External hard drive will not show up on my desktop?!?!

I have a 2 TB G-Technology G-Drive) external hard drive and when I plug it in to my macbook pro via firewire and turn it on, nothing happens. The light on the HD is on but no HD shows up on my desktop? Any help would be great! Thanks!

Open Disk Utility and see if it is listed in the DU sidebar. If it is, then you will need to prep the drive:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Similar Messages

I recently updated my Mid 2007 iMac with the latest OS 10.8.5 now my external hard drives will not show up. They show up when I boot them up on a machine running and earlier OS. Is there a fix for this?

I recently updated my 20-inch, Mid 2007 iMac with the latest OS 10.8.5 now my external hard drives will not show up. They show up when I boot them up on a machine running and earlier OS. Is there a fix for this?

Can you see them in Disk Utility?
If so, can you select and Mount them?
If not, disconnect them, reset the iMac's SMC and then reconnect them.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
3. Wait fifteen seconds.
4. Attach the computer's power cord.
5. Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
If you still can not see them, connect them back up to the iMac running the older OS, open Disk Utility and look to see how they are partitioned and formatted.

My external hard drive does not show up on my desktop

My external hard drive does not show up on my dest top but, does shows in my Windows (vmware fusion) end although I can't see it ob my desktop but, I can eject it properly like any external drive. I have connected it to my windows and ejected properly (per the suggestion of someone on this forum) but, it still doesn't show on my Mac. I see the blue light and hear it running though. I have looked for it in disk utility but, still can find it. I have changed the cable and it still did not show on my Mac. I connected another external drive and that showed up on my desktop.Any help????

if it is NTFS then you need Paragon Software NTFS for Mac.
NTFS volumes are suppose to be read only but in practice external drives don't always mount or work.
If it is not NTFS then you need more details. Need more anyway.
PS: this is not a MacBook area, it is Mac 65lbs tower related forum.

External Hard drive will not show up on startup

Hello,
When i leave my external hard drive (that I use to back up my system) in, it will not show up on the desktop. Is there any solutions i could try?
Thanks for your help
Brad

Ok, so you can see it, at least with Disk Utility.
OS X journeled is fine, but If you ever expect to use it to boot off of, you'll need to create a primary partition map set to GUID...do that as a first step, then confirm it is OS X format, name it, etc.
Once that is done, it should mount on the desktop - you can expect a message asking if you want to use it as a TM backup drive. You might need to restart to help keep everything updated.

My external hard drive will not show up in iMovie 10.0.4. How do I copy my movies into it?

My Mac OSX 10.9.4 has both iMovie 10 and iMovie 9. I've started uploading all of my videos from my camera to iMovie 10 and have not worried about my external hard drive. Now it's been a couple months of putting those videos onto iMovie 10 and I just connected my external hard drive and it doesn't show up in sidebar anywhere. Is this new to iMovie 10? How can I copy my events and projects to my external hard drive from imovie 10?
If iMovie 10 is the issue, I will gladly begin using iMovie 9 again, but will need those events to get into iMovie 9. Is there anyway to move movies in iMovie 10 to iMovie 9.
Thanks for the help!

Hi bwright22,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you want to copy videos to and from an external hard disk in iMovie. Take a look at the article linked below, I believe it has the information that you're looking for.
iMovie (2013): Work with multiple libraries
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14745
Show or hide the Libraries list
You select libraries and events in the Libraries list.
To show the Libraries list: Click the Show button on the left side of the toolbar.
To hide the Libraries list: Click the Hide button on the left side of the toolbar.
You can also choose Window > Hide Libraries (or press Shift-Command-1).
Copy or move projects, events, or clips between libraries or hard disks
Connect a hard disk that contains the target library to your computer, or copy the target library to your computer.
Choose File > Open Library, and choose an option from the submenu.
You can choose from recently opened libraries at the top of the submenu, locate an existing library on your computer, or create a new library.
The selected library is opened in the Libraries list, with the first event selected and its contents displayed in the browser.
In the Libraries list, select the event that contains the item you want to move or copy.
In the browser, select the item you want to move or copy.
Note: To select multiple items, hold down the Command key as you click the items you want to select, or drag a selection rectangle around the items.
Do one of the following:
To move items between events or libraries: Drag the clip or project to another event or library.
To copy items between events or libraries: Option-drag the clip or project to another event or library by first starting to drag and then holding down the Option key as you drag.
I hope this helps.
-Jason

The external hard drive is not showing up on my desktop

I've just brought a new external Hard drive for my mac book pro and when I put the usb cable into the laptop nothing showed up on the desktop. I waited a few minutes but nothing happen and then I turned off the computer and did it again. Will be great help if anyone knows what to do.

Not enough information.
What exactly is this EHD and Which Mac OS X are you running.
Have you ever connected an EHD to your computer before...

External hard drive does not show up on my desktop.

I just got this imac and when I plug in my external hard drive it does not show up on my desktop. On all of the macs at school it just shows up but they are running lepoard and I have lion so I don't know if this could make a difference. I have tried draging it droping it but that didn't work.
PS I am just switching from a pc to a mac so I don't know much.

Start a finder window. In the menubar go to Finder > Preferences > General tab > Check show HDs on desktop.
Captfred

External hard drive will not pop out of my desktop

I just bought a Simpletech Signature Mini 250 GB external hard drive but the external HD does not launch on my desktop or utility. I contacted the Simpletech Tech Support but no one answered... Please help!
The external HD is connected via a USB plug to my Powerbook G4 laptop and it is compatible with my MAC OS.

I am having the EXACT same problem!! Please let me know if you figure it out!! Thanks!!

IMac external hard drive will not show up on desktop

I have an external 60 GB hard drive that is attached to an IMac.
I used to be to access this hard drive, but now the IMac will not see it and it does not appear on the desktop anymore. I have another Mac computer and have hooked this hard drive up to it, and it shows up just fine on this other computer's desktop, so I know the hard drive should be working.
What should I try doing to get this hard drive show up on the IMac?

Is the drive connected via USB or Firewire?
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151?viewlocale=en_US
What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire device
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88338
Dealing with FireWire problems (drives not mounting, devices unrecognized, etc.)
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20041221081432908
Common fixes for USB device issues (unrecognized, etc.)
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070824012114701
 Cheers, Tom

My external hard drive does not show up on my desktop anymore.

HELP! My external drive is no longer showing up. It was just there a few days ago and now my Seagate Icon is no longer there. Ran Disk Utility and after clicking Verify is says at the end partition map seems to be ok. Ran repair Disk right after and it reads the same thing. I've reset the computer, switched cables with no luck.

Clinton,
I double checked Finder Preferences and I have all options checked off to view @ Desktop.Disk
Under Mount Point on Disc Utility it says it's unmounted but the funny thing is when I try to eject it this message pops up:
Eject failed: The disk “Seagate Backup+ BK Media” could not be unmounted. Make sure that all applications and files are closed on this disk.
The drive light is on and it's running I can hear it.

My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

Invalid sibling link may not be fixable by Disk Utility. (Disk Utility is very conservative, and will not attempt repairs that might cause you to lose data.)
It is an indication of serious Directory damage.
that leaves
a) third-party Utilities that will take those risks, or
b) re-initializing the drive (which deletes all your data) and restoring from another backup source.
c) "Copying off whatever files you can salvage" has gone by, and you cannot copy anything off a drive that will not mount. You may be able to use "rescue" programs such as prosoft engineering Data Rescue to copy files to another drive, but that sounds a lot better than its reality. You may get many files, but not get ANY filenames.

External Hard Drive is Not Showing Up on Desk top?

My external hard drive is not showing up on my desk top any more. When I tried to reconnect it I get the follow message.
You have inserted a disk containing no volumes that Mac OS X can read. To use the unreadable volumes, click Initialize.
Help what should I do? I have 50 GB of music on it and it's never had this problem before.
Thanks
Jeremy

Norton has a bad reputation because they have not kept up with changes in the Mac file structure. Norton version 8 is the one you should be using, if you choose to use it. Earlier versions will likely damage your directory, possibly beyond repair by other utilities.
Any time you use any Disk Repair Utility, it is somewhat of a crap shoot. It may or may not be able to make the repair, and you may or may not lose a few to very many files in the process. The program best respected in this arena is Disk Warrior. If you choose to buy it, pay very close attention to which version you are buying, as the latest version CD (intended to boot 10.3 or 10.4) may not boot on your Mac.

My WD 2tb external hard drive will not unmount from my MacBook Pro.

My WD 2tb external hard drive will not unmount from my MacBook Pro. It no longer even shows up in finder, however it does show up in Disk Utility. I have tired so many of the suggestions on the internet all to a fail.
I keep getting the message to be sure that all applications are closed before ejecting the drive. I have no clue how to tell which appliactions are using the external drive to shut them off. I turned off Time Machiene to be safe.
I don't need anything on the external drive, I am just trying to erase it, save my current info, and migrate it to my new MacBook Pro.
I have been about four days now with this issue all over the internet, in this community, and watching videos on everything and nothing about this topic to a fail.
I think I am doomed and have lossed this external drive because of some wierd application that will NEVER close on my hard drive for it to disconnect correctly. It's annoying.
Does anyone have a solution?

Have you trie using another USB port? Can you test the USB ports with other USB devices to assure they are working? You may want to reinstall OS X in case there has been a driver glitch.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

External Hard Drive does not show up in Finder

My external hard drive is not showing up in Finder.
It shows up in Disc Utility, but I do not have access to it. I have tried the following:
command-shift c, nothing happens
confirmed in Preferences/General that external hard drive was checked
tried another cable
tried another port on the back of the external drive
tried to connect through the USB port
re-started, etc.

zone-5 wrote:
I have same problem after installing OS 10.5.8. Disk utility sees the hard drive, the computer does not. Disk utility says invalid node structure. Volume check failed. Filesystem verify or repair failed.
That means the directory is corrupt. If you have a heavy-duty 3rd-party disk repair app, such as +Disk Warrior,+ it may be able to fix it. Otherwise, your only option is to erase and reformat the disk. They're not cheap -- Disk Warrior is about $100. And for Leopard, you need version 4.1.1 or 4.2.
I have not been able to figure out how to start a new topic here, but did find this discussion, which fits me fairly close.
Just above the list of topics, on the left, is a +Post New Topic+ option.

External hard drive does not show up

External hard drive does not show up in imovie.

Hi,
Welcome to the Discussions.
The drive's directory is damaged and as you found Disk Utility isn't equipped to repair it. You need Disk Warrior or Tech Tool Pro.
John

External hard drive will not show up on my desktop?!?!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for