Iomega external hard drive problem

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post this but I purchased an iomega external HD off the apple.com site to use during travel (I was assuming it could be used as a larger capacity flash drive of sorts, and intended to transfer my files from my G5 to my husband's G4 laptop to use). Well, long story short, when I connect the external HD to the laptop the icon shows up, however when I try to open my files on the external HD my husband's files open instead (eg, when I click on my address book on the external HD my husband's address book opens up). I've never encountered this problem using small flash drives. If anyone out there knows what's up with this I'd appreciate the assistance. Thanks!

The applications you are using are looking for files in a specific location as opposed to those on the external drive; this most often applies when the data resides in a section of your home folder other than the Desktop and Documents folders. In order to have data of this type properly recognized, you need to have an account with its home folder on the external drive, which isn't possible simply by plugging the drive in; some applications don't require an account dedicated to this purpose, but other configuration is needed. Use a word processor, spreadsheet, or database, to store a copy of your address book and other Library content.
(24188)

Similar Messages

Problem with saving from white Macbook to Iomega external hard drive

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before but i cannot find any thread, so i apologise in advance!
I recently have bought a white macbook, but i have a Iomega external hard drive 250GB (which is not full and nowhere near full)I able to move songs and photos over to iTunes and save on my iPhone okay with no problem. The problem arises when i want to do it the other way, I basically want to save documents, songs and pictures on my macbook over to the external hard drive.
The icon for the external hard drive appears and everything works. I was suggested to use iTunes > preference > advanced and change the location to my hard drive. I have tried this and all it does it make an additional copy on iTunes not on the hard drive.
I would be grateful if someone could please help me as i do not have a clue!
Thanks
Gemma

My guess is that the external drive is formatted for windows (NTFS) and for the Mac it would be read only. You can't write to the disk unless you use a third party application like [NTFS-3G|http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/24481/ntfs-3g].
If you're only going to use the drive with your Mac, I suggest reformmating it for Mac (Mac Extended (Journaled)) using Disk Utility. This process will erase the drive so if there's any more stuff that you need, reclaim that first.

Windows 8.1 and IOMEGA External Hard Drive Issues

Since I upgraded from Windows 7 to 8.1 my computer will not now recognize my IOMEGA external hard drive. How could just updating Windows not allow my hard drive to be accessed? Please help? I do taxes on the side and all my clients's
tax returns are on this external drive and need to be accessed. I have a laptop with Windows 7 and it recognizes the hard drive with no problem. Only problem is I do not want to do taxes on my laptop. Is there a patch somewhere to help?
If not,how much trouble is it to go back to Windows 7 because this issue is a serious one with me? I know I am not the only one with this issue because if you search on IOMEGA the issue is going on with others. I just have not seen a real
solution to the problem yet. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

Hello Dewayne H,
What is your current situation?
Have you tried the solution as britishdhez mentioned?
Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN
Fangzhou CHEN
TechNet Community Support

Iomega external hard drive either 'not found' by Time Machine or is now in 'read only' format

I don't know what's going on with my iomega external hard drive. Sometimes the HD is recognised by the computer; other times it isn't; if it isn't I can restore to an earlier back up via Time Machine app; but it's like the disk isn't writable.
Ten days ago, I had trouble backing up my iMac using Time Machine. After turning it off and restarting my external hard drive, it backed up successfully.
However, today I am trying to back up my files, and TM tells me it can't find the external hard drive. Nothing has changed -- I have been out of town this past week -- but somehow my HD now seems to be in 'read only' format. It does turn on, and I could restore my computer to an earlier back up.
"Mac OS X can't repair the disk. You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can't save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can."
Annoyingly, despite my HD not showing in Finder or on my Desktop (as it usually does), when I simply turn it off I get that warning message "The disk was not ejected properly".
Have tried verifying and repairing using Disk Utility, to no avail.
Am prompted to reformat but I don't have a good understanding of what this means and how to do it. I'm guessing this would wipe the disk clean and I'd have to create the initial back up image all over again -- I'm reluctant to do this since this HD is my only back up and if it all goes tits up I'll be up that famous creek without a paddle.
Thoughts, suggestions, input all welcome and deeply appreciated -- thank you!

fzgy wrote:
"Mac OS X can't repair the disk. You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can't save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can."
It's possible a heavy-duty 3rd-party disk repair app can fix it, but they're expensive (DiskWarrior is about $100), and there's no guarantee it can do it.
Am prompted to reformat but I don't have a good understanding of what this means and how to do it.
That will erase it. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #5.
It sounds very much like the disk is beginning to fail, although it's possible there's a bad port, cable, connection or power supply (if it has its own).
I'd suggest getting a new one, and using it for your Time Machine backups; once you have a good backup there, reformat the old one (and select Security Options to write zeros to the whole drive -- if that fails, you know the drive is toast). Use it for secondary backups, per FAQ #27. If it has failed, get a second new one for secondary backups.

Hi - my 2011 Mac Pro no longer recognizes devices in the usb ports, I've been told it's the logic board. is there a way I can connect the iomega external hard drive to it through the firewire or thunderbolt ports?

Hi - my 2011 Mac Pro no longer recognizes devices in the usb ports, I've been told it's the logic board. is there a way I can connect the iomega external hard drive to it through the firewire or thunderbolt ports?

jrburrows wrote:
Ok, fair enough. But since Job's death - Apple's control on leaks has been terrible. I got the new iPhone, and I like it - but it hasn't made nearly as big as an impression as previous ones. Because of the vast ammount of leaks. With the iPad mini leaks, it's 99% sure to come out next week.
Apple uses many manufacturers and it's massive also websites prefer to report on Apple whether true or false because it brings more hits.
Amd by "others" I meant other people on iPads - not other devices/manufacturers. It's possible to do so, I just want to know how. I honestly don't think we'll ever be in a Post-PC era until all tablets allow us to use USB in the way computers do.
No, USB is not the future, you missed the memo about cloud and wireless computing?

Iomega external hard drive not appearing in Disk Utility

I have a MacBook Pro (from 2011) and I'm running OS X 10.9.5. I have an old Iomega external hard drive. I'm not certain but this thing might be about 3-4 years old? When I connect the drive to my MBP, it shows up in Finder under Devices. But what appears is the Windows disk utility that is pre-loaded on the drive. The actual drive does not appear and I can't move files onto it in Finder.
When I go into Disk Utility and try to format the drive for Mac use, it doesn't appear.
Is there anything I can do or am I stuck with this old drive that doesn't work with Macs?

Try following tips.
USB and FireWire Quick Assist - Apple Support

I have just upgraded from a Macbook to a Macbook Air. I have been using a iomega external hard drive for Time Machine, which use a Firewire. However, Macbook Air's do not have a Firewire port and i cannot find an adaptor anywhere. Can anyone help?? Thanks

I have just upgraded from a Macbook to a Macbook Air. I have been using a iomega external hard drive for Time Machine, which use a Firewire. However, Macbook Air's do not have a Firewire port and i cannot find an adaptor anywhere. Can anyone help?? Thanks

There has never been a reliable firewire ---> USB adapter suitable for external high speed storage. This was a major issue when the MacBooks lost the firewire port a number of years ago (Apple subsequently brought it back).
The only high speed port on the Air is the ThunderBolt port. There are external ThunderBolt drive options out there, but they're somewhat more expensive than traditional USB/FireWire options.

I can not delete or copy new files to my Iomega external hard drive

Hi,
I can not delete or copy new files to my Iomega external hard drive. Opening hard drive folder I can see that I can not overwrite it. I have heard that I need to install some program for the external hard drive to operate properly in Mac.
Please help what to install or there is some other option.
Thnx

I'm not the expert on this since I have never done it. It sounds like you may need a data rescue program like Data Rescue III. I believe you can download a demo and see if you can see the files. If you can, then you can buy the program and retrieve the files. I don't know if Disk Utility can restore them--I think they have to be visible but this is not something I have ever had to do.
In the meantime, don't do anything with the drive--you don't want to overwrite any files. Hopefully all or most of the files are still there and you will be able to retrieve them. The less the drive is used, the better your chances are of retrieving the data.
Forgive me for not realizing that there were files on the drive that you wanted to save. Upon re-reading your question, I now see that there were. I should have known to warn you, and my bad that I didn't.
Good luck!

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]

Help! When i connect my "iomega" External hard drive to my mac it does not show in devices or on the desktop, how can i access my hard drive?

Help! When i connect my "iomega" External hard drive to my mac it does not show in devices or on the desktop, how can i access my hard drive?

what format your iomega HD is it NTFS , if NTFS try download http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/ntfs3g.html

Snow Leopard upgrade - now iomega external hard drive cant be seen

I've been using an Iomega External Hard Drive (RPHD-C) to run Time Machine as my back-up. Upgraded to Snow Leopard yesterday and - no external Hard Drive. Doesnt show in Disk Utility. Any ideas?

Disconnect the disk and power it down for a few minutes, then reconnect, see if Disk Utility recognizes it.
If no help, disconnect again, and Restart your Mac, then reconnect the drive.
If it's connected via USB, try FireWire; or vice-versa.
If still no help, try different ports, cables, and combinations of the two (sometimes a plug that works fine in one port won't make good contact in a different one).

Recover files from iomega external hard drive to mac 10.6.2

I'm very frustrated. I have 50gigs of documents and photos sitting in my iOmega external hard drive, some of which I need to print for my mother's funeral on Saturday.
I am computer savvy but not a tech, so I'm having difficulty understanding how to get my Mac to open these files in my iPhoto program, or PS Elements 9.
I don't have any money, so I can't purchase any software at the moment, but i DESPARATELY need to open these photo files to print them off tomorrow.
Please can someone help me find a quick, easy, and free solution.
These files were backed up from my PC before I bought my first Mac in Dec 2010.

iPhoto/File/Import to Library should bring the desired photos into iPhoto.

Iomega external hard drive compatability

I have an iomega external hard drive in the Windows NT File System and all of my files are now read only when I connect to my Macbook Pro. Does anyone know what I can do to be able to delete/add files to the external hard drive again? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Install software such as Paragon NTFS on the computer, or use the Disk Utility to erase the drive, specifying Mac OS Extended (Journaled), MS-DOS, or exFAT as desired.
(103581)

Problems with iomega External Hard Drive on MacBook Air

Hi community!
I'm experiencing some problems with my MacBook Air and an external hard drive and I'm wondering if anybody would be able to help me out.
I own a MacBook Air running Mac OS X 10.7.3. When I connect my iomega 500GB external hard drive, the Finder is able to pick it up, but when I click on the drive name, it spins forever without the Finder responding for a long time (it basically crashes the Finder with a spinning ball staying forever). The light on the external hard drive flashes intermittently when I first plug it in, but after that stays constantly lit. So I guess the disk has power, but something else is wrong with it.
It was working fine earlier today but I accidentally pulled the cable out while the disk was working. I'm hoping this hasn't permanently damaged my drive.
Any help on what I could do to fix this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
SV

You might try launching Disk Utility, and then select the drive in question to run a "Verify disk" on the drive. This may indicate any errors in the file system of the drive that might be preventing the successful reading of the disk.
If the disk is empty, you may want to re-partition and reformat, so as to start with a "clean slate".

External Iomega USB Hard Drive Problem?

Hi there
I have just purchased two Iomega desktop hard drives for use with my iMac.
I have the new iMac and latest version of Leopard installed.
I formatted the drives for use with the system as they were formatted for Windows use originally. However, although the partitions I setup are showing as 'Mac OS Extended' in Disk Utility, when I highlight the disk name itself, its saying that the disk is MS-DOS (FAT)! And that the Partition Map Scheme is Master Boot Record.
When I re-erase I still get this.
The drive does appear to be slow when copying to the drive.
Can anyone please help?
Kind regards,
Stuart

Works fine on mine. But I only use drives that have the Mac friendly Oxford chipset.
I'm guessing you don't have one with that?
In case you haven't seen this....
Thought you could use this info about getting FireWire to work!
First, you should always Repair Permissions in Disk Utility before and after any update; I would do that now. If you installed your update with FireWire plugged in, your Mac may not recognize it anymore.
Try resetting your FireWire ports by disconnecting all FW devices, shut down your Mac and unplug it from AC power (wall socket) for 30 minutes. plug it back in and try FW.
If that didn't work, download the 10.6.1 update from this site (yours may be corrupt), not Software Update, disconnect all firewire + USB devices except keyboard + mouse, Repair Permissions, re-install update, Repair Permissions again + try.
If that still didn't get it Zap the PRAM. While restarting Mac hold down the following key combo Command-Option-P-R. Keep holding those keys down till you hear the second start-up chime, then release.
A bad internal PRAM battery can also cause FireWire to not be recognized, so make sure it's good!
Also, here is Apple doc.#88338 on getting FireWire to work.
Here's another Fw Faq.
DALE

Iomega external hard drive problem

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for