External HD no longer recognized...

I was told that my previous post was posted in the wrong forum, so hopefully this is the right place to post it.
I've been using an external HD for the past few months, and so far it has been working great. But now, whenever I turn it on, it isn't detected my Mac. Please help me, as there are many important files that I need to retrieve from it.
If this information helps at all, the external HD is a 500GB LaCie Big Disk Hi-Speed USB 2.0. I noticed that whenever I turn it on, it makes a clicking sound. Any suggestions?
-M.R.P.

As USB HDD:s get older these things happen. What you can do is "force" your mb to recognize the USb HDD. Try launching the app "USB prober" it should be native in your OS X if not, find on your original DVD.
When you start that APP it seems to get MB:s to access USb hdd.
If it doesnt work try restarting the USB HDD. If that doesnt work retart both MB and YSb HDD If this doesnt work buy a new external HDD. go for a brand name and keep it still and cool always.

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Xpetepan wrote:
Hi, I am experiencing a problem with my external WD eSATA harddisk. The setop box was recognizing it perfectly and I was recording programs with no problem. Suddenly the DVR does not show the drive any longer. I tried unplugging and rebooting. Did not fix the issue. I need help: what should I do???
I had the exact same thing happen and you aren't going to like the answer/solution. One day my eSATA just disappeared, the DVR no longer recognized it. I unplugged, rebooted, reset, reconnectedetc. etc. and nothing. So I thought it was a DVR issue , after working with Verizon Customer Care Verizon sent me another 7232. I connected the eSATA to the new 7232, alas still nothing, it was not recognized. Turns out it was not a DVR/FiOS issue, the eSATA went bad (after 12 stinking days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Western Digital eSATA's are junk. I contacted Western Digital and they sent me a new eSATA (if it is still under warranty they will replace it for free BUT you have to pay all shipping costs), I connected that and it works just fine (but I am holding my breath, it has been 11 days since I connect the new one).
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I wonder how many others have this problem?
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If you have already considered all the suggestions about cables, connections, Firewire ports, possible conflicts, and the relevant suggestions in Apple's How to Troubleshoot iSight without success, you can also try the following:
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Users have reported fixes to a variety of audio, video, connectivity, and software conflicts and unreliability issues after properly applying Combo Updates.
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Hey all.
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Welcome to Apple Discussions!
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Do other FW peripherals work? If not try a SMC Reset:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411?viewlocale=en_US
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Unit Software Version:          0x10483
Unit Spec ID:          0x609E
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I have a similar problem.
Moreover, as my external drive is split in 2 for (a) regular storage // (b) time machine usage, I can see in the Finder that I can connect to the (a) regular storage part and use it normally (image 1).
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EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE NO LONGER RECOGNIZED, DOES NOT MOUNT

Hello everyone, this is not necessarily a mac mini issue
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i do usually backup to dvd's but not everything..also did a ton of work recently that was NOT backed up
hope to hear from you soon!!!
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hello, i dont have a UPS but have it connected to a power strip
what might this mean?
btw - when this first happened (3 days ago) i used disk utility/first aid to examine my mini, it PASSED
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verifying volume "mac mini"
checking HFS plus volume
checking extents overflow file
checking catalog file
incorrect block count for file AbletonTmp-0001
(it should be 1 instead of 0)
1%)
checking multi-linked files
checking catalog hierarchy
checking extended attributes file
checking volume bitmap
checking volume bitmap
or repair",0)
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volume header needs minor repair
the volume mac mini needs to be repaired
error: the underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume needs repair
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ive had to tell new mac owners again and again -"no! you have to eject it first!"
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-andrew

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BUMP! Count me in on this one. The last Time Machine back-up was 12/6. I take my machine to the office during the week but am working from home this week. My other external drive (Archives) shows up, but Time Machine is MIA. Looking at System Profiler under USB, I can see the drive on the USB hub and the volume is labeled Time Machine, so the computer sees it, it just doesn't mount it to the desktop so Time Machine can't find its drive.
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Time machine makes no backups - External HD is no longer recognized

My external HD is only used for backups with time machine.
About 30 days ago I took the usb out of my Mac, so the time machine did not work.
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cobruijn wrote:
I took the usb out of my Mac
Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
Did you dismount that drive first?
Now I put the usb back in my Mac and the external HD is not recognized any more.
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I have 3 older ext. hard drives that I've utilized many times. Today while searching for old files, one of the three is no longer recognized by my PowerMac. Any suggestions?

I have 3 older ext. hard drives that I've utilized many times. Today while searching for old files, one of the three is no longer recognized by my PowerMac. The drive is not listed in Disk Utility. Any suggestions?

Is the computer in you equipment line:
Dual Core Intel Xenon
(which is not a PowerMac but a Mac Pro) the one you are asking about, or do you have an older PowerMac?
If a Mac Pro, their forums are here:
Mac Pro
and, as Mac Pros have a totally different architecture from the pre-2005 Macs this forum covers, you may not have the same issues that can affect the older models. If someone didn't notice your equipment line, you could get advice that doesn't apply.
If you really have a pre-2005 PowerMac, read on.
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External HD no longer recognized...

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