Race condition finder/external disks

When I reboot, a number of icons in my finder window toolbar get replaced by question marks, because the files are stored on external disks. So I have to manually relaunch the finder every time to clean that up.
What's really stupid is that as new volumes are mounted, they appear at the left side in the finder window. When that code is executed, why not redraw those "question mark" file icons that are on that volume as well?
Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Update
Apple System Profiler (ASP) showed that the Firewire was connected to an unrecognisable device ?
I then tried swapping other Firewire cables and the other Firewire port on the drive - all of these showed up in the ASP as being connected to an unrecognisable device !
But for the sake of the likely few remaining Snow Leopard users that may strike this issue the Mini USB port on the external drive, happily brought back the external drive, and thus my Time Machine, eureka !
Nevertheless I'm now left pondering whether Apple has dropped support and connectivity to Firewire ports and devices, or whether this issue pertains solely to my machine ?

Similar Messages

Lightroom can't find external disk by itself

Since uprgrading to Lightroom 2 (currently 2.2) I'm having this strange problem (this is on a Macbook Pro (OSX 10.5.6).
I keep my photo's and my catalog on an external SATAlink harddrive. Often when I start Lightroom, it tells me that it can't find my catalog and gives me the option to manually browse for it. When I select my external drive, I notice that somehow there's been added a number to my external drive's name (the current name that LR uses is 'external disk 8', where the disks real name is just 'external disk'. The pattern is such that when I'll open LR tomorrow, LR will probably not be able to find my catalogue, and when I browse for it, I'll find that LR (or my OS?) has renamed my external disk to 'external disk 9'.
Also, LR hasn't been able to locate my catalogue backup folder (which is also on the external drive). I have to manually direct LR to the backup folder each time. I guess this is the same problem.
If anybody has a clue what the problem could be, I'd very much like to hear it. It's not a huge problem to browse for the external disk when LR starts, but it's anoying nevertheless...
Richard

Richard-
Delete your Prefs file, always make sure your external is mounted before launching LR, then launch by double clicking on the proper .lrcat file. I'd frankly change the name of my external. as anything that even looks like a default name is a no-no in my book.

Cannot find external disk

I have two external disks attached to my system. One is attached via USB to an Airport Extreme. It is used as the target for Time Machine backups from both my iMac and my MacBook Pro. Software is up to date on both machines. The other disk is used for user files and is attached directly to the iMac by USB.
"Suddenly" the backups failed, because the connection to the disk failed. Neither disk appears in Finder. I've tried some cable and port swapping, rebooted, etc. but still have no clue what's happening.

No.
JS

My iMac does not see the new Toshiba external drive in Finder or Disk Utility. How can I get it to see the drive?

My iMac does not see the new Toshiba external drive in Finder or Disk Utility. How can I get it to see the drive?

From the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter
and uncheck the box labeled Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible, if it's checked.
If the drive has more than one interface (USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, eSATA), try one of the other interfaces.
Check that the data cable is securely inserted at both ends.
Try a different cable.
If you're connecting the drive through a hub, connect it directly to a built-in port on the Mac.
If you're connecting it directly, try a different port.
Disconnect all other devices on the bus, or as many as possible.
Test the drive with another Mac. Test another drive with this Mac.
If the drive is bus-powered, but has an AC adapter, connect the adapter.
Start up in Recovery mode and launch Disk Utility. Is the drive recognized?
Start up in Safe Mode and test.
Reset the NVRAM.
Reset the System Management Controller.
If the drive doesn't work under any of the above conditions, and if another drive does work with the same Mac, then the drive is malfunctioning.

"Volume not found" I have 3 iphoto_libraries stored in a external disk, while the actual files are in other external disk. Ive moved together iphotolibraries and files but: HOW CAN I TELL THE LIBRARIES WHERE TO FIND THEM NOW?

I have three iphoto_libraries stored in a external disk PASSPORT (one for each trip imovie Im making -Ive managed this way the libraries so to not confuse the trips) while the actual files are in OTHER external disk LACIE. And everything was fine: imovie find each library, could work with it, or iphoto could edit the files.
But one day everything crashed at the same time: i opened iphoto to find 3 different scenarios:
1) iphoto_library GREECE was there, but not the albums i prepared. no events. when double click in any of them: "Volume not found"
2) iphoto_library ITALY was there, and the albums i prepared too, but empty.
in both cases I can only see the photos in 'photos' because 'events' shows some events with photo preview and some with no preview, just some kind of preset clipart palm tree, but if i enter the event, photos are there but again: when double click in any item: "Volume not found"
3) iphoto_library ISRAEL was there, the albums too, when double click in any of them: all OK
The 3 libraries was managed the same way. Meaning: Ive imported photos to iphoto from external disk LACIE in a iphotolibrary stored in another external disk PASSPORT. Also: I don't have unchecked the option "copy to file" or something like that. photos where moved, not copied. Also i have all the movie_libraries in the PASSPORT as well. What happened??
Solution? Nothing yet. Ive moved now all the photo folders from LACIE together in PASSPORT with the iphotolibraries but problem persist:
HOW CAN I TELL THE LIBRARIES WHERE TO LOOK FOR THE VOLUMES NOW?
"Volumes" are the original files aren't them?
Please help. this is so annoying to try and find in the forum, to tricky to explain
I have a Macbook pro retina Yosemite 10.10.1 / iphoto 9.6 (910-29)/ iMovie 10.0.6
THANK YOU
Vicky

The 3 libraries was managed the same way. Meaning: Ive imported photos to iphoto from external disk LACIE in a iphotolibrary stored in another external disk PASSPORT.
This is not clear, especially when you say
I don't have unchecked the option "copy to file" or something like that. photos where moved, not copied.
Especially as the message you're getting is typical of a library where the ' option "copy to file" or something like that' is unchecked.
So it's a simple question:
Are you these Managed or Referenced Libraries?
A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.

External hard drive not recognized in Finder or Disk Utility

Two weeks ago, my 2007 black Macbook stopped recognizing the hard drive. I was told by some IT friends that the controller had likely failed and I needed to purchase a new laptop. I removed the hard drive and placed it into an enclosure (turning it into an external hard drive) and hooked it up to a new Macbook Pro which I purchased a couple days ago. The external hard drive did not show up in Finder or Disk Utility but the light on the enclosure was on and it was making a very soft whirring noise and got warm after a few minutes. I usually backed up the hard drive but, of course, hadn't done it in a couple of weeks before it died so everything I worked on in that time is lost to me at the moment. I'm trying to avoid paying tons of money for a data recovery service so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

That whirring noise might be due to physical damage on the disk. I know data recovery services are costly but that remains only the solution for damaged HDD. You can get latest quotes on services from different dealers. Proceed only when your data is very important to be recovered.

External hard drive not visible in Finder or Disk Utility

Hi everyone,
My Wester Digital 2TB external hard drive has disappeared, so to speak, with all my photos. I work as a freelance photographer. Mostly on Lightroom 5.6
When I plug it in, with firewire, I can feel the disk rotating normally however it does not appear in finder or disk utility.
I've tried using a USB cable, restarting my mac, forced restart, changing firewire ports (HD has 2 ports), plugging the HD into a different laptop and nothing.
Ive also searched Finder prefrences and visibility is enabled.
I have no idea what could have caused this as I was using the HD the night before. I didnt pullout without properly ejecting. Maybe the HD is full or almost, but I dont think that would the cause of these troubles.
I'm using a late 2011 Macbook Pro OS X 10.9.4
Any suggestions??
Thanx

An update for anyone who can help me:
I have tried the external hard drive in other computers (mac and windows), each time I get the same problem above.
I have removed the HD from the enclosure and purchased a docking station for it (3.5" SATA). When I plug it in to the laptop it disconnects itself straight away before it is visible. With the windows computers it installs the drivers and says that the device is ready to use, then disconnects before it shows up.
As the HD is not visible there is no option to re-format or anything.
This is very frustrating as I was using the HD with no issues and it randomly disconnected and I have not been able to access since.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Bruce

External drive not recognised in Finder or Disk Utility on new Mini

Hi,
I've just bought a new Mac Mini and it won't recognise my Seagate Expansion drive in either Finder or Disk Utility. The drive is fully accessible on my old Macbook (running Snow Leopard), and ran fine on my old iMac running Mavericks. I've tried the troubleshooting tips in other threads - Seagate External Hard Drive does not work on Yosemite - but since they refer to people upgrading to Yosemite, I'm wondering if this might be down to the hardware in the latest Mini models? Any info or ideas on what to try next would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks.

- Do other external USB drives work on your Mini?
- If you go to System Report (click on Apple icon in upper left and select About this Mac>More Info>System report) what shows for the drive under Hardware>USB? Yo should see the enclosure chip as well as the drive itself.
- Tr resetting the SMC and PRAM
- If you purchased the Mac within the last 90 days you still have free telephone support
Complimentary Support (USA)

External Disk Size Mismatch in Finder

Hi,
I have a 1TB external disk attached via firewire 800 on my MBP. When I do a cmd-I on this, Finder and Disk Utility displays 700GB+ used. But when I select all the folders/files in the root of that disk and do a cmd-I, it barely reaches 500GB... where/what is that extra 200GB?
Side Note: Last thing I did before I got this 200GB extra was I tried to 'Erase Free Space' via the Disk Utility (zero-out data option) overnight. 'Tried' meaning i think it did not complete 'coz when I woke up, there was an error that i didn't bother to take note of and the disk was ejected (not just unmounted). I thought that the cable just got loose so I didn't really gave it a thought... now I think this must be the reason...
thanks,
zurc

zurc,
What you found is an artifact of the "Erase Free Space" routine. You can safely empty the trash to get rid of it, and you should see your free space return.
If you were really serious about zeroing out data on this drive, you might want to try it again. Make sure the Mac to which it is connected is set to not sleep, and to not allow drives to spin down when possible. Keep in mind that a 1 TB drive is going to take a very long time to "zero."
Scott

Which external disk for RAC at home?

Dear Experts,
Years ago, I tried installing RAC at home on Linux 2.1.
With 2 Dell machines and a firewire external disk.
I was only partially successful.
Today, with Oracle 11, what would be a good external harddisk
to use? A small external NAS, or SAN through the router,
with Oracle Clusterware? Something else?
Multiple VMs with a single internal disk?
This detail is important!
Thanks a lot!

You can go the external shared disk route or you can even go the nfs mounts way. Here is the virtualization route:
http://www.oracle-base.com/articles/10g/OracleDB10gR2RACInstallationOnCentos4UsingVMware.php
Perhaps virtualization is the cost effective way (although it is no where the production grade)
Good Luck

When I try to drag the iphoto library to the external disk a forbidden (circle with slash through it) icon appear. Why do you suppose it is preventing me from adding to external drive? These are pictures I have taken. I believe it cannot find the origina

When I try to drag the iphoto library to the external disk a forbidden (circle with slash through it) icon appear. Why do you suppose it is preventing me from adding to external drive? These are pictures I have taken. I believe it cannot find the original file. Please help.
Thanks.

What happens if you try to Option-drag the library to the EHD? The same icon?
Make sure the EHD is formatted Mac OS X Extended (journaled) with Ownership set to be ignored:
OT

Can't see external disks on Finder

I can't see my external Storage (whether it be TimeMachine hard drive, USB sticks) in Finder (side bar). I see them in Disk Utility. I see them if I open "/Volumes/" but that's not really convenient. External Disks are enabled in sidebar.
Please see attached pictures for details
My system is also very slow. Would you recommend a clean install ?
And Yes

Move the mouse to the right of "Appareil" in the Finder sidebar. The option "show" should appear. Click on it.. et voilà! The disks are back!!!
Also a clean install did help me improving some perfomances. You may want to try Onyx first, and clean all caches. Don't forget to do a "repair permission" with Disk Utility or Onyx (it should be the same) before nything else.

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!
Cecilia

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!
Cecilia

How data strore using finder in a external disk can be transfere back to my macbook pro that is formated and as the 10.6.8

how data strore using finder in a external disk can be transfere back to my macbook pro that is now formated and as 10.6.8

how data strore using finder in a external disk can be transfere back to my macbook pro that is now formated and as 10.6.8

Airport Extreme used as access point. External disk does not show up in Finder

The title pretty much sums it up. I'm using my Airport as just an access point. I connected an external disk to it. The disk shows up in the Airport Utility, however I cannot connect to it because my Airport has never shown up in Finder. I went to preferences and checked Connected Servers, still no go. Any advice?

A few things to check:
The drive must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or FAT32
Since the USB port on the AirPort Extreme is under powered, you almost always have to use a powered USB hub when connecting a hard drive, even if the hard drive has its own power supply
When locating the disk on your Mac, open Macintosh HD or the Finder and look for the AirPort Extreme icon under the SHARED heading on the left side of the window.
Click on the AirPort Extreme icon and a folder will appear to the right representing your drive
Double click the folder to mount the drive on the desktop

Race condition finder/external disks

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for