Multiple external drives failed on Mac Pro. Any idea why?

This is the third drive that has failed since I was assigned this Mac Pro at work a few weeks ago, and the drive was purchased less than a week ago. The other two were older drives.
They would suddenly stop being readable. Sometimes there was a problem ejecting the drive before it stopped becomeing readable (message would say the drive couldn't be ejected because another program is using it, when there were no programs open). One of them eventually mounted again and I recovered some of the files (but some files weren't readable when I tried to copy them). But that was just luck as they all seem now to be consistently unreadable. When I plug them in I get the message: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"... same if I plug it into a different computer.
And when I try to repair, it shows this: http://i.imgur.com/ivK9d.png
Any idea what would cause this? When it happed to the second drive, I just thought it was a fluke... but now a third, brand new drive? Something about the computer must be causing it.

innergalactic wrote:
The first two were WD and the third was Seagate - all in their own enclosures. They MIGHT have been plugged into the same FW800
So we're talking different vendors, different enclosures -- but likely the same bus, possibly even the same port, and different hosts (Mac Pro and MacBook).
Very difficult to say at this point, because two different computers are actually involved and you're not sure how and which is involved. The problem does sound like a hardware issue -- but, if it is, is it the FW controller on the MBP or on the MP? I can't tell.
Your pic shows DU can't fix the drive, but can it re-format the drive? (If the drive is FW/USB hybrid, try USB if FW doesn't work.) If yes, the error might be hardware or software; if no, the problem is likely hardware.
Although it's difficult, you must keep track of what drive is connected to what machine and on which port, otherwise you'll only fix this by being lucky. Also, check if you have on either Mac software which might interfere with disk writing. Of course, I assume you always eject the ext'l drives properly before you disconnect them physically.

Similar Messages

  • On my Mac (vers 10.7.5) I use Disk Utilites to burn a DVD. The DVD won't play on the Mac but will play on my Windows PC and on a DVD player. A DVD created on my PC will play on the Mac. Any ideas why this is happening?

    On my Mac (vers 10.7.5) I use Disk Utilites to burn a DVD. The DVD won't play on my Mac but will play on my Windows PC and on a DVD player. A DVD created on my PC will play on the Mac. Any ideas why this is happening?

    I used iDVD to create an IMG file
    You created the video DVD, the IMG file, with iDVD and just burned it with Disk Utility. As Klaus1 pointed out Disk Utility can't create video DVDs.
    OT

  • HT1386 I am getting an error message that syncing failed to start.  Any ideas why?

    I am getting an error message that syncing failed to start.  Any ideas why.  The ipad is working fine.

    Then I tried to download and install them again but it kept saying the old itunes could not be removed.
    (1) Download the Windows Installer CleanUp utility installer file (msicuu2.exe) from the following Major Geeks page (use one of the links under the "DOWNLOAD LOCATIONS" thingy on the Major Geeks page):
    http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4459
    (2) Doubleclick the msicuu2.exe file and follow the prompts to install the Windows Installer CleanUp utility. (If you're on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 system and you get a Code 800A0046 error message when doubleclicking the msicuu2.exe file, try instead right-clicking on the msicuu2.exe file and selecting "Run as administrator".)
    (3) In your Start menu click All Programs and then click Windows Install Clean Up. The Windows Installer CleanUp utility window appears, listing software that is currently installed on your computer.
    (4) In the list of programs that appears in CleanUp, select any iTunes entries and click "Remove", as per the following screenshot:
    (5) Quit out of CleanUp, restart the PC and try another iTunes install. Does it go through properly this time?

  • TS1367 SSD Replacement Hard Drive won't boot on my Macbook Pro; Any ideas why?

    I recently replaced my hard drive for my Macbook pro. I built a bootable SSD drive in a SATA/USB caddy, which works perfectly until I install it in my laptop where it will not boot. Has anyone got any ideas why this might be the case?

    What model MBP?  (exactly)
    What model SSD?
    How did oyu test it in the caddy?  Most dont work on bridges. Min didnt.
    and..why is this is the xserve section?
    Grant

  • Can I physically install my 0.5 TB USB 2 external drive in my Mac Pro?

    Hi guys.
    I bought a .5 TB external USB hard drive a while back when I used to produce/sequence my music on a PC. Since switching I've re-formatted the drive to HFS, re-installed my samples etc, and now use it with my Mac Pro. My question is:
    Could I remove the drive from it's external housing and install it to a bay inside my Pro? Would the data transfer be quicker if I were to do this? Although the drive works fine, there are times when I experience a tiny dropout in audio when a sample is launched - as a result of the file being streamed from USB - and would installing the drive internally improve this?
    The specs of the drive are:
    USB2.0 Storage Device:
    Capacity: 465.76 GB
    Removable Media: Yes
    Detachable Drive: Yes
    BSD Name: disk1
    Version: 0.01
    Bus Power (mA): 500
    Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
    Manufacturer: Cypress Semiconductor
    OS9 Drivers: No
    Product ID: 0x6830
    Serial Number: DEF10D4838C4
    S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
    Vendor ID: 0x04b4
    Volumes:
    External Drive:
    Capacity: 465.64 GB
    Available: 383.83 GB
    Writable: Yes
    File System: Journaled HFS+
    BSD Name: disk1s3
    Mount Point: /Volumes/External Drive 1
    I'm a little inexperienced with drives, so any advice would be very much appreciated.
    Dan

    if it is SATA (unlikely) it would have an SATA port on the case along with USB2.
    As you say, it is unlikely that a commercial USB drive will utilize a SATA hard drive inside. This will probably be true in most cases until PATA hard drives are more difficult to find.
    However, there are several empty enclosures on the market that support SATA hard drives and only have a USB port. I prefer external SATA combo enclosures that provide both SATA and USB so that they can be used with wide range of enclosures and with a SATA data port when speed is required.
    One SATA hard drive enclosure with this feature is the ICY DOCK Hot Swap eSATA/USB 2.0 Mobile Enclosure (MB559US-1S)
    http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/cremax/mb559/
    I imagine this user will find when he opens the USB case that it is a PATA hard drive and he will be limited to placing it in a 3.5" to 5.25" bracket and installing it in the second bay of the Mac Pro DVD housing. This should double the performance of the hard drive compared to the USB connection.
    If it is SATA the mounting task is simpler. Either way the hard drive should be able to be utilized internally.

  • I cannot get the numerical keys to work on my Mac pro any ideas?

    HI
    I am trying to return something bought on line and need to fill out various information on the website. I cannot get the numerical keys to work anybody any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong?
    GL

    Hi Goostrey Lou,
    Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
    Start with the tips in this article if some keys on your keyboard are not working:
    One or more keys on the keyboard do not respond
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1381
    All the best,
    Jeremy

  • Unable to access external drive connected to Mac Pro running Mountain Lion

    When I initially connect, it is accessable and I am able to back up to it.  But after a few weeks, it no longer allows changes.  It is still mounted, and I can see the directories on it, but can no longer write to it.  I was told by the folks at G-drive that this is a known problem with Mountain Lion.  I really need my drive to stay available....I notice that there is an update to 10.8.4, but before taking my FM Pro Server offline, I'd like to know if the update will fix the problem.
    Thanks.

    I don't know if it's the same problem, but in the last few weeks we have had that happen on two machines running Snow Leopard and one running Lion 10.7.5.  In our case, it always involves Time Machine, and the FW external FW drive becomes read-only for no apparent reason and despite the fact that Command+I reveals the user "can read and write" to the drive.  Running Apple's disk utility to Repair Disk a few times usually fixes it.
    It's just infuriating. Ever since Leopard came out with Time Machine I had had that intrusive, obnoxious utility permanently disabled. I enabled it in Lion, and I've disabled it again.

  • No GPU acceleration in PPro w/Quadro 4000 using drivers above 4.0.19 on Mac. Any ideas why?

    Can someone out there help me figure out why PPro 5.5.2 will not offer GPU acceleration from my Nvidia Quadro 4000 when running any driver higher than 4.0.19? It's the strangest thing, and I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out why I can't update the Nvidia driver without losing GPU acceleration in PPro.
    Eric Deuser
    Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3
    Premiere Pro CS 5.5.2
    Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
    Nvidia Quadro 4000
    2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
    24 GB RAM

    Bug report with likely fix: https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/43143

  • I can not save any data to external hard drive from my mac pro. Is there anyone can help me in this regard?( note, when i first plug my ext. drive to mac i chose option to backup later)

    I can not save any data to external hard drive from my mac pro. Is there anyone can help me in this regard?( note, when i first plug my ext. drive to mac i chose option to backup later)

    The device may be formatted for Windows, as NTFS. The format is readable, but not natively writable on a Mac. To write to the device, you must either reformat it (erasing all the contents) or install third-party software to enable write access to NTFS.

  • I have a Mac pro(1 free bay) and a mac mini I need to back both of them  Is it better to use an external NAS HD or an internal hard drive on my mac pro (mid 2010) What option has the faster GB/s?

    I have a Mac pro(1 free bay) and a mac mini I need to back up both of them (time machine)  Is it better to use an external NAS HD or an internal hard drive on my mac pro (mid 2010)
    What option has the faster GB/s?

    Disk drive using native SATA bus interface will allow the drive to copy and always present and ready.
    But once you have backup any hourly changes should be smaller and as long as the NAS and your switch should allow enough.
    You should always have off line backups and don't rely on just one backup set or just TimeMachine.
    WD RED models are designed for RAID and NAS and 7.2k instead of your more standard slower green 5400 rpm green models while still costing less than WD Blacks.
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JJLW4M/
    How to clone your system:
    http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
    http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
    Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
    http://www.bombich.com/software/updates/ccc-3.5.html
    Clone to internal, TimeMachine to NAS is one way to go at it.

  • How can i perform a search on my external hard drive on my mac pro os x 10.9.2 ?

    how can i perform a search on my external hard drive on my mac pro os x 10.9.2 ?

    Mac OS X 10.9.2 is 12 years newer than 9.2.x.    You need to make sure that Spotlight has indexed the external hard drive by adding it and removing it from Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy.   Check the menu for it:
    to determine if indexing is still going on, as it will say indexing.
    Alternatively, you can use a non-Spotlight tool, such as:
    http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/
    http://www.devontechnologies.com/products/freeware/ - EasyFind
    http://www.osxbytes.com/ - iFileX (note the MacUpdate link provided on osxbytes page has a Malware advertisement for MacKeeper, do not download).
    http://www.barebones.com/ Textwrangler has a Search file for content, which works on any Text file.

  • Attaching an external eSATA drive to my Mac Pro?

    Need to attach a LaCie 1TB eSATA drive to my Mac Pro for video editing with Final Cut Pro.
    So can I just buy a regular PC based eSATA card to conect it to the Mac Pro. Like this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sitecom-CN-042-eSATA-PCI-Card/dp/B000UDUBPG/ref=sr113?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245579334&sr=8-13
    Any other known setup issues?
    Kevin

    Buy Mac Pro compatible. I'd start looking at Sonnet Tempo E4P
    http://www.sonnettech.com
    http://www.macsales.com
    http://www.amug.com - click on reviews, dozens of on SATA controllers.
    And please, please, skip and avoid LaCie (use it for backup) and go with native SATA enclosure. They don't even work well with even Sonnet Tempo or others like E2P. (There is a footnote on Sonnet site AND on OWC!)
    Lots of threads on external SATA products.

  • I recently installed a 2nd drive in my Mac Pro.  I wanted my pictures on the new drive so I moved the Picture file there.  I also upgraded my iPhoto.  Now iPhoto doesn't know where many of the photos are.  Any quick fix?

    I recently installed a 2nd drive in my Mac Pro.  I wanted my pictures on the new drive so I moved the Picture file there.  I also upgraded my iPhoto.  Now iPhoto doesn't know where many of the photos are.  Any quick fix?

    Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select the library on the other hard drive from those listed in the window:
    OT

  • How to allow multiple users login to a MAC PRO without interruption?

    I have a mac pro, which runs Yosemite, (2013 module) to be used as a server. However, I have difficult to let multiple users to use the mac simultaneously.
    Objective:
        One person uses the mac directly on his desktop, while the others to login remotely though VNC from PC (win 7/Linux).
        The users have their own workspace, and they will not interrupt each other.
    What I tried:
        I created two mange accounts on the MAC.
        Account 1 was used to directly login on the mac desktop.
        Account 2 was used to login to the mac from a PC though VNC. (I also tried this from a Centos workstation with the Tiger VNC viewer)
    Problem:
    When account 2 is login, the location monitor will automatically change to that account as well. Both accounts shared exactly the same screen, mouse & keyboard actions. It is impossible to let multiple users to use the MAC pro simultaneously without interruptions.
    If I use "hdiutil attach" to mount a dmg file though SSH with account 2, the folder will automatically show in the local desktop login with account 1.
    Question:
    I read something about the "Per-user screen sharing". It says, "You can remotely log into a Mac with any user account on that computer and control it, without interrupting someone else who might be using the computer under a different login." Is it possible to do this from a PC or Linux client?
    If the problem is simply due to the poor functionality of the build-in VNC service in Yosemite, I appreciate your help to suggest some other decent VNC server for Yosemite. I know the Vine Server (OSXvnc), but I failed to install it on the mac because it is incompatible with the Yosemite.
    Does the SSH is supposed to work in this way in OSX? I mean the local account can see the folder mounted by another account though SSH.
    If any specific version of Yosemite is required to allow multiple users to access a mac simultaneously? Just as the win 7 professional allow only one user to login in at each time. But with the remote desktop server of windows, multiple users are able to use the same computer at the same time without any problem.
    If you familiar with any of the above questions, please help. Any comments and suggestions are appreciated.
    I know the best way to get the solution is to direct call the apple support. However, it is really not easy to call them. Because it always results with long waiting time and then the people pick up the phone will transfer my call to an expert who will make me to describe the problem again.
    Since I'm not interested in the technique details of all the problems, it is also grateful if you would provide a direct instruction to let me setup the computer for the purpose.
    Thanks you very much for your kindly help.

    I cannot help with the screen sharing, although I have just tried it with a RealVNC client on an iPad and it seemed to work OK.
    However on the disk showing on all users desk tops have you unchecked the "ignore ownership on this volume" check box? You can check the drives permissions with CMD i command.

  • 4 Questions re installing a second Optical Drive in a Mac Pro (Harpertown)

    For years I have owned and used a Sony DRX-810UL-T optical drive as an external unit with my Mac Pro "Harpertown" purchased on February 19, 2009. It was connected to the computer using the firewire cable and it worked correctly.
    Some Background
    Today it dawned on me I had an empty optical drive bay in the Mac Pro so I should move the Sony drive in there and eliminate a bit of the clutter on my computer desk. I read the section on installing optical drives in the little Apple manual that came with my computer but it only discussed a single drive installation.
    Checked on line and found several sources describing how to do this and a couple of YouTube videos also showing how to do this. (Oddly only one of the videos mentioned the need for plugging in the power cable).
    I made sure I plugged the cables into the proper units as both had helpful legends on them indicating which was for the top drive and which was for the bottom drive.
    After installation I powered up and found neither drive would appear.
    Checked the About this Mac item in the Apple menu and got confirmation that the system didn't see any drives. Opened the computer again and unplugged the Sony's power and data cables then closed the computer and fired up again.
    The original Super Drive again appeared and worked correctly.
    The Questions:
    1. Since the Super drive came with the Mac Pro and was in the top space can I assume it needed to stay there and not get moved to the lower space?
    2. Since the Sony DRX-810UL-T has the correct connectors does this indicate this drive can be used with the Harpertown Mac Pro?
    3. If it can, did I miss setting some jumpers? I noticed both drives have one jumper in place but each appears to be in a slightly different spot than the other.
    4. Since the Sony drive worked correctly with my current OS (10.6.6) using the firewire cable can I assume it does not need a firmware update to be used internally.
    Wrap up
    Since the original Super Drive is working properly I am sure I did no damage to it or the computer. It would be nice to be able to get the Sony DVD drive to work internally, however.
    Thanks, in advance, to anyone who can offer some help with this situation.

    hatter,
    Thank you for this added information. Here's the current status of things.
    Just to check that the Sony drive would work internally I disconnected the superdrive (ata cable and power cable) and made the Sony drive the only drive plugging it in as if it was the top drive. The jumper for it was set to cable select.
    The Profiler found it and listed is in both the ATA section and the disc burner section.
    I checked the jumper on the superdrive to be sure it was also set for cable select and plugged both drives back in using the top connections for the super drive and bottom connections for the Sony,
    Again only the SuperDrive appears in the ATA list and and the disc burner list.
    I am beginning to wonder it the problem may actually be with the ribbon cable that snakes back to the motherboard.
    Since that cable has a set of dual outlets at the drive end and has them labeled for top and bottom, is it possible to plug in only one drive using the bottom connector as a test to see if data flows to the motherboard?
    Is it possible some part of that cable has somehow become disconnected at the motherboard?

Maybe you are looking for