Need help with "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer."

I have an external disk that I have not used in a while (an older G tech with FW800 ports). Recently I plugged it in and my 2008 iMac (10.8.5) reported, "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer."
If I leave the external disk in, my iMac won't get past the white screen with the Apple logo on boot up.
With Disk Arbitrator, Disk Utility sees it but reports that it has zero bytes and the Verify and repair disk options are greyed out. DiskWarrior does not see it and if I start Disk Arbitrator up first and then Disk Warrior, everything but the cursor freezes and I have to hold the power button down to restart the computer.
I tried listening to the disk on start up and it makes a fan-like noise and has a slight vibration but I don't think I hear the click-ity click noise of the head reading the drive.
Any tips on trying to salvage its contents?

You may have ordered what you though was exactly the same thing as what you had, but the interface electronics in it are apparently NOT the same, rendering the drive unreadable unless you want to re-partition and re-format it first (wiping all the data in the process).

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WD external Hard Drive comes up with "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer."

So here lies the problem, when connecting my WD external HD to my MBP, I get the message The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer. and a further three options of initialize, ignore and eject. I have always hit ignore.
When checking my files, the HD is not available in my finder window.
I've gone into Disk Utilities. It is there to be highlighted. And I go to repair the disk, but each time the Repair button is greyed out.
I've tried to use my data recovery software (rescue pro deluxe) but because the drive isn't showing up in that program, it isn't working.
Are there any other options out there to get the files from that HD (I've just gotten back from 2 months of travel with a bunch of photos on that HD - so would like to get them back). Even if that means putting them onto a spare external HD.

Thanks for your quick response. I had a look at your discussion... I tried it on a Windows machine and I thought that was compatible with ExFAT?
Therefore I need to attempt to use my external hard drive with a machine that boasts OS X 10.6.5 or above and then it should work?
Thanks

Need help with Error message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"

I got this message this afternoon "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" with the options to either "Ignore" or Eject"
This is in reference to my External Hard Drive "Buffalo" 1TB. I just got my Mac 27inch this week and when i got it i hooked up this hard drive to it, historically used on my old windows machine, but was still FAT32 formatted. I was able to upload all my pics to Aperture and music to iTunes. Was able to surf the data no problem.
This afternoon i noticed that it was no longer visible in the "Finder" and afre rebooting several times, got this message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"
Neither the mac nor the HD was moved since yesterday, early this am when it worked.
Is there an easy fix to this? whats going on.
Some info:
I had used this external storage unit for more then a year.
I sold my PC today so cant test if the hard drive still works on that.
I have the latest 27 inch mac (2.7GHz)
Storage is connected to a power source ( I tried both USB and FireWire, both yield the same message)
Any advice?

Have you tried the Repair Disk feature in Disk Utility?

The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer. (when putting ipod into mac) help,. now have no music on my ipod

the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer. (when putting ipod into mac) help,. now have no music on my ipod. how do i sort this out?

- Verify the file and disk formats on your camcorder and on your friend computer whether they support what you want to do. Also, if you are using a specific application to do the task, you may need to verify an application whether it supports the file format (e.g. MPEG4, Apple Intermediate Codec).
- Verify the device cable type whether Mac OS X 10.4.x supports.
- Verify the device compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4.x.
- Check an available firmware or driver for the camcorder that has developed after Mac OS X 10.4.4.
- Try diagnosing and repairing local hard disk and camcorder's drive directory.
- Verify disks permissions issue.
- Verify whether the disk is TOO warm or cold to read.
- If every troubleshooting does not solve the issue, consider to reformat the camcorder drive.
You may try suggestions by Dale Weisshaar: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1206250

F this error message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" with 2 radio buttons "Ignore" or "reject" It comes up every time I start my new printer. How do I get rid of it?

When installing my new HP printer I received the following error message when I inserted the software install disk: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" with 2 radio buttons "Ignore" or "reject" I was able to eject the disk but the message remains. Now every time I start up the printer this error message pops up on my computer. I have since used the disk drive successfully for music CD's etc. How can I get rid of this message?

PRAM RESET
Zap the PRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

I am using a Seagate backup plus portable drive on my iMac 7 with OSX 10.9.2. At startup up I always get a popup window stating "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer. I click ignore and everything seems OK. Is it?

I am using a Seagate backup plus portable drive as my time machine backup on my iMac 7 with OSX 10.9.2 Mavericks. At startup I always get popup window stating "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer..? I click ignore and everything seems to be OK. Time machine seems to be backuping up to the seagate. I can open time machine and see the history of backups. Why does this message come up at startup of computer????

If you installed the Seagate software, remove it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." Audio CD with Super Drive.

Macbook Pro Retina 10.9.4
When I insert any audio cd an error message comes up- "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer."
These are the same audio CDs that a month ago worked with the same drive and same computer.
Data DVDs work.

   Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
   Choose the method for:
   "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
   Specific Trouble shooting > Doesn’t accept discs
   Apple Computers: Troubleshooting the slot-loading SuperDrive
   http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2801?viewlocale=en_US

The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.HELP

Initialize... Ignore. Eject ...
do not disconnect displayed on my ipod nano.
**** fustrating. I plugged in my ipod nano to my pb g4 and switched on the pbg4 and then it went mental. Itunes is stll present but when I plug in the ipod nano using the USB I'm getting
' The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.'
All I'm getting is do not disconnect on the ipod. I've tried everything including a whole uninstall reboot , master reset etc etc. CAN YOU HELP???
FUSTRATED .. many thanks !!!~

This often happens when OS X thinks that the iPod hard drive is corrupted. You should click initialize, then when that process has finished, restore using the iPod updater.
Alternatively, you could do a restore using disk utility, the restore via the updater.

How do I view and open all my files again that are on my external hard drive?? Error message saying 'The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer' Three options are Initialize, Ignore or Eject.

I have recently purchased Toshiba 1TB hard drive and I set it up and I was able to transfer all my files onto it such as my music, photos, documents. I had correctly ejected and used it again and all these files were safely stored and accessible afterwards. However after I rebooted my computer as it had been going slow and I had too much clogging it up once I reconnected the external hard drive I have error message saying 'The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer' Three options are Initialize, Ignore or Eject. How do I access all my files? I set it up to work on both mac and windows. I have tried both another mac and windows computer and same issue occurs?? I am worried that all my personal files are gone but am confused as the drive has had absolutely no damage to it as it was in a very short time frame and its never left the same spot. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for your quick response. I had a look at your discussion... I tried it on a Windows machine and I thought that was compatible with ExFAT?
Therefore I need to attempt to use my external hard drive with a machine that boasts OS X 10.6.5 or above and then it should work?
Thanks

"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" on NTFS ext HDD

I have spent hours trying to find a solution to this problem, but alas - nothing really useful came up. Therefore I now turn to you, Discussions - you're my only hope!
And to the case:
I just got a brand new shiny and aluminiy MacBook Pro a couple of weeks back, and since my last laptop was a PC, I have been very content ever since switching.
However, this week I bought a new Lacie 2TB external HDD (also shiny) and backed up a lot of stuff from my Windows days.
I partitioned it in Windows and made two NTFS partitions (approx. 1.8TB + 200GB). It was not an option for me to partition it to HFS, as I need it to exchange files between my Mac (using ntfs-3g) and my (and other) Windows computers (and a lot of files exceed the FAT32 file size limit).
Unfortunately when I connect to my MacBook Pro (and my old 2005 PowerMac G5) it gives me the "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer", and I am not able to verify nor repair it in Disk Utility. It doesn't even show the partitions correctly, it only weirdly enough shows a 3 megabyte partition and 329.70 megabytes of free space.
It still, however, works fine on my Windows computers. I also have the 1TB version of the same Lacie HDD also with two NTFS formatted partitions, and that drive shows up nicely on my MBP.
Does anyone know how/have an idea on how/have a magic potion to fix this?
- I have run chkdisk on it on my Windows comp and it showed no errors.
- I have also tried booting Snow Leopard in 32bit kernel mode (as someone presumably had that help earlier) but with no luck.
- I've connected it both via USB and FW. Same problem.
- I've installed and later uninstalled NTFS-3g and MacFuse - no change.
- And as mentioned I've connected it to my PowerMac G5 (w. Leopard), that also couldn't read it properly.
It is not an option for me to reformat it right now, as I have nowhere to back up that drive (and buying another new external drive is out of the question, as I semi-accidentally spent all my money on the new MBP ).
Anyone helping me solve this issue will receive 10 units of my deepest gratitudes (and maybe a couple of muffins, should the person drop by some time).
Thanks in advance.

Well it seems to work somewhat now, after some playing around.
And here's what I did:
- I downloaded the bootable System Rescue CD
- I booted it up from my PC. And entered the TestDisk utility, where I resaved the partition table (even though it already showed up fine). (If you don't have an extra PC to boot from, the TestDisk utility can also be installed on Mac OS, I just don't have the skills to do that).
- Tadaa! Now I was able to read the disk and its two partitions (one NTFS and one exFAT) on my MacBook! But... When I plugged the external drive into my PC again it didn't show up anything, and in the disk manager, it detected the drive structure as being all unallocated space.
Upon plugging it into my Mac again, it once again showed my old fiend, the "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" error. Sigh.
- So once again I booted up the System Rescue CD and TestDisk, and rewrote the partition structure. One weird thing was, that TestDisk this time detected the disk as being mac formatted, so I had to manually select the "Intel/PC" structure option. After rewriting the structure the disk once again it showed up nicely on my Windows PC.
- Before plugging it back into my Mac, I decided to try and install MacFuse and NTFS-3g.
- Since MacFuse doesn't apparently support the 64-bit kernel mode, I booted up my MBP in forced 32-bit kernel mode and voila - I could now read (and write) to my NTFS disk and connect it to my PC and back, without it messing up again.
I won't mark this issue as solved just yet, as I will need to see if it lasts. Also it's not really a lasting solution to be forced to boot into 32-bit mode, so I'll have to see if there's another way at some point.
Message was edited by: Nilfisken

Unable to read usb memory stick + "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"

Hi Everyone,
Today I was tryign to use a brand new memory stick 8GB-Samsung PNY on my Mac Book Pro. (Mac OSX 10.7.5)
1. I do not see this drive in the Finder.
   2. Diskutil could detect the drive.
   3. I was trying to put ubuntu image file on the drive from the terminal uitility and I have this error message in a dialog box:
      "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"
4. Clicking on initialize helps me realise that the drive is detected. But I do not have a clue on how to proceed from here. I am new to Mac and its file system formats.
The same issue happened with my 500GB external Western Digital Hard Drive. I was reading on forums that WD got some issues with Apple is trying to resolve. I expected to not have this road-block with another brand but it happened with my memory stick. Now I was forming an impression that something should be done to external storage devices inorder for me to use them Mac OSX.
Kindly enlighten me and help overcome this issue.
Thank You

Thank You OGELTHORPE.
I erased the memory stick and formatted to "Mac OS Extended(Journaled)".
I attempted once again to use the "sudo dd" command from termial trying to copy the Ubuntu image file to the memory stick.
The operation termainates with the same message
      "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"
The termainal message says some bytes got transffered in so many seconds. It looks like this operation is being terminated in the middle.
Have any suggestions and work arounds?

HP Laserjet P1102w by USB "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer"

My HP Laserjet P1102w used to work fine with OS X10.10. Then it started saying "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer" whenever I switched it on, but the printer still worked. This morning it didn't. I uninstalled the printer, but can't re-install it - it isn't listed when I click "+". I have tried a different USB cable, and a different USB port - same message. The HP website does not provide a downloadable driver, as far as I can see. What do I do? (The wireless connection to the printer stopped working ages ago. The printer still works with our two PCs via USB.)

Hi Shapley,
Repairing the disk permissions can be done as following:
1. Open the the Applications folder.
2. Go to the Utilities folder.
3. Double-click on Disk Utility.
4. Select the hard drive containing the boot volume.
5. Go to the First Aid tab and select Repair Disk Permissions.
Note: This process may take several minutes depending on the Mac and amount of permissions that need to be repaired. The Progress Log will indicate when the process has been completed.
Next reboot your Mac and try plugging the USB again.
If the same persist, a such may also happen due to a conflict with the HP Smart Install feature which is Windows Based only and being wrongly read by the Mac, in order to resolve a such a Windows based PC will be required. any laptop should meet the purpose, the printer will be installed automatically by connecting the USB.
Next update and install the latest firmware below:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=bi-115794- 2&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=4158&product=4110396&sw_lang=
Next follow the HP Smart Install Control Utility below: Select the Printer and follow the on-screen steps to disable the feature for the printer.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=lj-129224- 1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=4158&product=4110396&sw_lang=
NOw plug the USB back to your Mac and check for any difference
Please let me know of any change,
Shlomi

"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" 10.9.3 - WD-500GB WD5000AADS

Mac Book Pro
MAC OS Extended(Journaled)
Capacity:97GB
Version-10.9.3
Hello Mac Fam,
I recently purchased a HD-Enclosure (Insignia 3.0 desktop hard disk enclosure),since my WD 500Gig Hard Drive broke(power cable broke). Before the Hard Drive broke, it worked perfectly on my Mac Book Pro (Read/Write). I was extremely excited when i purchased the HD Enclosure since i thought that it would work perfectly, like it did before. However, i keep getting the following message ""The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer". I haven't tried anything, since upon reading various post regarding this problem, i get bits of information but never the complete solution.I have many pictures/files/etc. that i refuse to lose. I know this can be fixed, just need a bit of help to get it done. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to you all, and hopefully someone can help me out.
-guS

OK. for anyone who has had or is having this problem, I think I've found a solution, or a least one that worked for me:
Select your start-up drive, do a Get info (Command-I)
At the bottom where it says sharing and permissions, I had two items: System and Everyone. Both were set to Read. I unlocked using administrator password. I then reset the two items above to Read and Write. I then clicked on the little plus sign which brought up a dialog window. In that I selected Administrator and then set that to Read and Write.
My audio CD's now mount as they always have for years! Very odd, and honestly I could not explain why this worked, but I figured it out myself, something that I now feel I owe my self a fine Belgian beer.
Good luck

"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" error message

Hello. I've had my iMac for a little over three months and I've encountered a strange problem. I play Warcraft III, and whenever I insert the disk into the drive, I get an error message saying "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" and it gives me the options to ignore or eject. I've gotten the same message with Starcraft as well. I also tried putting in the iPod Nano install disk with the same result. CD-Rs and Audio cds work smoothly though. I called Apple technical support and they told me to call 1-800-MY-APPLE to schedule an appointment with my local branch to bring it in. I just wanted to make sure no one on these forums can help me. All help is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
iMac (Early 2006) Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Steve, the original poster made clear he was on a core duo iMAC which ONLY runs OS X (discounting non Apple OSes of course!)
Therefore there is no extension manager. But I guess he would thank you for trying to help anyway.

The disk you inserted was not readable By this computer (Error)

Hi
everytime in the last couple of days im inserting a bank Cd to my cd/dvd drive (MATSHITADVD-R UJ-85J) im getting the same error
"the disk you inserted was not readable By this computer"
it only happen when the disk is blank. all other disks work ok.
haven't install any new software or hardware, but had some HDD problems.
any suggestion what should i do?
my system profile is:
version 10.5.7
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.20f4
Serial Number (system): W873226** <Edited by Host>

first time posting so not sure this ended up in correct area...
I had same issue except only repairing the permissions didn't solve anything for me. *_If you recently upgraded your iTunes to 8.2_* check your permissions for errors, fix the errors, then restart computer and if that doesn't fix it, then try one of the 3 solutions below as there is a *known burn issue with the recent 8.2 update!*
My permission errors - permissions differ on ./Applications/iTunes.app/contents... etc, should be -rw-rw-r--, they are -rwxrwxr-x
I called Apple Care and we figured out 3 work arounds til a fix is released.
Solutions 1,2 are recommended by Apple Care. I used solutions 1 (easy) and then 3 (complicated).
Option 3 is a pain and takes A LOT of time and HD space or external HD if you have tons of music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc, loaded into your iTunes.
_*3 possible solutions:*_
1. Use the Finder window already built in the mac (to burn onto blank cds) -
Open Finder Window, go to File in the Menu Bar at top of computer, create a new Burn Folder, drag items to the folder and click on the burn icon inside the folder, insert blank disk when asked, add name, select burn speed, burn the cd.
2. Use the app Burn 2.3U -
Found at Apple.com in download section works like a Finder Window and converts audo files to MP3 automatically. (You can set up iTunes to do this as well)
3. Install an older version of iTunes 8.0.2 (couldn't find 8.1 thru 8.1.051) -
I found 8.0.2 at Apple.com, this process is complicated and you will need lots of HD space or external HD to do this because you'll want to back up your music library and you will need to delete version 8.2 BEFORE trying to install an older version. Otherwise stick with option 1 or 2 til a fix is released by Apple.
I ruined 8 blank cd's that actually burned but then I got the error message "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer (Error)" at end of burn cycle and sometimes early disk ejections. _*I had no problems before the iTunes update in the past 5 days.*_ Still can't read/play the 8 disks but the problem went away!
I had burned 20 cds no problem last week with same media disks that were producing errors after doing the iTunes update, now after chosing to downgrade my iTunes I'm back to burning with no issues!
8.2 has 2 versions 32bit or 64bit, one of them may be PC/Windows version only but not sure which one I upgraded to or if that's even a factor with the permission errors I had.
Best wishes

Need help with "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer."

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