and Earlier Hi-Cap Installer.app"
Its available for $25 here:
http://www.intechusa.com/

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.

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!!!

When I plug a LaCie external hard drive into my new Mac mini, [os 10.9.1], to use with Time Machine it effects the performance of my internet and email. Turn off Time Machine and unplug the hard drive and the internet and email are working normally again

When I plug a LaCie external hard drive to work with Time Machine into my new Mac mini, [OS 10.9.1] it drastically effects the performance of the internet and email, turn off Time Machine, unplug the hard drive, internet and email go back to normal. Why?

Maybe:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/usb-3.0-hard-drives-can-cause-wi-fi-inter ference

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

External hard drive NOT mounting to mac

I have never had problems with my external hard drive (I just bought it a few months ago), but suddenly it is not mounting on the iMacs at my work or my Macbook pro at home. The drive does NOT show up in Disc Utility, but when the drive is connected via USB, the light on the drive comes on and it is clearly operating. It will not mount on any mac product all of a sudden. I have no idea why this is happening someone PLEASE HELP thanks

you have a MacBook Pro, we are Mac Pro users.
It uses bus-power? has its own power brick?
Formatted for Mac (HFS)? Used on PC Windows and Mac?
Do you have it backed up?
Has there been an inadvertent outage or crash?
MacBook Pro

Lacie firewire 800 external hard drive not mounting in mac os 10.4.8

I have a pm g5 Dual 2ghz system ,i have connected an firewire 800 lacie 1tb external hard drive to the system,now the problem is it is not mounting on the desktop shows in the diskutility repaired the disk say's disk volume ok any way to mount the external hd on the desktop

Hi Veena, Welcome to Apple Discussions.
And you've tried choosing the volume and pressing the "Mount " icon on the tool bar of Disk Utility?
Have you shut down your Mac and disconnected your firewire cable from both ends and let it sit about ten minutes then reconnect and try. Also, it is important to disconnect the AC power to your Mac, this helps to reset the FireWire port(s).
Do you have TTP or DW, both of which you could use to try to mount it.
It is also possible that you have a bad cable or a bad port, do other FW devices work?
-mj
[email protected]

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.

IMovie projects on external hard drive not visible

Thanks for the help. I recently received a free upgrade to iMovie 10 (I think that's what it's called) and now I can no longer view any of my existing projects or events that I had saved on an external hard drive that's connected via Thunderbolt. Is there anything that you can advise me to do before I condemn the new iMovie any more than I already have!??? Thanks again!
Chris

I wish I could help. I found the same thing when I "upgraded" to the new version. When I launched iMovie 10, I allowed it to update my movie library and in the process it seems to have copied everything to my Mac's hard drive. I had all my events stored on an external drive and I don't want those files on my internal drive.
Here's the best part: In case you have't figured it out yet, iMovie 10 will reset ALL of your iMovie '11 preferences, so when you decide to go back to using the old version (as I have) you'll have to go through every page of prefs and "fix" them.
I may eventually try using the new version, but only after they've replaced most or all of the functionality of iMovie '11. This is almost exactly how things played out when Apple replaced iMovie HD back in 2009. It's like they have no beta testers at all.

External hard drive not visible on Mac Mini

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