Separate /var resiserfs partition on usb drive won't mount on boot

It has mounted successfully a few times. I set it up because I don't want /var on my Revodrive, and I've added a label (var) to the partition. I've tried mounting at first by UUID, then label, then strictly by dev (which isn't an option considering the number of block devices I have attached at any given time).
I have to manually mount var afterward, and this causes all sorts of hal problems with KDE, such as not being able to see my hard drives in Dolphin.
Any ideas? I have another mechanical HDD that I'm going to be using as a download drive, so I could locate var there if needed.
Here is my daemons array in rc.con:
DAEMONS=(dbus hal network rpcbind nfs-common syslog-ng samba sshd alsa sensors netfs)
and fstab
devpts /dev/pts devpts defaults 0 0
shm /dev/shm tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
/dev/mapper/sil_bgbgdjaddicbp1 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
/dev/mapper/sil_bgbgdjaddicbp2 /home ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
UUID=31061fe9-f3de-40d3-93da-c0fce7ed5014 /boot ext2 defaults 0 0
#UUID=7fb98876-0e33-44b8-90e4-f2a103dd0166 /var reiserfs defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-label/var /var reiserfs defaults,noatime 0 0
none /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid,noatime,size=1000M,mode=1777 0 0
shm /dev/shm tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=6G 0 0
Last edited by DarksideEE7 (2010-12-23 10:16:59)

stqn wrote:Someone will probably come up with a better solution, and I don't even know if that will fix your problem, but you could try adding "usb" to the beginning to the HOOKS line in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf. I think it is needed to be able to boot from a usb disk. (You'll have to run "mkinitcpio -p kernel26" afterwards.)
That makes sense. I actually prefer using the sata drive as /var, but I was just interested as to why it wasn't mounting.
BTW I have GRUB and boot installed on the same USB drive (from which I boot), then it mounts the root and home partitions on my OCZ Revodrive. This drive is essentially fakeraid with an sil satalink controller, and I was never able to get grub installed on the dmraid setup. I just gave up. It actually works quite well though.

Similar Messages

External USB drive won't mount after 10.9.5 upgrade

Is anyone else reporting the following issue? Immediately after installing OS X update 10.9.5 (13F34) on 09/18, my external USB drive (IOMega 1GB OS X Extended FS) used for Time Machine would no longer mount and isn't recognized. When I look at the drives in finder, it is missing. However, it does show up under the USB Hi-Speed Bus device tree:
USB Mass Storage:
Product ID:    0x0376
Vendor ID:    0x059b (Iomega Corporation)
Version:     0.00
Serial Number:    ABCDEF012314E2ED
Speed:    Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer:    Iomega
Location ID:    0x1a120000 / 3
Current Available (mA):    500
Current Required (mA):    0
Console message when device plugged in:
10/6/14 3:22:31.000 AM kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): ABCDEF012314E2ED 0x59b 0x376 0x0, 2
mount command results:
devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)
map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)
map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)
/dev/disk1s2 on /Volumes/Mac-Mini 2 (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, noowners)
System is Mac-Mini (late 2012), 2.5 Ghz i5, 8GB ram, 500GB local storage, 1TB on second Firewire disk for media, 1TB USB disk for Firewire (PROBLEM)
I have reinstalled the combined 10.9.5 OS upgrade, and verified that the drive works when connected to my other MB Pro (mid-2012 running Yosemite beta 3). There is no third party software that I'm aware of in use for this drive, as it's only for Time Machine backups.
Thanks

Is the drive's icon on the desktop (perhaps behind another icon, which is possible if Finder > View > Cleanup is enabled)?
If not, is the box Finder > Preferences > General > External Disks checked?
Is the drive listed in every Finder window's sidebar?
If not, is the box Finder > Preferences > Sidebar > External Disks checked?
Are Time Machine backups to the drive happening on schedule?
If not, does the drive appear in System Preferences > Time Machine > Select Disk?
Can you open /Volumes/Mac-Mini 2/Backups.backupdb using Finder > Go > Go to Folder...?
Does the drive appear in Disk Utility? Is it (or can it be) mounted there?
Have you tried to plug it in to a USB port on the Mini (not a hub) or into a different USB port on the Mini?
Have you tried this: shut down; unplug the drive; boot the Mac; after you have logged in and the Finder is done populating the desktop and menu bar, plug the drive in?

Urgent - I think I just lost everything on my MacBook Pro. Hard drive won't mount and booting up shows "no" symbol

My MacBook Pro (13" mid 2010, Yosemite) doesn't feel like booting up. It gives me the no symbol after the progress bar is about 1/4 of the way through.
Additionally, it won't mount in the Recovery HD. It shows up as disk0s6 and clicking Mount does nothing. Can't seem to mount it in the Terminal either.
The disk partition is encrypted, so unfortunately I can't pull the hard drive out of my MBP and pull the stuff off it with my PC.
I tried First Aid - "no problems found" (such LIES!)
I tried PRAM - didn't work
I tried Verbose Mode - went fine for the first minute, then hung for a while before returning to the "No" screen and in the bottom right corner "Still waiting for root drive".
I tried SMC - didn't work
Most recently I did install rEFInd - which is a boot manager. I was afraid it screwed up the EFI partition -seemingly not, as it will boot to Recovery and external drives.
The data still seems to be there, but the OS is having trouble accessing it.
Do you know what would be causing this? I really need that data back :/

It appears I can unlock the partition, using diskutil via the Terminal (diskutil coreStorage unlockVolume <UUID> -passphrase <passphrase>).
However the volume doesn't have a UUID. It lists the partition type as "FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFF" (which is a UUID) but using that doesn't work.
Additionally when I use diskutil coreStorage list, it comes up with nothing. I'm at a loss here, the partition doesn't even know it's own UUID or that it's encrypted. It seems quite damaged to me but I don't have the slightest idea why, as I CAN boot to it and enter the password but it will stop at the "no" symbol part of the way along.

External USB drive won't mount without running Repair Disk

I have a Seagate external USB hard drive. It's a 1TB FreeAgent drive that's USB powered. I use this to share data across several computers. Every time I connect the drive to my MacBook Pro, it does not mount. If I try to mount it, I'm told to "try running first aid".
So, I run repair disk, and then it will mount. I just did this, and Repair Disk reported "The volume /dev/disk1s1 appears to be OK".
Any help on this matter would be appreciated. It is formated NTFS, and I have an NTFS driver installed, if that makes any difference.
Thank you!

Is the drive's icon on the desktop (perhaps behind another icon, which is possible if Finder > View > Cleanup is enabled)?
If not, is the box Finder > Preferences > General > External Disks checked?
Is the drive listed in every Finder window's sidebar?
If not, is the box Finder > Preferences > Sidebar > External Disks checked?
Are Time Machine backups to the drive happening on schedule?
If not, does the drive appear in System Preferences > Time Machine > Select Disk?
Can you open /Volumes/Mac-Mini 2/Backups.backupdb using Finder > Go > Go to Folder...?
Does the drive appear in Disk Utility? Is it (or can it be) mounted there?
Have you tried to plug it in to a USB port on the Mini (not a hub) or into a different USB port on the Mini?
Have you tried this: shut down; unplug the drive; boot the Mac; after you have logged in and the Finder is done populating the desktop and menu bar, plug the drive in?

New partition on external hard drive won't mount

I have an 2TB external drive connected by FireWire to my 24-inch, Early 2009 iMac. I created 2 partitions 1 that is about 35 GB and another that is the rest of the 2TB. The 2nd largest partition mounts fine and is being used by Time Machine for my back up. The 2nd one I wanted to use for a Tech Tool Pro eDrive. However the 35 GB drive won't mount. Well it mounts, but after a few seconds it unmounts itself. This is the message I get as it unmounts itself:
8/18/13 7:18:45.788 PM fseventsd[43]: Events arrived for /Volumes/eDrive after an unmount request! Re-initializing.
8/18/13 7:18:45.789 PM fseventsd[43]: creating a dls for /Volumes/eDrive but it already has one...
8/18/13 7:18:46.039 PM fseventsd[43]: disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/eDrive/.fseventsd/00000000030d4f84 (No such file or directory). mount point /Volumes/eDrive/.fseventsd
8/18/13 7:18:46.039 PM fseventsd[43]: disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/eDrive/.fseventsd/00000000030d4f84 (No such file or directory). mount point /Volumes/eDrive/.fseventsd
Any ideas?
I've checked the partition with Disk Utility and no errors.
Regards,
Chris Johnson

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.
Boot into Recovery and launch Disk Utility. Does the volume mount?
Start up in Safe Mode and test.
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 has failed. You may be able to salvage the mechanism by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

Not able to create More than 1 Partition in USB Drive using kernel32 and DeviceIoControl

I have successfully created 2 or more partitions in USB drive using DeviceIoControl in C++. Now I am trying to convert this code into C# using kernel32 and DeviceIoControl. But I am not getting more than 1 partition. Can anybody tell me what is wrong
with this code?
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace PartitionWrapper
public class IOWrapper
public static bool CreatePartitions(string selectedDrive)
bool RetCode = false;
try
bool bSuccess = false;
uint dwBytesReturned = 0;
IntPtr hDisk = OpenVolume(selectedDrive);
if (hDisk == null || hDisk == FSConstants.INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
RetCode = false;
goto FINAL;
bSuccess = FSStructures.DeviceIoControl(hDisk, FSConstants.IOCTL_DISK_DELETE_DRIVE_LAYOUT, IntPtr.Zero, 0, default(IntPtr), default(uint), ref dwBytesReturned);
// Get the partition information
uint PartitionInfomations = (uint)(Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX)) + 3 * Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(FSStructures.PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX)));
byte[] DBuffer = new byte[PartitionInfomations];
GCHandle handle = GCHandle.Alloc(DBuffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX pDriveLayout = (FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX)Marshal.PtrToStructure(handle.AddrOfPinnedObject(), typeof(FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX));
IntPtr pDriveLayoutPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(Marshal.SizeOf(pDriveLayout));
Marshal.StructureToPtr(pDriveLayout, pDriveLayoutPtr, false);
// bSuccess = FSStructures.DeviceIoControl(hDisk, FSConstants.IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX, default(IntPtr), default(uint), pDriveLayoutPtr, PartitionInfomations, ref dwBytesReturned);
pDriveLayout = (FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX)Marshal.PtrToStructure(pDriveLayoutPtr, typeof(FSStructures.DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX));
if (bSuccess || dwBytesReturned != PartitionInfomations)
RetCode = true;
else { RetCode = false; goto FINAL; }
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry = new FSStructures.PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX[0x16];
pDriveLayout.PartitionStyle = FSStructures.PARTITION_STYLE.MasterBootRecord;
pDriveLayout.PartitionCount = 4;
pDriveLayout.DriveLayoutInformatiton.Mbr.Signature = 0xA4B57300;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0] = new FSStructures.PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX();
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].PartitionStyle = FSStructures.PARTITION_STYLE.MasterBootRecord;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].Mbr.BootIndicator = true;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].Mbr.RecognizedPartition = true;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].Mbr.PartitionType = 0x0B;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].PartitionNumber = 1;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].StartingOffset = 32256;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].PartitionLength = 3221225472;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].RewritePartition = true;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[0].Mbr.HiddenSectors = 32256 / 512;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1] = new FSStructures.PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX();
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].PartitionStyle = FSStructures.PARTITION_STYLE.MasterBootRecord;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].Mbr.BootIndicator = false;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].Mbr.RecognizedPartition = true;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].Mbr.PartitionType = 0x0B;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].PartitionNumber = 2;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].StartingOffset = 32256 + 3221225472;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].PartitionLength = 2147483648; //2147483648;//3221225472;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].RewritePartition = true;
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[1].Mbr.HiddenSectors = 32256 / 512;
for (int i = 0; i < pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry.Length; i++)
pDriveLayout.PartitionEntry[i].RewritePartition = true;
try
bSuccess = FSStructures.DeviceIoControl(hDisk, FSConstants.IOCTL_DISK_SET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX, ref pDriveLayout, PartitionInfomations, default(IntPtr), default(uint), ref dwBytesReturned);
catch (Exception ex)
if (bSuccess)
RetCode = true;
else { RetCode = false; }
bSuccess = FSStructures.DeviceIoControl(hDisk, FSConstants.IOCTL_DISK_UPDATE_PROPERTIES, IntPtr.Zero, 0, default(IntPtr), default(uint), ref dwBytesReturned);
if (bSuccess)
RetCode = true;
else { RetCode = false; }
FINAL:
// Close the disk handle.
if (hDisk != null && hDisk != FSConstants.INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
FSStructures.CloseHandle(hDisk);
catch { return false; }
return RetCode;
private static IntPtr OpenVolume(string DeviceName)
try
IntPtr hDevice;
hDevice = FSStructures.CreateFile(
@"\\.\" + DeviceName,
FSConstants.GENERIC_EXECUTE | FSConstants.GENERIC_READ | FSConstants.GENERIC_WRITE | FSConstants.FILE_SHARE_READ | FSConstants.FILE_SHARE_WRITE,
FSConstants.FILE_SHARE_WRITE,
IntPtr.Zero,
FSConstants.OPEN_EXISTING,
0,
IntPtr.Zero);
if ((int)hDevice == -1)
throw new Exception(Marshal.GetLastWin32Error().ToString());
return hDevice;
catch { return FSConstants.INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE; }
internal static class FSConstants
public const uint FILE_SHARE_READ = 0x00000001;
public const uint FILE_SHARE_WRITE = 0x00000002;
public const uint OPEN_EXISTING = 3;
public const int GENERIC_EXECUTE = 0x10000000;
public const uint GENERIC_READ = (0x80000000);
public const uint GENERIC_WRITE = (0x40000000);
public static IntPtr INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE = new IntPtr(-1);
public const uint IOCTL_DISK_GET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX = 0x00070050;
public const uint IOCTL_DISK_SET_DRIVE_LAYOUT_EX = 0x7C054;
public const int IOCTL_DISK_UPDATE_PROPERTIES = 0x70140;
public const int IOCTL_DISK_DELETE_DRIVE_LAYOUT = 0x0007c010;
public const int IOCTL_DISK_CREATE_DISK = 0x7C058;
internal static class FSStructures
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", EntryPoint = "CreateFile", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr CreateFile(
string lpFileName,
uint dwDesiredAccess,
uint dwShareMode,
IntPtr lpSecurityAttributes,
uint dwCreationDisposition,
uint dwFlagsAndAttributes,
IntPtr hTemplateFile);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern int CloseHandle(IntPtr hObject);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool DeviceIoControl(
IntPtr hDevice,
uint dwIoControlCode,
[Optional]ref DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX lpInBuffer,
uint nInBufferSize,
[Optional] [Out] IntPtr lpOutBuffer,
uint nOutBufferSize,
[Optional] ref uint lpBytesReturned,
[Optional] IntPtr lpOverlapped);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool DeviceIoControl(
IntPtr hDevice,
uint dwIoControlCode,
IntPtr lpInBuffer,
uint nInBufferSize,
[Optional] [Out] IntPtr lpOutBuffer,
uint nOutBufferSize,
[Optional] ref uint lpBytesReturned,
[Optional] IntPtr lpOverlapped);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_EX
public PARTITION_STYLE PartitionStyle;
public int PartitionCount;
public DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_UNION DriveLayoutInformatiton;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValArray, ArraySubType = UnmanagedType.Struct, SizeConst = 0x16)]
public PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX[] PartitionEntry;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct PARTITION_INFORMATION_EX
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)]
public PARTITION_STYLE PartitionStyle;
public long StartingOffset;
public long PartitionLength;
public int PartitionNumber;
public bool RewritePartition;
public PARTITION_INFORMATION_MBR Mbr;
public PARTITION_INFORMATION_GPT Gpt;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct PARTITION_INFORMATION_MBR
public byte PartitionType;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U1)]
public bool BootIndicator;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U1)]
public bool RecognizedPartition;
public uint HiddenSectors;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
public struct PARTITION_INFORMATION_GPT
public Guid PartitionType;
public Guid PartitionId;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U8)]
public EFIPartitionAttributes Attributes;
[MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst = 36)]
public string Name;
[Flags]
public enum EFIPartitionAttributes : ulong
GPT_ATTRIBUTE_PLATFORM_REQUIRED = 0x0000000000000001,
LegacyBIOSBootable = 0x0000000000000004,
GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_NO_DRIVE_LETTER = 0x8000000000000000,
GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN = 0x4000000000000000,
GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_SHADOW_COPY = 0x2000000000000000,
GPT_BASIC_DATA_ATTRIBUTE_READ_ONLY = 0x1000000000000000
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
public struct DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_UNION
[FieldOffset(0)]
public DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_MBR Mbr;
[FieldOffset(0)]
public DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_GPT Gpt;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_GPT
public Guid DiskId;
public long StartingUsableOffset;
public long UsableLength;
public int MaxPartitionCount;
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct DRIVE_LAYOUT_INFORMATION_MBR
public uint Signature;
public enum PARTITION_STYLE : int
MasterBootRecord = 0,
GuidPartitionTable = 1,
Raw = 2

Hello,
in the links below you can found many informations to help you:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365730(v=vs.85).aspx
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/696388/Recover-Data-From-Corrupted-Drives-File-Systems-FA
http://www.functionx.com/vcsharp/fileprocessing/drives.htm
http://forums.codeguru.com/showthread.php?548305-partitioning-USB-Falsh-drive
http://forums.codeguru.com/showthread.php?548169-USB-Flash-drive-Partitioning

External Hard Drive Won't Mount Via USB

I have a Western Digital (Model #WD2500...) Hard Drive that is about 3 years old. I initially set it up on a PowerBook running Mac OS 10.3.x. I have two newer laptops both running Snow Leopard, and neither will recognize my drive via USB 2.0.
The weird part is that the drive will mount when connected via Firewire (400 in this case). My newest laptop is on of the new MacBook Pros and it only has Firewire 800. I'm guessing I could probably get a 400 to 800 Firewire cable, but it would be much easier to just use the USB 2.0 connection. Any idea why the drive won't mount over USB 2.0?
I went to the Western Digital site, and there didn't appear to be any new drivers or firmware for this product. The drive seems to run perfectly well over the Firewire connection, so I don't see what the issue is with USB. The documentation that came with the drive indicates that it should work with USB. This is very baffling to me, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!!

In most external drive enclosures that have both USB and Firewire interfaces, the Firewire interface is able to draw enough power to run the drive. Firewire can provide up to 45 watts and up to 30 volts of power per port (not all devices supply the full wattage; my MacBook model provides up to 8 watts). USB 2.0 and earlier can only provide 5 volts at 500 milliamps (up to 2.5 watts). Some newer laptop drives are at or under 500 milliamps, but just barely, and the enclosure itself needs some power.
It sounds like the USB port on your enclosure is bad. Firewire is going to provide faster transfer rates anyway, and you don't have to bother with the power supply. Based on your comments, I suspect it still might be a bad power supply, or maybe it's not the right one for the drive. Those things are easy to mix up.
If you're brave enough to crack the external drive open, what you'll find inside is a standard off-the-shelf hard disk drive, with either a SATA or PATA interface, in an enclosure. You can move the drive to a new enclosure easily.

Verbatim 320GB FireWire/USB Portable Hard Drive Won't Mount

Hello ... I have a Verbatim 320GB FireWire/USB Portable Hard Drive that won't mount. The drive has only been used a handful of times ... it is self powered. I accidentally disconnected the drive without dragging it to the trash first .... so I got the "improper disk removal" error. Now the drive won't mount at all. Is it dead or in some kind of frozen state? Any ideas how I can get it back up and running??
Thanks

Might try Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).
Or FileSalvage...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?%20mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
to recover what you can.

External hard drive won't mount, even after disk repair.

My Toshiba external hard drive won't mount on my MacBook Pro 10.8.5. I can see it in my disk repair, and when I repair, "the partition map appears to be ok." But I can't access the icon to be able to open the hard drive contents on my desktop. Help!

Hello maccynicwhoalwayshasmacs,
Thanks for the question. After reviewing your post, it sounds like trouble with an external HD mounting. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you resolve or isolate the issue.
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a nice day,
Mario

External drive won't mount after plugging in iPhone - MacBook 13'' (2,1)

Hi Support Crew...
I have a 13" MacBook(2,1) running OS X 10.6.2. This is a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo machine w/ 4 GB RAM & 320 GB hard drive.
Today, I had the Iomega drive plugged in via USB, along with my soundcard (MOTU 828mk2) plugged in via FW. This is a very normal setup for me which has been bug free since I bought this computer over 2 years ago. When I plugged in my iPhone 3G via USB I got an error message which comes up when you incorrectly remove a device. This was strange because I didn't unplug anything, I only plugged in the iPhone. The iPhone was playing music when I plugged it in and I had to unplug and plug is back in to get iTunes to recognize it.
Ever since this happened, my Iomega external drive won't mount. I am able to access it via Disk Utility (and ran the Verify Disk/Repair Disk - everything is "ok"), however I can't access the data on the drive. I really really need the data but of course can't access it to backup.
Disk Utility log:
500.11 GB Ext Hard Disk Media (black text)
Iris (grey text) - I ran Verify Disk & Repair Disk
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Verify and Repair volume “Iris”
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Starting repair tool:
2010-01-22 14:20:51 -0800: Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
2010-01-22 14:20:52 -0800: Checking extents overflow file.
2010-01-22 14:20:52 -0800: Checking catalog file.
2010-01-22 14:20:56 -0800: Checking multi-linked files.
2010-01-22 14:20:56 -0800: Checking catalog hierarchy.
2010-01-22 14:20:58 -0800: Checking extended attributes file.
2010-01-22 14:21:00 -0800: Checking volume bitmap.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Checking volume information.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: The volume Iris appears to be OK.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Volume repair complete.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800: Repair tool completed:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
2010-01-22 14:21:01 -0800:
System Profiler shows the drive (on both FW & USB ports when I tried other cords). This drive does not require power and I am not using a USB hub, strictly the laptops ports. And yes, the laptop's power adapter is plugged in.
System Profiler: Device Tree log:
Iomega eGo HDD:
Capacity: 500.11 GB (500,107,862,016 bytes)
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk1
Product ID: 0x047c
Vendor ID: 0x059b (Iomega Corporation)
Version: 0.01
Serial Number: 000000066273
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Iomega
Location ID: 0xfd300000
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0
Partition Map Type: APM (Apple Partition Map)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
Iris:
Capacity: 499.97 GB (499,972,702,208 bytes)
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk1s10
When I tried to run Migration Assistant, I just get the spinning search circle and none of the drives come up, just endless searching.
The fact that I got the "Improperly removed device" error when I plugged in the iPhone makes me think something weird is up and it's not actually the external drive. There is clicking/whining/noise, the drives powers up fine and is recognized by the system but the mount point is now "not mounted".
Does anyone have any idea how to fix? If you live in SF, I will buy you a beer.
J

I meant to say; "There are NO clicking/whining/noise sounds made by the external hard drive"

Time Machine Drive won't mount, mounts on windows

Hi guys, I have a Seagate GoFlex Desk for Mac, it's a 2TB external Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 drive.
My machine is a 2011 iMac 27" i7 16GB RAM 2TB HD
I use the external drive for my Time Machine Backup, my mac had to be brought in to have the display replaced so i did a backup before i brought it to the service center.
After getting the mac back i noticed my time machine drive was not showing on the desktop so i tried doing a time machine backup but i got an error that there was not TM drive.
I ran Disk utility and it shows the drive with the Time machine partitioned grayed out and at the bottom "Mount Point : Not mounted", i tried mounting it from DU but nothing, i did a verify disk and right away i got a message that the disk needs to be repaired. I ran the repair but DU would get stuck trying to unmount the disk.
I tried restarting my computer, and i changed to other firewire cables i had using the firewire port and using the thunderbolt to firewire adaptor but no luck, also i tried USB.
Then i tried it on my windows partition with USB and it showed on windows, i was able to recover my data but i couldn't delete any from the drive, when i tried deleting anything i got a message that said "the files are too big" or something like that, I also tried formating the drive on windows but no luck with that.
I have no idea what's going on, the drive won't mount and it can't be ejected even though it's recognized (the time machine partition is grayed out)
Any suggestions? i really don't want to throw it away and if do i would at least like to wipe it out.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions

Other than the Disk Repair from the Disk Utility, I would suggest resetting the PRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11243.
Tha's kind of a last ditch effort though. Can you put it in another mac computer with the mac os? Does it show up there?

External Hard Drive Won't Mount- Need to recover files

Hello Everyone,
I am hoping that one of you fine mac experts may be able to assist ~
Problem: External Seagate FreeAgent Desktop USB external hard drive
won't mount on desktop=ie: no access to my important files.. Please Help!
Details:
External seagate freeagent 500 GB Desktop USB HD ( only 2 months old)
(using for document / file backup-not as a startup disc)
on my Mac G3 350 MZ Blue & White Tower /768 ram/ running OSX 10.1.5 & OS9.2~
~
Problem: Started using the external 500 GB HD 2 months ago -with no problems-until this morning. Tried to double click to open it to access files
and got the "beach ball of death" and needed to restart.
My trusty G3 started up fine, however, the external HD was now
not showing up on the desktop as normal. I troubleshooted -by restarting,
trying different a/c plugs/ different USB ports , ran disk utility..called
seagate -not much help . Seagate said to try the HD on another mac-which I did-
a G5 tower- same problem.
~
The External hard drive will show up in disk utility, but is grayed out.
and when click "mount" same two messages keep showing:
message 1: "a disk attempting to mount as unknown has failed verification or has failed to
mount.please use disk utility to check the disk"
~
message 2- when unplugging and repluggin the usb in-and upon
restart:" you have inserted a disk containg no volumes that mac osx
can read to use unreadable volumes,click initialize to continue with the disk inserted ,click continue"
~
( I really need access to these files- and do not want to re-initialize the HD!!)
I ran Disk Utility /first aid "verify & repair , the following info came up:
Repairing disk "main backup 2007 ".
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid key length ( <<<IN RED )
Repair completed. "
~~
Though it said the repair was completed, the "invalid key length" issue
still comes up when re-running disk utility...Hard drive would still not
mount on desktop-even after restarting .
~~~~~
If there is a mac genius out there that can help?- it would be greatly
appreciated. I have tried to call seagate several times in the last several hours-
1st time-they disconnected me after being on hold 10 minutes-2nd call
I was put on hold for 40 minutes ..Finally spoke to someone ( they are not mac users or mac experts!)and he said I would need to send it to Seagate's Data Recovery-... for a fee of course!
~~~
At this point, I am hoping to just get the files and photos off
the hard drive- I heard about Disk Warrior-should I use that and if so
what version?
Thank you very much!
L

Will zapping the PRAM be of any use in getting the external to mount on the desktop?
Your external Hard drive is already recognized. But it cannot be mounted on the desktop due to its directory damage. You can certainly Zap the PRAM, and it will not hurt anything, but I am skeptical that it will change the situation.
Do you think the Disk Warrior 4.0 cd will even work on my G3 350MHZ running Mac OS 10.1.5?
If you boot from the CD and run it from the CD, absolutely yes. If you attempt to INSTALL it from a download or a CD, probably not.
Have you ever used Disc Warrior and is using it complicated?
I own and use Disk Warrior. You select the drive to be rebuilt, it builds a proposed new directory from the information and file fragments available.
When complete, it will provide a list of problems encountered, tell you what files have been placed in the "Rescued Items" folder, and allow you too look at your drive using the proposed new directory. Your only decision is whether the new directory seems to be an improvement over the old \[in your case, hopelessly corrupted] directory. You then tell it whether to replace the old directory with the proposed new directory, or to abandon its work and leave your Hard Drive unchanged.
Is there a good chance that the ext HD will still have my files on it- or do you think from what I've described that they are gone ?
From what you have described, your files are very likely to still be there. Sometimes in a situation like this, a handful of files cannot be recovered.
My other thought was to take the external HD there and have them try to recover the files.
Make sure you completely understand the costs involved. File recovery using a service like DriveSavers can run into many hundreds of dollars. They are prepared to disassemble your drive in a clean room and replace controller boards and read/write heads to achieve success. Your drive has serious, but not fatal, Directory damage. The Hardware, and most of your files, are likely just fine.

External Hard Drive Won't Mount in 10.2.8

Greetings,
I have a MacBook Pro running the latest version of Tiger. I have a Maxtor 300 GB external hard drive (Mac OS Extended [journaled] ) which I use with my MacBook to store music, video, other media, and backups. I connect that drive to my MacBook via FireWire, normally, but the drive can also do USB.
Since wireless connectivity is so nice, I thought it would be nice to be able to access that hard drive from anywhere in my apartment, without being tethered to the drive by a FireWire cable.
Enter my wife's iBook G3 and Mac OS 10.2.8.
She has this computer from her school where she teaches. It has a G3 processor running at 600 mhz with 128 mb of ram. Since she rarely uses the old machine, I wanted to use it to "serve" my external hard drive to my MacBook.
But when I connect the hard drive to the iBook via either USB or FireWire, it does not mount. I ran Disk Utility and the drive is visible in the pane on the left of the interface, but when I verify the disk I get lots of error messages that say, "Reserved fields in the catalog record have incorrect data."
I don't want to let the iBook repair the disk because I am afraid it my screw the whole thing up and I would lose all my data...not a good proposition.
So, my question: What is going on here? Is this drive simply not going to work with 10.2.8?
I wish I could upgrade the machine to Tiger, but it does not have the minimum system requirements!
Thank you very much for your help. I apologize if I missed something else in the forums that addressed this same issue.
Macbook Pro 2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo 1 GB Ram 15.4" LCD Mac OS X (10.4.7)

All you need to upgrade the iBook for Tiger is another 128 MBs of RAM. It has both Firewire and USB ports. You do want to upgrade it for what you plan to do. The problem you may continue to have, however, may be due to the fact that the age of the computer is such the disk controller does not support hard drive volumes larger than 128 GBs, which is probably the reason the drive won't mount.
The reason you get DU errors is likely because the drive was formatted using the Intel Tiger version of DU, while you were using the Jaguar version. That's a definite no-no.

External hard drive won't mount anymore

Dear all,
I have an external HD that would always mount without any problem on my black Macbook.
Last month, I upgraded my system RAM from 2GB to 4Gb. It made the Macbook much faster, but also seriously reduced battery life. In a drive to fix this battery problem I reset the SMC.
Now, I do not know if these issues are related, but the strange thing is that mre or less since then my external drive won't mount anymore. The external drive itself seems fine. And when i plug it into a (powered) USB port of my external display, it will mount. But connecting it directly to the Macbook it won't anymore.
Somehow it seems like the Macbook's USB port is not giving off enough power anymore. Maybe it's because of the SMC reset?
Any ideas????
Thanks

Hello maccynicwhoalwayshasmacs,
Thanks for the question. After reviewing your post, it sounds like trouble with an external HD mounting. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you resolve or isolate the issue.
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a nice day,
Mario

External drive won't mount. Options?

Hi everyone. I've used a LaCie 250GB D2 external hard drive for a little over two years with no problems. A few days ago, I bought a Western Digital 500GB drive to serve as my main external drive, so I decided to erase and reformat the LaCie drive, which I had previously partitioned into two volumes, to serve as an archive drive.
That's where my trouble started.
I deleted all my files off the drive and then selected Erase in Disk Utility. I checked the option to eight way random write over format the disk for increased security, but that seemed to be taking so long I just quit Disk Utility. I figured since I didn't have any data I was afraid of losing, it wouldn't be a problem.
The next day I tried to erase it again, but I got an error message that said something about my partition (sorry but I can't recall what the message was; at this point I still didn't think there would be any problem).
Yesterday night, I tried again to erase and reformat the disk. I selected the option to zero all data because I thought that might solve any hard-to-fix problems. I left Disk Utility running overnight and all day today--about 20 hours in all-- but the progress bar showed no progress. None.
Now, as of this evening, I can't get the drive to mount at all. When I plug the drive in (and I've tried all three interfaces), the blue activity light starts blinking and I can hear it spin for a little while. It eventually stops spinning but the light keeps blinking.
I've tried unplugging the drive and plugging it back in. Nothing. I own DiskWarrior, but as far as I can tell there's nothing DiskWarrior can do if the drive won't mount.
I'm wondering if disconnected the drive while it was running could have caused this problem. I might have done that inadvertently when it was taking so long to format. I figured that might result in loss of data, but I wouldn't think it would render a drive completely non functional.
I'm guessing the problem is probably a failure of the drive, but the fact that this only cropped up when I tried to reformat it seems suspicious to me.
If anyone has any suggestions for ways to get the drive to mount or format it, I'd sincerely appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

Thanks for quick reply. Boy, I really screwed up. I guess I didn't think I could permanently ruin a drive that way. I just assumed as long as the drive could spin and wasn't going bad, you could always reformat it.
Just so you know, I let my iBook run untouched for literally 20 hours in the zero out erase mode, but the progress bar showed no progress at all, so I think the drive must have already been broken by that point. I was prepared for it to take a day or more, but with no visible progress in 20 hours it would have taken weeks.

Separate /var resiserfs partition on usb drive won't mount on boot

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