My WD 2tb external hard drive will not unmount from my MacBook Pro.

My WD 2tb external hard drive will not unmount from my MacBook Pro. It no longer even shows up in finder, however it does show up in Disk Utility. I have tired so many of the suggestions on the internet all to a fail.
I keep getting the message to be sure that all applications are closed before ejecting the drive. I have no clue how to tell which appliactions are using the external drive to shut them off. I turned off Time Machiene to be safe. 
I don't need anything on the external drive, I am just trying to erase it, save my current info, and migrate it to my new MacBook Pro.
I have been about four days now with this issue all over the internet, in this community, and watching videos on everything and nothing about this topic to a fail.
I think I am doomed and have lossed this external drive because of some wierd application that will NEVER close on my hard drive for it to disconnect correctly. It's annoying.
Does anyone have a solution?

Have you trie using another USB port? Can you test the USB ports with other USB devices to assure they are working? You may want to reinstall OS X in case there has been a driver glitch.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
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.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Similar Messages

  • External hard drive documents not read on a MacBook Pro

    Hi all,
    I use my external hard drive to save a document from another  PC computer last week when I plugged it  back on my Mac the documents cannot be  read on a Mac as it says they are not supports by apps software or search for application that will open those files.
    I have all the documents which I copy from my previous Toshiba Laptop which was windows7 but is there way to clean the external drive on Mac without loosing all the document? or how do I format my external hard disk on MacBook Pro?
    Jok2

    You can copy these documents to the internal drive of your MacBook Pro and then, format the external drive. If you want to use the external drive on Macs and PCs, I recommend you to format your external drive on a PC to use exFAT, better than NTFS or FAT32. You can also use FAT32 but it isn't compatible with files bigger than 4 GB, and NTFS disks can't be written on Macs. If you want to use this external drive only with your Mac, you can use Disk Utility to format the external drive using "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Read > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html
    Depending on the application you used to create the documents on the PC, you have to install an application that reads these documents. For example, if you created these documents with Office, you can use Office for Mac, iWork or LibreOffice. Each one has got its advantages and disadvantages

  • The external hard drive is not recognized by my macbook pro (yosemite).

    The external hard drive that was recognized by my older iMac (snow lion), is not recognized by my new macbook pro (yosemite).
    Can anyone help me with this? Thank you!

    Can you see the drive in Disk Utility?
    See mount section in 1st linked article.
    Disk Unmount Using Terminal
    Disk Utility – Force Mount Disk

  • New Seagate 1TB external hard drive is not being selected by MacBook Pro

    My new Seagate 1TB external HD is not being identified by the MacBook Pro (10.7.5 Mac OSX). Whereas the same being recognized by a WIN8 OS based PC. I need a format wherby the external HD should be recognised by both Mac OS and Win.
    Kindly help.
    Pls note my system is being run on safe mode, as there is a problem in the left shif key. Hence, while booting, it is automatically being shifted to the safe mode. I need to format the external HD, so that I can transfer to store my data.

    If you want the drive to be able to both read and write on OS X and a Windows machine, you should format the drive as exFAT on the Windows machine. As to why the drive is not recognized when you boot into Safe Mode, that may be because the drive is formatted for another OS and it MAY BE that it's disabled when you run in Safe Mode (which disables a long list of things: see -> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US).
    If you format it as exFAT on the Windows machine, you MAY BE able to have it mount on your Mac. No guarantees, though.
    Good luck,
    Clinton

  • My Lacie external hard drive will not back up on Time Machine. Says there's not enough space. This has happened with every single external I've purchased. Thought TM was supposed to delete old backups??

    My Lacie External backed up on Time Machine after the first back up but now says there's not enough room. I thought TM deleted old back ups to save new versions. What am I doing wrong. This happens to me constantly. Every single external hard drive I've purchased for the MacBook Pro (5 of them) has not worked either initially or at the second back up. It either isn't formatted properly so I have to go to Genius bar to help me set up for the first back up, or after the first back up, it says there's not enough space and I have to go back to Genius Bar. Is there a way I can fix this on my own?

    I just purchased 2 external hardrives. a LaCie Minimus and a G Drive. Each 1 TB. The guy at Apple told me that would provide 2 good TM backups for me. My internal HD has 750 GB capacity, of which I'm using 700 GB. Perhaps the ratio is not great enough. I do wish they would have told me this before I purchased the two Bummmmer! I even had them format and get the first back-ups going because of issues I've had in the past. I also just bought a 750 GB for photos.
    So, I won't be able to buy another bigger external since I've just purchased 3. Ugh. Well, I'll just exclude some files and divide things up. Eventually, I just want my 20,000 iphotos on one of the 1TB externals, and a TM back-up on another so that iphoto will function once more. It really hates how many photos I have and is brutally punishing me for it.I seriously need to do some housecleaning!
    Thanks for the advice. Just moved from US to Australia last week and was hoping to upload a few photos and the domino effect has lead me to this. Just went to Genius Bar in Perth today and they told me how to reformat drive to transfer iphoto library over, but I got stuck at trying to back-up my TM.

  • My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

    My external hard drive will not open and only shows up in Disk Utilities. When I try yo repair it, it give me and error of invalid sibling link. How do I fix my external hard drive?

    Invalid sibling link may not be fixable by Disk Utility. (Disk Utility is very conservative, and will not attempt repairs that might cause you to lose data.)
    It is an indication of serious Directory damage.
    that leaves
    a) third-party Utilities that will take those risks, or
    b) re-initializing the drive (which deletes all your data) and restoring from another backup source.
    c) "Copying off whatever files you can salvage" has gone by, and you cannot copy anything off a drive that will not mount. You may be able to use "rescue" programs such as prosoft engineering Data Rescue to copy files to another drive, but that sounds a lot better than its reality. You may get many files, but not get ANY filenames.

  • I recently updated my Mid 2007 iMac with the latest OS 10.8.5 now my external hard drives will not show up. They show up when I boot them up on a machine running and earlier OS. Is there a fix for this?

    I recently updated my 20-inch, Mid 2007 iMac with the latest OS 10.8.5 now my external hard drives will not show up. They show up when I boot them up on a machine running and earlier OS. Is there a fix for this?

    Can you see them in Disk Utility?
    If so, can you select and Mount them?
    If not, disconnect them, reset the iMac's SMC and then reconnect them.
    Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
    1. Shut down the computer.
    2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
    3. Wait fifteen seconds.
    4. Attach the computer's power cord.
    5. Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
    If you still can not see them, connect them back up to the iMac running the older OS, open Disk Utility and look to see how they are partitioned and formatted.

  • New hard drive is not recognized by my MacBook Pro.

    New hard drive is not recognized by my MacBook Pro. The supplier says I need to update my BIOS. True? How do I do that?
    Hard drive: NN2-72-500-SSE Seagate Momentus 7200.4 (ST9500423AS) 500GB Laptop Hard Drive
    Mac OS: Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5

    I went through a similar issue with a Seagate Momentus 750GB HDD/8GB SSD with my late-2011 MBP.  No matter what I tried, the machine would not recognize the drive.
    To test it, I installed the drive in an old ThinkPad, and it worked fine.  Then I tried installing it in my PS3, and the drive worked fine there, too.  It was only the MBP which had issues.
    I don't *think* Macs have a BIOS to update.  But I know my MBP has issues with certain HDD's (including another external which works fine on other Macs and all Windows machines).
    You might be able to find my thread by searching under my username, perhaps something in there will offer a tip.  Otherwise, you might have to go the same route I did: install a WD Scorpio Black instead.  Or upgrade to an SSD.
    Good luck to you-

  • 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 have a Seagate Slim Portable 500 GB USB 3.0 external hard drive that worked great with my Macbook Pro 13" Retina but gets ejected and won't show files on any iMac.

    I have a Seagate Slim Portable 500 GB USB 3.0 external hard drive that worked great with my Macbook Pro 13" Retina but gets ejected and won't show files on any iMac. My Macbook Pro and the two different iMacs I tried it on were all using Mountain Lion, so the only difference was the iMac versus Macbook Pro.

    I just tried this, no luck...
    I connected a different USB cable, still the same problem. Tried both cables with the problematic hard drive on two different computers, still the same problem.
    At this point I assume I'll probably need professional help in saving the files, thanks for the assistance.

  • External Hard Drive Issues using WD Passport with MacBook Pro

    I am unable to view my external hard drive (WD Passport 160gb external hard drive model # wd1600me-01) with my MacBook Pro.  I already tried using the Utility Disk application by utilzing the repair function and mounting it.  Please help.  Any Suggestions?

    Im familiar with that HD, I have one currently disassembled for just the bare HD...., it has a removable SATA bridge, if the HD wont spin up but the light comes on, on the HD, then the SATA bridge is bad.
    If it appears in disk utility and the light comes on BUT the HD doesn't spin up, then either the SATA bridge is dead, or the HD is dead (least likely).
    Youd have to crack open the HD, remove the SATA bridge cart thats plugged into the HD and put the HD into an enclosure or a HD dock to get the data
    those external HD use a 50 cent SATA bridge famous for failing.  The curse of all the good HD externals is the junk 3rd party SATA bridges attached to them that crash and burn.
    It doesn't matter it was used once and stored away for 5 years,.....HD lose their ferromagnetic properties at about 20-40%  at 4-6 years.
    And if stored in a hot place, a LOT more.

  • Does anyone know why my 2nd gen iPod calendars will not update from my Macbook pro starting as of Oct. 20, 2012? I tried restoring to factory settings and genius's did DFR type restore....no results.

    As of Oct 20, 2012, my calendars will not load from my Macbook Pro to my iPod. Tried resetting to factory settings and installing just my work calendar... unsuccessful. Genius at my Apple store tried a DFR (?) type reset... still no calendars. All other functions of the iPod is working fine. Any suggestions?

    10.8.2.  And I have been keeping up with updates, but I thought they all involved fixes to Logic Pro and Aperture (but there may have been an update to OXS...is there any way to see when fixes were released?) The Genius's at our store were stumped and told me to contact Apple.... but without Apple care, I will be charged a fee.... and my iPod is in pristine shape. Is there a way to request Technical support for a problem they are possibly causing?

  • External Hard Drive will not mount after upgrading to Yosemite

    After upgrading to Yosemite, my external 3TB hard drive will not mount... can't see in Finder, but does appear in Disk Utility.  Follow steps to Repair disk, but get a message that D.U. cannot repair disk.

    See mount section.
    Disk Unmount Using Terminal
    Disk Utility – Force Mount Disk

  • External hard drive will not eject

    Since upgrading to ML my small "my passport" hard drive will not eject. First it gives me the message "the disk couldnt be ejected because Safari is using it and to close Safari and try again". (not sure why safari would be using it..) When I close safari then I get the message " the disk couldnt be eject because another program is using it"
    My only option is to force eject each time.
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks
    Susan
    Mid 2011 15" macbook pro

    Have you updated your "My Passport" software lately, there have been recent updates for Mountain Lion issues: http://community.wdc.com/t5/News-Announcements/bd-p/Announcements
    http://community.wdc.com/t5/News-Announcements/Software-Update-WD-SmartWare-Upda te-1-3-4-x-for-Mac-Users-7-26/td-p/444122

  • My external hard drive has stopped working on my MacBook Pro

    Hi guys,
    So my hard drive, which was working earlier today, no longer registers when I plug it into my Mac. It flashes once and then stops, and it does not appear anywhere on my laptop. It still works in other laptops so I know it is not dead and other USB drives etc still register on my laptop.
    I have read through the other discussions but nothing quite fits my situation. If anyone has any sort of information or advice that may help, I would very much appreciate it! Thank you.

    Basically my external hard drive would not eject so i force quit it and the hard drive does not come up at all anywhere on my mac pro OS X version 10.9.4 and it isn't visible in disk utilities no and it doesn't say format either and i have tried it on a windows computer it does not show on their either. the format is Fatdos i think so i can use it on windows and mac and i cant see anything in system reports and yes it is connect by a USB. also it isn't making any noises either

Maybe you are looking for