Imac cannot detect external hard drive

Running Imac 2.66 ghz i5 on osx 10.8.3   i have a 500gb G drive as the back up for time machine been running fine for 2+ years...now it will not recognize the hard drive...tried a number of things...restarting several times...disconnecting the drive...changing usb ports...any help appreciated

Can you hear it spin up when you power it?
Also, try to reset your SMC just incase your USB bus needs reset.

Similar Messages

  • Can time machine back up an imac and an external hard drive?

    I currently back up my imac via time machine but to reduce space on my hard drive I want to move my itunes library onto an external hard drive. If i do this can time machine still back up my imac and the external hard drive with the itunes library on automatically?
    Regards
    Toekoms

    toekoms wrote:
    I currently back up my imac via time machine but to reduce space on my hard drive I want to move my itunes library onto an external hard drive. If i do this can time machine still back up my imac and the external hard drive with the itunes library on automatically?
    yes, given enough space on the destination drive (your library may grow over time). also, the drive needs to be connected directly to your Mac.
    you might want to make sure the drive is not excluded from TM backups by checking in system preferences > time machine > options.
    also, as for moving your iTunes library, see this read for tips/instructions.
    JGG
    edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

  • How can I restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. Using Migrat

    I would like to restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. When I tried using Migration Assistant it only gives me my internal hard drive as an option to restore to. The internal hard drive on my macbook isnt large enough to store the files.

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    OS X can only restore data to the drive where Time Machine backed up files from.
    If you want to restore files from the Time Machine backup onto an external drive, your only option is to access to the Time Machine drive manually (open a Finder window and choose your Time Machine drive in the Finder sidebar), navigate through its folders and copy the files you want to the external drive

  • HT201250 I run time machine on my iMac using an external hard drive.  I just bought a MacBook Pro and want to know if i can run time machine on it using my wireless network on to the iMac external hard drive

    I run time machine on my iMac using an external hard drive.  I just bought a MacBook Pro and want to know if i can run time machine on it using my wireless network on to the iMac external hard drive

    How do I set up Time Machine to a shared drive on another Mac?

  • I would like to transfer my iTunes and photos etc from my PC to my new iMac via a external hard drive. Would somebody recommend one. I read that the Western Digital Mybook Essential 3.0 is good.

    I would like to transfer my iTunes and photos etc from my PC to my new iMac via a external hard drive. Would somebody recommend one. I read that the Western Digital Mybook Essential 3.0 is good. Though as Mac has 2.0 is this fast enough? I am a basic user, surfing only.

    If you plan on using the WD with the Mac after the iTunes transfer I would strongly recommend against WD. WD external HD's tend to be the most troublesome with Macs. If you intend to use the drive for backup using Time Machine or creating a bootable clone then I'd recommend a higher quality drive than WD. The drives I'd recommend in that case would be:
    OWC Mercury Elite Pro series
    LaCie d2 Quadra series
    G-Tech G-DRIVE series
    These are all high quality drives and enclosures with similar features. Personally I use the LaCie's however I would be happy to have OWC and G-Tech on my desk too. FWIW I've been using the LaCie's for 4 years and have 4 of them, all work perfectly and have never given me any trouble.
    You also my find this article helpful: Move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)

  • How Do I Transfer Movies From My iMac To My External Hard Drive?

    Silly question, how do i transfer movies from my iMac to my external hard drive? I have read a few blogs about it but it is not very clear.
    If i change the format from - Windows NT File System (NTFS) to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) will it erase everything of my hard drive?
    I have a 2T Seagate hard drive and already have used 1T of it. Im to scared to do anything with out the correct answer as i dont want to accidently delete anything of my dard drive.
    PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!
    Thanks

    Please tell us what Mac you have and what version of OS X.

  • My iMac cannot detect the Hard Disk

    Hi, i've got a question...
    Something is wrong with my new iMac. Somedays (only somedays) my iMac cannot detect the hard disk, so when I startup it stops on the initial screen (whit a gray "apple" and background). I tryed to startup it with OSX system discs but the installation app and disk utility don't detect any Hard Disk.
    At an authorized store have said to me that can be a software problem...
    Is that true? I thought that was a hardware problem.
    Thanx,
    Eneko
    iMac 17"/2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM/160GB Serial ATA   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    Given the young age of you machine I believe you should be taking Apple to task on this one. I'd advise you back-up your data to multiple locations before you go any further. 
    mrtotes

  • Old MacBook Pro boots no further than the apple image and the ball spins aimlessly as if it cannot detect the hard drive

    My old MacBook Pro displays the apple image on start up then hangs with the ball spinning continuously. Seems it cannot detect the hard drive. Can I start up holding down certain keys to bypass the problem. Running snow leopard and don't have a start up disk.

    Try the procedures in this support article;
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
    You may also use the original install disk.  When you get to the point where the menu bar shows on top of the display, select Utilities.  The open Disk Utility from the drop down menu and try to repair the disk.
    Ciao.

  • How do i back up my files from an intel core duo imac to an external hard drive?

    Hello
    How do I back up my files from an intel core duo imac to an external hard drive?

    Like you do with any other Mac*:
    http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
    Note: if you have a CoreDuo, you can only upgrade up to 10.6.8.  Only Core2Duos and higher can go to 10.7 (Lion).

  • IMac Finder cannot see external hard drive but Disk Utility can

    I have a WD external hard drive and it has been attached to my iMac for a year or two.  About two months ago I upgraded to Lion 10.7.5 and hard drive still worked.  Then suddenly about a week ago the iMac no longer sees the external hard drive in Finder.
    I have connected the hard drive to the iMac with different USB cables and into different ports and it makes no difference so deduce there is no issues with the cables or the ports.  I have connected the hard drive to an old Macbook and it can see the harddrive and read some of the info but I really need the hard drive attached to the iMac as I store all my music and photos on the external hard drive.
    I read another thread and someone asked if you can see the hard drive in Disk Utility.  I tried this and Disk Utility can see the hard drive.
    What does this mean?  Any suggestions as to how to get the iMac to see the hard drive so I can access the data on it?
    I dont really know how Disk Utility works therefore if that is any help to me.
    thanks

    Open the Finder.
    From the Finder menu bar click Finder > Preferences then select the General tab.
    Make sure: External disks is selected.

  • How do I transfer downloaded movies from my iMac to my external hard drive?

    Hi folks
    I am trying to transfer movies downloaded to my iMac 7 on to my external hard drive. How do I go about this. Many thanks in advance

    No not an error message. Whilst I am transferring the document there is "o" with a strike through it and this symbol is carried along with the file that I am transferring (if ya know what I mean). It may actually be my actual hard drive. For example,  I tried to rename the hard drive and right clicked on it and went to the "get info" tab and,  where I should be able to change the title of the hard drive,  it is greyed out and cannot change the name.
    But I am more concerned with transferring files to my hard drive to be honest.
    Thanks

  • Cannot Identify External Hard Drive

    hi,
    my imac has an usb 2.0 linked external hard drive. i used the diskutility to format the hdd and stored files on it.
    but sometimes when i boot into mac, a pop-up message says that the "hardware cannot be identified"
    so i have to unplug the hard drive and reboot, then in mac, plug the external hard drive.
    so what went wrong?
    thanks.

    So a hint as to which external hard drive you have please. Have you contacted the manufacturer? Have you checked the usb cable? Have you checked the power source for the hard drive? Why are you posting a hardware problem in the "Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard > Using Mac OS X Leopard"
    discussion forum area?

  • 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!

  • I want to move my music and photos to an external hard drive from my iMac. What external hard drive should I get?

    I want to move my music and photos to an external hard drive from my iMac.  What kind of hard drive should I get?  Will it remove it from iMac and only be on external hard drive?

    How to correctly move your media:
    iTunes: How to move the library to an EHD
    iPhoto: How to move the Library to an EHD
    It is important that the External Hard Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).
    And also make sure that all is working to your Satisfaction before Deleting anything Off your Mac.

  • IMac Not Recognizing External Hard Drive

    Hi friends,
    I recently upgraded my MacBook from 5 years ago to the newest iMac. In doing so, I transferred my computer using Time Machine & my external hard drive. The hard drive is partitioned to allow for storage as well as Time Machine backups. I plugged my external hard drive into a PC to try to access these files and it didn't recognize the hard drive, so I didn't think anything of it and unplugged it.
    Now I can't get my iMac to recognize the hard drive at all. I have gone into Disk Utilities to see if it's listed there, but nothing. It usually makes a lot of noise when it's first plugged in (whirring and sounding like it's about to take flight, etc.) but no sound today. However, the white light that indicates it's on is lit. This could be due to being plugged into the wall, however, and not having to do with being plugged into the computer. (This is a decently old hard drive in terms of technology, probably 4 years.)
    I should have known better than to infect my hard drive with PC cooties. But that wouldn't have wiped everything clean, right? I'm wondering if my hard drive just happened to bite the dust coincidentally around this brush with fate.
    Does this sound like something that is wrong with my hard drive, or with the connection? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have quite a few files I would hate to lose on the hard drive.
    Thanks!

    Zap the PRAM and Reset the SMC; then, hook up the ext HD, fire it up, and see if that fixes things.

Maybe you are looking for