Format External Drive Error can't unmount disk LaCie 1TB External Drive

Need Help Can't Format This disk. I have tried Formating with Disk Utility and It says it can't be unmounted.
Help!!

Drive Partition and Format
1. Boot from your OS X 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.
If you are preparing an external or a non-startup drive, then open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, 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 Apply 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

Disk Error "Unable to Unmount Disk"

I am trying to make a Macbook Pro ready to sell. I have booted the system into Restore Mode by holding the Command R keys. Then I tried to erase the harddrive. It came back and said it failed with error - Unnable to Unmount DIsk. Does anyone know what to do?

• Try erasing just the Volume, Macintosh_HD or whatever you have renamed it, instead of the entire Physical Drive.
• Do you have a Time Machine Backup? After 10.7.4, there will be a Recovery_HD on it as well as the one on your MacBook Internal drive. That can be used as an alternate boot Drive, then you can erase the entire internal drive. But you need to put something back on it so the new User can do something -- otherwise they need to take it to the Apple Store to get some Mac OS X or other installed before they can do anything.

Time Machine error: could not backup, Disk Utility Error: Couldn't unmount disk

I recently bought a WD for Mac 1TB external drive which has been set up as Time Machine. This was as a result of my internal hard drive failing and being replaced. Time machine has worked a treat for last 3 weeks, but today I get a message:
Time Machine could not complete the backup.
Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the backup folder.
So I go into disk utilities to verify the disk and I get this message:
Verifying volume “My Passport for Mac”
Checking file systemError: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
I click on the Repair Disk and get this message:
Verify and Repair volume “My Passport for Mac”
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.Error: Couldn’t unmount disk.
last backup was at 3.53pm today.
Any ideas?

Why would I need to reboot the whole computer?
However, I did shut it down and restart it and the problem is fixed.

Disk Utility: "Repairing disk failed with error Could not unmount disk"

Disk Utility: “Repairing disk failed with error Could not unmount disk”
Hi. I’ve been experiencing some mildly squirrelly behaviour with my system (vide infra) so decided to repair the two internal hard drives on my computer. The primary hard drive is a 74.53 GB ST380013AS that came with the system; its S.M.A.R.T. Status is “verified” and Disk Utility repairs permissions just fine. However, the second internal drive (Maxtor 6L250S0, 233.76 GB, lower Bay, Journaled HFS+), despite being verified by S.M.A.R.T. status and apparently running OK, fails to unmount when I ask Disk Utility to repair it- I get the above error message in red. I have repaired this disk with DiskWarrior (v3.03) and all appears to run AOK. Can anyone tell me why I cannot get Disk Utility to run on this secondary (eg, non-startup) disk? I have tried many times and the error is reproducible. Thank you!
G5 1.6GHz PPC, 1 GB RAM, running OS 10.4.6

Thank you for these useful links!
For others who have this issue, I also found very helpful advice given to this question on the MacFixIt forums by MicroMat Tech3 at
http://www.macfixitforums.com/php/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=tiger&Number=76265 1
He said: "Use the lsof command to find the open files on a volume that does not unmount or eject. Open Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities. Type: sudo lsof | grep Leave a space after the p in grep, then drag the icon of the problem volume to the Terminal window. The pathname for the volume is pasted in for you; press Return. Then enter your administrative password at the prompt, and press Return."
At this point, one now has a list of the open files/processes on the volume that will not unmount. You can use Activity Monitor to terminate these processes if you wish, and then the volume will unmount as it should.

Verify volume failed with error Could not unmount disk!!

Im having weird things with my fw lacie 200gb. I come across these weird white cubes which pop up in the search mode in finder. So i tried to repair permissions of the Lacie disc and i get this sign
Verify volume failed with error Could not unmount disk
What is this?
What are those white cubes in the finder?

Hi gizeh12!
Are you able to verify the volume of the disc (not permissions)? It could possibly be some bad/corrupt sectors on the drive. Is it a white box with a dashed line outline? Does the file size show the accurate value in "Get Info" when you click on the file?
Are those files somewhere else as well?

External hard drive reformatting error: 'could not unmount disk'

I've bought a TrekStor DataStation maxi light 2TB external harddrive and I am trying to reformat it so I can use it with my Mac.
Unfortunately when I try to either 'Erase' or create a partition as detailed here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2701878?start=0&tstart=0 I get the 'could not unmount disk' error.
Is anybody able to offer a solution?
Kind regards,
Rhyno

Sounds like something is using (or trying to use) the disk.
Eject it if you can. Then unplug and reconnect, and try again.
If all else fails, you may have to power down, start up from your Snow Leopard Install disc and erase/format it from there. See the yellow box in #6 of Using Disk Utility.

External Drive Problem...Error "Couldn't Unmount Disk"

I have my Aperture Library on a 2TB External Seagate Drive, so that I can use it with both my iMac and MBP. It's been running really slowly lately, so I ran Disk Utility on it to Verify and Repair, and just got the error message "Couldn't Unmount Disk". Help, please! I have backup vaults, but they are months old because this has been so slow and I just got lazy. Ouch.
Sue

Hi Sue,
I would of course try this. Do you have all pictures organized by Aperture or referenced to from some Ext HDs?
If referenced, I would think of trying to organize the Library new.
The workaround suggestion: Copy the Aperture Library to one of your Macs
and run it from there (as you already asked). If it works fine, take another Ext.HD (maybe you are asked
by Aperture to repair because of any Inconsistencies, this takes most of the times quite long, but maybe helps),
and take care as before.
I wouldn't recommend Seagate HD's, but as always that's easy to tell afterwards.
It seems like the EXT HD has a problem and hopefully not Aperture.
This all is the reason for me, why I changed all pictures into referenced pictures, do my work, give names with Aperture, but keep the order in my hand. Back Up is of course as well in my responsability.
I've had always a bad feeling about letting something do the most important work, without knowing and take
care.
Uwe

Time Machine Error and Can't Unmount Disk

I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I think Leopard must be optimized for Intel Macs, and I'm guessing my problems have to do with using a G5. Anyway, I have a 250G start up drive and a 500G second hard drive which I've been using for Time Machine back ups. A few days ago I began getting errors that time machine could not complete its back up. No details whatsoever.
I looked at several articles and it appeared that I needed to create a partition on my 500G drive and do something else, I forget what. But when I attempted to do this, I got a message that the "disk could not be unmounted". What does this mean and what do I do now?
thanks!

Hi! You shouldn't have to partition it but it does need to be in the Mac format which you can check in disk utility. AS for the failure to unmount often when you get this message if you'll watch the disk actually goes ahead and dismounts and you can just attempt to erase again and it will go ahead and erase. Tom

Error: Could not unmount disk

Hi: I am having a problem with an external HD (WD 750 GB Caviar Black) housed in an OWC enclosure and attached to my PowerPC G5 running OS X 10.4.11. The only use the drive has seen is trying to create a clone of my primary HD onto a partition on the external using a highly respected application dedicated to this purpose. For some reason yet uncovered, every cloning attempt has stalled the application and hung up my system. That aside, what is happening now is that I cannot even leave the ext. HD powered on and attached to my G5 as within minutes of booting up, my system slows down and becomes unresponsive. Detaching the ext. HD frees my system up instantly.
The last time I ran Disk Utility on the external, it passed verification and I was even able to run DiskWarrior on it and restore the directories to perfect order. But now, even after booting up from my original Mac install disk, although the external shows up in Disk Utility and I'm able to verify it just once (and it passes), any attempt after that to erase it, repartition it, verify it again, results in the error message: Could not unmount disk. Eventually I get the spinning beach ball and have to detach the drive. The drive does not make any unusual sounds and I have to put my ear to it to hear it at all. At one point, on boot up, the blue light on the enclosure continued to flicker for a very, very long time and the drive refused to mount altogether. But it hasn't done that again. I've read that when a drive won't unmount, it can mean that there are open files on it.
Anyone have any ideas as to whether it sounds like a problem with the enclosure or the drive and any suggestions as to what I might try? I have tried connecting it via eSATA, FireWire and USB (all from the same enclosure) and the results are the same.
Jack

Here's an update. Received the new enclosure. Before I transferred the drive into it, I unplugged the internal cables from the old enclosure that were connected to the drive and then reattached them. Also, I noticed that one of the cable plugs was not perfectly seated on the circuit board, so I pushed that in a bit. Heard a tiny click.
Using the old enclosure, the drive mounted quickly and I was able to Zero Data on it and erase it using Disk Utility. Was not able to Zero Data on it before. Would hang every time.
Thought I would try a different cloning app than the one I had been trying to use and this time the transfer did not stall. The estimated time, however, was about 6 1/2 hours which I thought was way too long to transfer 190GB via FireWire 800. The transfer rate started at 4.5MB/sec and went up to 9.5MB/sec. So I thought I would try the new enclosure and see if that was faster. I stopped the operation, erased the partition and transferred the drive to the new enclosure.
Tried the same cloning app that worked in the old enclosure and this time it stalled shortly after starting to copy files. Erased the drive and tried the original cloning app that had stalled using the old enclosure. It stalled using the new enclosure also. Erased the drive and tried the Restore function in Disk Utility and that went through. Took 4 hours. Attempted to boot up from the backup that Disk Utility created but I got the circle with the diagonal through it and it just hung there, with my fans running at top speed. Finally had to power down manually.
I'm thinking maybe it's the drive that's malfunctioning. It is still under warranty. Even though I'm not able to boot from the backup partition Disk Utility created, I'm wondering why it was able to transfer 190GB of data when the other two, well respected cloning applications stalled.

SL install error: "Can't use disk to start up"

I've spent some time searching the forums but haven't come across a solution that works yet. I currently have 10.5.8 and have a family pack for SL. I've installed it on a 24" iMac just fine and a 17" MBP. I'm now trying to install on a 15" late-2008 MBP and am getting the error that says snow leopard can't install to my Macintosh HD because that disk can't be used to start the computer. That's funny because it seems to be able to start just fine and I'm not experiencing any nagging issues with my Leopard install. I'll mention that I use Boot Camp and have a Win7 partition on the same drive.
Per one of the other posts I've tried the following:
1. Zap the Pram- No change
2. Resize Mac partition- Disk Utility won't let me change the Mac partition for some reason. It says that it needs to be HFS+ Journaled, which it is. That's a bit confusing.
3. Repair Permissions- I've repaired permissions on the Mac HD, but no change. I've heard that I need to repair permissions at the root drive level in Disk Utility, but when I click on the "whole drive" icon, Repair Permission is grayed out.
For insurance sake, I've cloned both my BootCamp partition and my Mac Partition ( I also have an up-to-date TM backup and everything's backed up to Mozy as well). So I could format the drive and try a fresh install of SL. Then I would have the choice of using Migration Assistant or something of the like to pull in apps and Docs from TM right? I don't mind doing a fresh install but it would certainly save time to simply upgrade.
Are there any performance issues that I might encounter by using Migration Assistant to pull the info from my TM backup?
Any way to address the issue so I can do a simple upgrade?
Thx.
Jonathan

When I look I see GPT/GUID 200MB partition, then one 128MB, followed by HFS+, and a second 128MB at the end.
Maybe things have changed and the docs on rEFIt doesn't acknowledge Apple's use of UEFI 2.x that began in 2008.
Quote from their web site:
*Myth: Mac OS X requires GPT*
+This is mostly a myth. Mac OS X boots and runs just fine from disks using MBR partitioning, or even APM (Apple Partition Map, used on PowerPC Macs).+
+However, the Mac OS X Installer will refuse to put a fresh copy of Mac OS X on a disk that’s not using GPT. You can work around this using cloning tools like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner. Install Mac OS X on a GPT-partitioned disk first, then clone it onto the disk of your choice.+
+Apple’s firmware updates are another issue. The exact requirements are not known at this time, but they are known to not work if you don’t have GPT and you don’t have a EFI System Partition.+
+Myth: Mac OS X requires a hidden EFI System Partition+
+Every GPT-formatted disk is supposed to have an EFI System Partition, and Apple’s tools create one at the beginning of the disk. However, Mac OS X doesn’t actually use it; the EFI System Partition is completely empty on a standard Intel Mac. Apple has added a HFS+ file system driver to its firmware, and the firmware boots Mac OS X directly from the partition it is installed on.+
+Also see above; Mac OS X can boot from a MBR-only disk with no trace of an EFI System Partition.+
+There is still some uncertainty about firmware updates, though. So far no one has investigated how they work in detail, and some people believe they require the EFI System Partition to be present.+
+Myth: EFI requires GPT+
+The GPT specification is part of the EFI specification. However, all parts and features of EFI are just as well-defined for MBR-partitioned disks.+
http://refit.sourceforge.net/myths/
I've never used rEFIt but obviously seen it discussed and used a number of times.

Disk utility can't unmount disk

Hey there,
A few days ago, my mac began to start up incorrectly; with a black screen right from the beginning.
I ran the disk repair with the disk utility program and it told me, that my hard drive couldn't be repaired. So I booted the mac in recovery mode and tried to erase the hard drive. After a while, an error appeared, telling me "cannot unmount disk".
I tried to "force unmount" via terminal, but that didn't work as well.
Does anyone has any tips for me, before I'm going to the apple support.
Thx in advance.

It sounds like the hard drive is failing. The only real advice here is to make sure you have a good backup. If it's under Applecare, Apple will replace the drive but you'll probably lose your data. The other thing you can do is replace it yourself if you're outside Applecare. Look up the specific procedure for your model at ifixit.com.

Partition error. couldn't unmount disk

I new buy mac mini 2012. I have osx mountain lion.
When I create a partition get error "Partition Error". "Couldn't unmount disk"
I haven't OS now. Because I removed its.
I can't create partition under 500 GB HDD.
And I'cant see Recover HD.
My disk Utility Screen:
When I create partition I get below error pop-up message.
When I browse for Image I see Recover HD.
finally. "diskutil list" typing in terminal list disks.
Please

My macbook air (OS x lion ) hard disk got crashed. now it starts with a grey screen and MAC OS X utilities. in the disk utility, the hard disk icon became inactive. when i erased the disk it became active again but i am still not able to partition it. it showed -- "Partition Error". "Couldn't unmount disk". now the disk icon became inactive again. when i click on mount it becomes active again but partioning is not done after many attempts.
another problem: - when it I click to proceed with the installation (still unpartitioned) it verifies my macbook's eligibility and says that the machine information is not with apple. below are the screenshots.
is there any internet issue, i got connected on my institute's wi-fi (excellent speed- 54mbps)

Error: Couldn't unmount disk -- when trying to verify/repair external hard drives. Has anyone had this problem and solved it?

I have a number of hard drives that my Mac Book Pro no longer 'recognises' at least for very long. When I turn them on the deskstop icon shows up but then shortly afterwards I get a message saying that it has been unplugged incorrectly. I haven't unplugged it any of them. When I try to run very/repair disk before they disappear I get the error in the subject line above. Has anyone had this problem and if so how did you rectify it?

The drive is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced, or you have some other hardware fault.
Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store.
Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.
Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair
*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Intel iMac won't boot & Disk Utility error-can't verify disk

I posted earlier today that my 24" intel iMac (2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo) froze yesterday after a Safari crash. I had to shut it down with the power button. Since then it won't start up. Sometimes it starts, then shuts off. Other times it starts, then the little gear just spins. I've done the keyboard commands for RAM, the complete disconnect of power, then reconnect, and the Disk Uitility with the install disk. When I do Disk Utility to verify, it gives me a red-letter error that it cannot verify on both verification checks. I have also tried, via the install disk, to repair by using a Time Machine backup, but that utility has been spinning and spinning on my Time Machine for hours, and I cannot even click the "Continue" button because it is busy (checking the time machine?)
I am out of ideas as to how to move on from here. My AppleCare expired 2 months ago, so that's a problem. I've had no major issues before now, except for earlier this year when Mail wouldn't open for some reason. Anyway, I'm at my wits' end here. I NEED my Mac. I'm disabled and have no better source of entertainment or socializing. My hobbies are editing audio, video, & photos. Without my Mac, I'm just in the middle of the sea in a raft with no oars. Any helpful suggestions will obviously be much appreciated. Thanks.

Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
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.

Mac OS X v10.5: Disk Utility error "unable to unmount disk."

Hi,
I waited for the first update to 10.5 before buying it. When the update came out I installed 10.5 and then the update as recommended in the Software Update menu. Everything seemed to be running fine, so I purchased all of the Adobe updates to CS3 that I wanted. I didn't want to install the new system and the new updates until they had a chance to shake out the bugs. Installed new InDesign, PhotoShop, and Acrobat. The computer ran well for a short while, then seemed sluggish so I checked on Disk Utilities and the repair permissions seemed to stall about a third of the way through. Then, I chose the "verify disk" option and the disk failed! Oh My God....no, no, no!!!, I thought, but it failed.
So, I put the 10.5 system dvd back in the drive and ran Disk Utilities from there. Same thing happened with permissions that happened before. So, I stopped that and then ran "repair disk." It ran the program but said it could not complete the process because the disk would not unmount.
I've read here of all sorts of problems with Disk Utilities on 10.5. Is it possible that these problems are related to the Disk Utilities on 10.5.
I'm tempted to install 10.5 on the other, second internal drive I have. Any thoughts on that idea would be very much appreciated. Actually, any help on any of this would be very much appreciated.
Best regards,
Patrick

OK... I didn't understand that it could take that long to repair permmissions. It didn't seem to take that long with 10.4, but OK.
So, I ran disk permissions and after five minutes or so it finished and said the following:
Warning: SUID file "FrameworksInstall.framework/versions/A/Resources//Locum" has been modified and will not be repaired.
It lists nine different SUID files. I have no idea what those are.
What next?
Patrick
Message was edited by: Patrick Murphy

Format External Drive Error can't unmount disk LaCie 1TB External Drive

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