External SATA WD320 via USB 2 formating trouble

I just purchased a WesternDigital 320GB SATA hard drive (model number WD3200JD) from NewEgg, put it in a CompUSA USB 2.0 3.5" external SATA hard drive enclosure and connected it to a new 5 port USB 2.0 PCI host card in my dual 867 G4 running OS 10.4.5. When I turn the drive on the OS asks me if I would like to initialize, eject or ignore. After clicking initialize Disk Utility opens, the drive shows up in the list, I select it and choose to erase it. Then, beach ball. I have tried this many times, journaled unjournaled, OS9 drivers etc. I have even booted from the Tiger install disk and tried to format the drive and I still get the beach ball. I have tried connecting the drive to every port on the host card. I have repaired permissions and repaired my boot drive. I have opened the enclosure and reconnected the drive. I am at a loss. I have tried this with two SATA drives now, I thought I had a bad drive so I returned the first one and got a new one. So do I have a bad enclosure, USB host card, are there known issues with this configuration?
Thanks in advance,
malkus

Hello Again! First click once on the drives icon and then choose a "get info" from the finder. This pane will tell you how the drive is formatted. To format it in disk utility click on the HD icon in the left pane of the disk utility window. There are two items concerning your drive in question. The first one is the hd itself and the other one is whatever you have named the disk. Click on the top one and then choose erase and then click on options and choose the zero option. This will take several hours to erase but when a disk's having problems it's usually wise to zero all the data that's on the disk (if any). Try that and post back with your progress. Tom

Similar Messages

  • IMac using an external hard drive via usb 2.0

    I am currently using a brand new 20" iMac with 4GB of ram and since this computer only has one firewire 400 port I'm using that for the deck and plugging in the external hard drive via usb 2.0, but I do have the option of plugging in firewire 400 to the hard drive. I've recently been having trouble capturing footage. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

    You're experiencing the number one reason why not to use an iMac for video work: complete lack of expansion beyond a couple of firewire devises.
    Yet, many folks will disagree with this assessment and their decisions are made solely on cost over functionality and reliability.
    Go iMacs!

  • External hard drive via usb. Can I use one?

    I"m running out of memory. Can I use an external hard drive via a usb port?

    You say "ripped" music.  That is not stored on iCloud unless you subscribe to Match.  As for iTunes Store purchases:
    Downloading (using iOS or computer) past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519 - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not all media formats are available in all countries (see: iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability by Country - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5085); apps, books (not audiobooks), music, t.v. shows, and movies (some - not all studios have permitted this).  Downloading previously purchased movies and TV shows requires iTunes 10.6 or later.  Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list (e.g., ringtones, audiobooks), or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid.  Apple notes it is your responsibility to back up your purchases.
    Select the iTunes Store on the left side of iTunes.
    Click on Purchased on the right side under Quick Links.
    You can re-download your available previous purchases.
    Of course if you had a backup of your files you would have been back up adn running iTunes by the time you read all this.

  • Setting up an external hard drive via USB

    Hi
    I'm trying to set up my Iomega 500GB external hard drive to be accessible over my Time Capsule network. The Time Capsule is working properly, with full network connectivity. The Iomega hard drive works very well when connected via USB to my MacBook Air. However, as I understand it, I should be able to simply plug the hard drive into the Time Capsule via USB and it should then just appear under Time Capsule in shared devices. It is not doing this, nor is it being recognised as a connected disk in Airport Utility.
    I'm working with Lion, Airport Utility 6.0 and version 7.6.1 on my Time Capsule. The hard drive is formatted to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). There's currently about 99GB of data on the Iomega I'm trying to connect.
    Does anybody have any advice or suggestions?
    Thanks

    With the new Airport 6.0, I cannot manual setup the TC and the external drive is not an option.
    Suggest that you download and install the much more functional AirPort Utility 5.6 for Mac OS X Lion, which released on the same day as AirPort Utility 6.0.
    You can always move "normal" files that are on the TC to another drive by using the Finder. Open up the Time Capsule drive and drag and drop the files that you want to the external hard drive.

  • How to use an iPhoto library, stored on an external HD connected via USB to a Time Capsule ?

    Hi,
    I have a MacBook Pro Retina 15", connected to a Time Capsule.
    My iPhoto library is stored on an external HD, connected to the Time Capsule via USB.
    I want to sync my photos with my iPhone (iOS 7.1)
    The issue is that iTunes can't display anything in the "photos" tab, within the iPhone section in iTunes.
    The search icon is turning, turning, even for hours, and then impossible to activate the sync between iPhoto and the iPhone.
    What I do not understand, is that it works very well when the same HD is connected directely to my MacBook via USB.
    Why is the sync impossible when the HD is connected to the Time Capsule ?
    I have been told that storing an iPhoto library on a network HD is not recommended by Apple, but it seems to work for many users, according to forums.
    So I would grant the feedback from users that have a similar configuration to mine.
    Thanks
    Stéphane

    I have been told that storing an iPhoto library on a network HD is not recommended by Apple, but it seems to work for many users, according to forums.
    Hmm, well you experience rather contradicts the forums, no? iPhoto is not designed for network access, end of story. If you try use it that way then things fail.
    See this article
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168
    for more. Note the comment:
    “Additionally, storing the iPhoto library on a network rather than locally on your computer can also lead to poor performance or data loss.”

  • Airport extreme working with external hard drive via USB port adaptor :)

    Hi Everyone. I hope this post will be helpful because I have been very frustrated with apple and their customer support and I figured this out on my own by reading all of the discussions and playing with my settings but it took me a while...
    I recently for school bought all apple products and I have non-mac products as well. I bought the airport extreme believing I could hook up all of my computers through it and share the printers and my mybook external hard drive with my husbands desktop and the other lap tops. Unfortunately this was not as easy as advertised...
    I was not able to successfully have both computers stay connected to the printers so I have to have mine for my laptop connected via the airport extreme and my husband has his desktop connected to a different printer via a ethernet cable. It would work at set up and then a few hours later not print anymore and reinstalling the drivers just confused it... if anyone knows a solution for this please let me know. It worked wirelessly for me but not for him.
    As far as the external drive for the airport extreme goes I went and bought an additional USB port hub so I could access my printer wirelessly and my external hard drive as well for time machine back ups.
    I set up my external hard drive so that it will save files from both a mac and a non-mac computer and we can both access it (not sure if that matters in the solution or problem for others); however, the desktop (non-mac) was able to by clicking and dragging files to it assess the hard drive and utilize it and my macbook was not able to because the airport extreme showed the drive under disks but when I tried to access it through time machine it was not there. I played with this for a long time and finally figured it out.
    I believe I went under finder, then chose go from the menu bar, then chose connect to server and the default for it is afp://10.0.1.1.. You enter this in under server address and you may be prompted to give your password. The password was tricky as well because it showed my computers user name and I thought it would want that password but instead it wanted the password to log into my internet or my airport extreme's password. Once I put this in I was able to open my time machine preferences, finally choose the mybook external hard drive that was now showing up, choose it and my computer is currently doing a back up as I type without the error message of failed, unable to locate volume, or any others.
    Hope this posting was helpful and not to confusing and feel free to message me if you need clarification and think this may solve your problem as well. GOOD LUCK!

    Seems to me you should have done your homework setting up your network and not assuming that any third party device you choose to use would work without problems.

  • HT3275 I have attached an external hard drive via usb to back up my OSX Snow Leopard.  When I open Time Machine and click set up time machine, I then click Select Disk but there is nothing to select. No information is in the box. I do have Airport Extreme

    Not sure how this all works but my problem is this:  I have attached an external hard drive to my mac snow leopard 10.6 and am trying to back up my computer through Time Machine.  When asked to select the drive as part of the set up, there is nothing to select.  The box is empty. How do I set up Time Machine for back ups with an external drive? I am running Airport Extreme WI-FI (VERY confusing as I did not know the difference between Extreme and Capsule).  Now to add another component...how does Icloud figure into all of this if I want to back up my computer systems, documents, etc?  Is this a simplier way as long as I download Lion?  Help!!!

    Hello,
    Problem is likely the Format of the External drive, for TM it needs to be Mac OSX extended Journaled & GUID Partition scheme for Intel based Macs...
    How to format your disks...
    http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html
    (To Install OSX on an IntelMac the Drive it needs the GUID Partitioning scheme mentioned at the bottom.)
    Thanks to Pondini, Formatting,  Partitioning, Verifying,  and  Repairing  Disks...
    http://Pondini.org/OSX/DU.html
    There are other free options for backing up if interested!

  • Can I run an Imac on just an external hard drive via USB 3.0?

    I erased the internal hard drive to clean install Yosemite (from Snow Leopard) but  now it's not visible in disk utility. Got an external drive with Yosemite to boot and run on my Mac (2010 21.5" 4gb ram, Core i3). Can I use a usb 3.0 external drive to replace the HDD? Looking to use a WD My Studio that runs at 7200 rpm. Only issue I have is the fan is on constantly. How long can I get away using the external drive before I have to replace the internal drive?

    Take care of the problem now. You can continue to use the external drive, but you will need to use fan control software to deal with the fan.
    Macs Fan Control 1.1.12.2
    HDD Fan Control 2.5

  • HT1338 My Mac Mini stopped recognising Iomega external hard drive via USB 2.0 connection. Any suggestion to get way around? Thanks.

    How can I make my Mac mini recognise again iomega external hard drive, if it has stopped to do so?
    many thanks.

    [USB and FireWire Quick Assist|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151]
    [Common fixes for USB device issues (unrecognized, etc.)|http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070824012114701]
    [What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire or USB device|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317]

  • External camera connected via usb to I mac

    Can someone offer some help please, just purchased a 2 in 1 Camera Nest Box - Pc & Usb compatible , connected to I Mac 21.5 inch  I have OS X Yosemite version 10.10.2 running, I downloaded CamWiz Webcam Recorder as software as directed and I now have the inbuilt web cam and the Cam Wiz Webcam both working , However the view on both is from the Camera on the Mac, how do I change between the in built camera and the external camera so I can see inside the Nest Box?

    This is the FCPX forum. You probably want to talk to the people who made your box or post to the general hardware forum.
    Hope you get it figured out.

  • Can boot camp install windows in external hdd connected via usb

    i have win 7 img. in my mac also 500 gb ext hdd
    can i install windows in that hdd?????
    also i have selected the iso fle n its now downloading support software
    so how much time it will take its 3 hours now

    No you can't install windows on external drive.

  • External drive connected via USB on EA4500

    Hello
    I now have a shared drive shortcut on my desktop from the external drive I have hooked to the EA4500. Is there a way to share this folder to Android phones or Ipads? Looking to backup my phone data to the share (photos)
    Thanks
    Warren

    warren83 wrote:
    Hello
    I now have a shared drive shortcut on my desktop from the external drive I have hooked to the EA4500. Is there a way to share this folder to Android phones or Ipads? Looking to backup my phone data to the share (photos)
    Thanks
    Warren
    Yes there is. You just have to have a software that will enable you to do the sharing from your computer to your phones or ipads. I've read about the Cisco Connect Cloud but I think it's still not available in the market. You can find more info from the cisco website about this application- homesupport.cisco.com.

  • Connecting Two Monitors VIA USB

    I was wondering if there are any setups for connecting two external DVI monitors VIA USB to my Macbook Pro late 2011.
    OS X Mavericks 10.9.5

    For external displays you will have to use the Thunderbolt port ( with appropriate adapters) .
    Ciao.

  • I'm installing a printer on a MacBook Air via USB connected DVD drive.  The computer asks for my password.  I don't hink we ever had one.  Is there a default password ("admin"

    I'm installing a printer on a MacBook Air using an external DVD drive via USB.  The computer is asking for my password to authorize changes to the system.  I don't htink I ever put one on the computer and "admin" and "password" don't work.  Is there a default password?  Or a way to change a password that has been forgotten, wothout resetting the computer and wiping everything out?  Thanks. 

    Many thanks.  As it happens, I wen to the local Apple Store today for an appointment with a "genius".  She helped me reset the password. And as I look at the screens on the page that you connected me to, they're the same as the genius used.  So your suggesstion was right on the money, and now I'm all set.  Thanks again.

  • Backup to HD via USB taking FOREVER

    I've tried to scour the discussions for this-- apologies if I missed the answer to what is likely a common problem:
    Time Machine is taking a ridiculously long time to back up 60 GB of data. I have a 500 GB external HD connected via USB (new macbook sans firewire). It's a first time backup, which I understand takes time, but we're going on seven hours and the stupid program has only completed 14.61 GB. What's going on here?
    Could there be a program running in the background causing this? I've used time machine before with a USB HD, took a couple hours max. This is very frustrating.
    Any help would be appreciated.

    *_Time Machine Backups Painfully SLOW_*
    *Anti-Virus Software* #
    Are you running anti-virus software. Disable it and see if network speeds improve. The discussion boards are filled with users who are experiencing degraded network speeds due to their anti-virus software.
    One poster observed: “I had the exact same problem 5 mins ago, it had taken 2 hours to back up 2GB, I realized I installed Sophos anti virus a couple of days ago. When I turned that off my back up is speeding through.”
    Another contributor stated, “I am doing the first backup to my time capsule, about 71 Gb, It seems to be going about 1 Gb per hour. is this seem OK? I tried the ethernet connection and the speed was about the same. It has been going all night and after 12 hours it is at only 12 Gb of 71….I found the problem, I uninstalled Norton and the problem went away. It backed up in about 3 or 4 hours”
    Let us know if this was the case.
    UPDATE: I just read your post in another thread - so you have a Time Capsule? Then that is a different story. You should do the intial backup via ethernet, then subsequent incremental backups can be done wirelessly.
    On the other hand, If you mean you have connected the USB drive to an Airport Extreme, then I have a workaround that will make this intial backup go faster for Airport Disks. See here:
    [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8121826&#8121826]
    Cheers!
    Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

Maybe you are looking for