Trouble connecting to external USB hard disk through PC

I've had AirPort Extreme 802.11n for a few months which I use to connect to a printer and to share a USB hard disk between my eMac and my thinkpad. For a while everything was working beautifully. The disk showed up on my eMac desktop and in my Windows XP file explorer. Then recently the USB disk stopped connecting at all to either computer even after trying the old remedy of connecting directly to my Mac, dismounting it, and reconnecting. Then today a bunch of updates for the AirPort Utility became available and after updating to 5.3.1 on my eMac the disk shows up on my eMac again. But on my PC here's the situation: the disk appears in the AirPort Utility for Windows (5.3.1) but I can't find it in Windows file explorer. I tried the alternative ways of connecting shown here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306119
but no dice.

Uhmmmmmm, you meant to say the Macbook Air DOES have (2) USB PORTS
GENEDI, yes, you can connect a 2.5" USB external HD to your Mac AIR, ...... done it a 1000 times

Similar Messages

Arch: Install to & run from External USB Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

I wanted to play with ArchLinux 2009.02, but replacing the existing Debian-Lenny on the laptop's HDD wasn't an option. So I experimented with installing Arch on an external USB Hard Disk Drive.
I have tried to make this "newbie-friendly", so I hope the more experienced will forgive the detail.
Materials:
Three year old Dell Inspiron 6000
CPU = 2.0 GHz Pentium
RAM = 2.0 GB
Internal HDD = 80 GB
Internal CD/DVD R/RW
External USB HDD = Freecom FHD-2 Pro 80 GB
Archlinux 2009.02 install CD
Steps to install:
1. I put the Archlinux install CD in the drive and connected the external 80 GB HDD in the USB port.
2. When the Dell laptop was booted, I pressed F2 to enter the BIOS setup. I edited the boot sequence to the following:
Internal CD/DVD
External USB device
Internal HDD
On the Dell, you can also press F12 to select the preferred boot device for that boot.
3. I started the laptop and the Archlinux installation menu came up and I proceeded with installation following the "Official Arch Linux Install Guide" and the "Beginners Guide".
4. Used km to change to UK keyboard layout and then began the installer script (/arch/setup). I was installing from the core CD so I skipped the network steps.
5. HDD preparation.
This was fairly straightforward with two cautions:
(a) Make very sure that the external HDD (sdb) is selected for the operations.
(b) Remember to set the Bootable Flag for the first (/) partition on the HDD.
I chose 20 GB for /, 2 GB for swap and the remainder for /home.
6. The package selection and installation was fairly straightforward.
7. Configuration of System
This was section was straightforward with one warning:
USB had to be added to the HOOKS in the /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file!
I found this to be essential for my external USB HDD to function as a bootable device. Otherwise I got the same sorts of errors relating to unrecognisable file system types that other people have reported in the forum.
The relevant line from the end of the edited /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file is below:
HOOKS="base udev autodetect pata scsi sata usb filesystems"
8. Installation of GRUB was the other point where caution and/or correction was necessary.
When it asked where GRUB should be installed, I had to select sdb (my external USB HDD) and not any of the particular partitions on sdb. If the root partition sdb1 was selected then the laptop won't boot from the external USB HDD.
The GRUB /boot/grub/menu.lst as written by the installation routine specifies hd(1,0) which doesn't work when you try to reboot from the external USB HDD. When you boot Arch from the external USB HDD, as far as Arch is concerned - at that point in time - the external USB HDD is the first drive in the system. To fix this:
(a) When the Arch boot menu comes up, press e to edit the grub entries.
(b) Change the first line to hd(0,0)
(c) To the end of the kernel line add rootdelay=8
(d) Press b to boot the system with these temporary corrections.
(e) Once your Arch system has booted, edit the /boot/grub/menu.lst to make the above changes permanent.
The relevant portion of my /boot/grub/menu.lst looks like the following:
# (0) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/... ro rootdelay=8
initrd /boot/kernel26.img
# (1) Arch Linux
title Arch Linux Fallback
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/... ro rootdelay=8
initrd /boot/kernel26-fallback.img
9. The laptop happily and consistently boots Arch Linux from the external USB HDD when it's plugged in before startup/booting.
Running Arch from the external USB HDD seems as quick as running Debian from the internal HDD.
So if there is a performance penalty associated with using an external USB HDD, my wife and I haven't noticed.
In summary, the three essential points to address during installation to an external USB HDD are:
Remember to set the bootable flag for the first partition.
Add USB to the HOOKS for /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file.
Correct the /etc/grub/menu.lst file.
I hope this is helpful.
Ted

Hi Rookie,
As you say, it is worth remembering the rootfstype= option for the kernel line just in case someone still has problems with GRUB after making all the other changes.
I was working with the most recent Arch 2009.2 release.
I only got messages about unrecognisable file system type when I tried booting with the "stock" or "as-installed" GRUB (before I edited /boot/grub/menu.lst). After editing /boot/grub/menu.lst to identify the drive correctly and add rootdelay, GRUB was able to do the rest and everything worked OK without any error messages.
Best wishes,
Ted

The finder window for an external USB hard disk suddenly started separating files by time (today, yesterday, etc.) and stopped allowing me to change column width, order, etc. Also the header bar shifted to flat white from gray.

The finder window for an external USB hard disk suddenly started separating files by time (today, yesterday, etc.) and stopped allowing me to change column width, order, etc. Also the header bar shifted to flat white from gray.
All was normal until the icon for the disk stopped showing up on the desktop when I would plug it in. I rebooted the computer, and the disk icon now shows up but this new look to the finder window started as a result. The hard disk does not have this problem when I use it on another Mac running Snow leopard. Also, two other external hard disks that I use on this computer running lion 7.4 still have the normal header bars with columns that can be reordered, etc.
I have tried looking in preferences and other places but have not seen this discussed.

Well duh - I finally figured out that somehow in the View options for the hard drive, the "arrange by" option had been changed to "by date" from "none". Not sure how that happened, I had never used the "view options" menu tem before. Changing "arrange by" back to "none" gets the gray column headers and the collapsible folder icons back.

HT4889 Migration Assistant to update my new Mountain Lion iMac from an external USB hard disk drive, it is constantly saying that it is "looking for other computers". It doesn't find the external drive. Why is it looking for other computers?

I'm trying to use Migration Assistant to update my new Mountain Lion iMac from an external USB hard disk drive. I told it to look for a drive, yet it is constantly saying that it is "looking for other computers". It doesn't find the external drive ... it just endlessly looks for other computers. Why is it looking for other computers at all, when I told it not to?

Wow, the wording in Migration Assistant is misleading. I've never used it before, so I thought I would try to copy my files from the external drive ... my old iMac died, but I managed to get everything I need off it, using the 'cp' command in single-user mode. So I guess I'll just have to manually copy the files from the external drive to the new machine. I was hoping that Migration Assistant might help somehow, but obviously not.
Thanks for the quick reply!

How to share Windows 7 Internet connection AND Extreme USB hard disk?

Hi All,
I'm trying to share the mobile broadband Internet connection on a Windows 7 PC as well as the USB hard disk connected to the Airport Extreme (2nd Gen) with other WiFi devices. The problem is that I can get either the one to work or the other, but not both.
When I configure the Airport Extreme for DHCP+NAT, all machines on the Airport network can see each other, share files, etc. When I enable Internet Connection Sharing on the Windows 7 machine, the only way I've gotten that to work is to set the Airport Extreme to bridge mode, but then file sharing of the Airport Extreme's disk no longer works.
Device info: Internet-connected Dell Latitude E5420 Windows 7 Professional 32-bit, Airport Extreme 802.11n (2nd Gen), Windows XP Home Edition + Nokia N8 + etc. WiFi devices.
I've read all the manuals I could find and searched these forums but haven't been able to figure out a solution. I'm really getting desperate and will really appreciate any and all suggestions!
Many thanks,
Francois

I've found a solution that works with my existing equipment. It's now possible to share the Windows 7 machine's Internet connection at the same time as the AirPort's drive. An additional challenge was to avoid having to manually reconfigure every WiFi client, but it turned out that's also possible.
For the sake of posterity, here's the guide! :-)
Background
My setup is based on an AirPort Extreme access point WiFi network. The AirPort shares a hard drive, and a number of Windows clients connect to the network. One of these, a Windows 7 machine, has a USB mobile broadband dongle which I also wanted to share with the network.
Previously I got this to work, but whatever configuration I came up with required manual reconfiguration of each network client, one way or the other. This was not ideal. Also, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) defaults to IP address .1, the same one to which the AirPort defaults. This needed manual reconfiguration of the ICS host each time ICS was turned on.
Solution
THIS SOLUTION REQUIRES THE AIRPORT TO BE IN EITHER DHCP + NAT OR DHCP MODE. IF FOR SOME REASON YOU DEPEND ON THE AIRPORT BEING IN BRIDGE MODE, UNFORTUNATELY THIS SOLUTION WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU.
1. Do the AirPort's non-Internet configuration
On the AirPort Utility main screen, click the AirPort button, work through all the tab sheets and configure the items as you require. Do the same for the Printers, Disks and Advanced buttons. Once that's complete, we can do the Internet configuration.
2. Set the AirPort to DHCP & NAT
This is needed so you can choose the AirPort network address in the next step (but you can still set a different Connection Sharing mode later on, see step 7). For now, set Connection Sharing to Share a public IP address:
3. Set the AirPort to the same network address as ICS
Set the AirPort to the network address used by ICS, namely 192.168.137.xyz. Note that the AirPort does not allow a beginning address below 2:
4. Obtain the AirPort's MAC addresses
These will be used in the next step. Record both the Airport ID as well as the Ethernet ID:
5. Fix the AirPort IP addresses to prevent clashing with ICS
The AirPort will default to the same IP address as ICS, namely 192.168.137.1. To prevent this, assign different addresses to the AirPort with DHCP reservations. Underneath DHCP Reservations, click the '+' and create reservations for each of the AirPort and Ethernet interfaces. You can use other values, but to be consistent with the rest of this guide use 192.168.137.253 for the AirPort interface and 192.168.137.254 for the Ethernet inteface:
6. Distribute ICS configuration data with AirPort DHCP
Yes, you read right! This is where the magic happens. To avoid having to manually configure each WiFi client for the additional ICS network, that configuration data is included with the AirPort DHCP configuration. Assuming you've stuck to the numbers above, configure the TCP/IP screen exactly as shown. .254 is the AirPort router (and also its Ethernet interface) address, and .1 is the IP address that Windows configures for the ICS interface:
7. Set AirPort Connection Sharing
If your AirPort is sharing a connection on its WAN port, choose Share a public IP address, otherwise choose Distribute a range of IP address. In the latter case the NAT tab disappears:
8. Save your AirPort's configuration
Your AirPort configuration is now complete and you can push the Update button. Once your AirPort has rebooted, its network will be fully operational.
9. Ensure your Internet sharing port is correctly configured
ICS involves two network ports on the sharing computer - the shared Internet-connected port, and the sharing port connected to your local network. When you enable ICS on the shared port, Windows will temporarily configure the sharing port's settings to fit in with the scheme above (it will get the fixed IP address 192.168.137.1). When ICS is disabled, Windows will restore the default configuration of the sharing port. The purpose of this step is to ensure that the default sharing port configuration is correct. When ICS is inactive the sharing port needs to obtain an IP address automatically from the AirPort via DHCP. Right-click your chosen WiFi sharing connection > Properties > Networking > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties and configure as follows:
10. Share your Internet connection
Right-click the connection you want to share > Properties > Sharing and configure as follows (you may find the other settings also useful but they're not covered here):
And now you're ready to enjoy your local network services as well as your shared Internet connection, all on your Airport Extreme network - without having to lift a finger to configure network clients!
Windows Network Profiles
If you use Windows network profiles to distinguish between Home, Work and Public networks, here are some additional notes you may find useful.
As Windows recognises networks, it applies their assigned profiles which add or remove sets of restrictions wrt. network discovery, file & printer sharing and so on. The amount of ICS configuration data that can be included with AirPort DHCP information is limited and in some instances this interferes with how Windows recognises networks.
It seems that Windows recognises a network once a default router has been configured for it. Following are some known scenarios with fixes for each, based on that principle.
1. WiFi network not recognised
When ICS is enabled, on the ICS host Windows configures only an IP address for the sharing port and no default router. When ICS is disabled, on the ICS host this port receives its configuration from the AirPort via DHCP, as do all other WiFi clients. This DHCP configuration includes router information for the ICS network, but again no router information for the AirPort network itself.
Therefore the AirPort network is not recognised on any Windows machines on the WiFi network, under any circumstances.
To make Windows recognise the AirPort network, execute the following from the command line with Administrator privileges:
     route -4 add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.137.254 metric 3000
This metric is high enough to ensure that "real" default routes get preference over this one.
If you want to remove the above routing table entry, execute the following from the command line with Administrator privileges:
     route -4 delete 0.0.0.0 192.168.137.254
For convenience I created shortcuts for these two commands.
2. WiFi network recognised, unrecognised network remains
Once you've added the route above to make Windows recognise your AirPort network, when ICS is disabled Windows will probably identify TWO networks on your WiFi adapter:
     Unidentified network, your_AirPort_network
Windows now recognises your AirPort network, but the DHCP router entry for the inactive ICS network makes it think there must be yet another network. However, the 192.168.137.1 ICS port is not present when ICS is inactive, so Windows reports the inactive router entry as an unidentified network.
If you want to remove this unidentified network/router entry, execute the following from the command line with Administrator privileges:
     route -4 delete 0.0.0.0 192.168.137.1
On your Windows ICS host, removing this entry can cause no harm.
However, on network clients where you removed this entry and subsequently want to share your Internet connection from again, you'll need to add it back.
To restore the ICS router entry, execute the following from the command line with Administrator privileges:
     route -4 add 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 192.168.137.1 metric 1

Lose connection to external USB hard drive after waking up from sleep

My Mac lost connection to the external USB hard drive after waking up from sleep. I can still see the folders in the hard drive in Finders, but when I double clip a folder no file within the folder is displayed. I have to reconnect the hard drive with iMac to read its contents.
May I ask how this happens and is there a solution?
I'm using Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X to read from and write to NTFS format of USB external hard drive.
Thanks!

... I un-ticked the "put hard disks to sleep when possible" option in the Energy Saver panel in the System Preferences, and it seems the problem is solved. will have to sleep and wake up my iMac to further verify if this is the solution ...
Alternative advices are always greatly appreciated!

Connection failed when trying to connect to external Lacie hard disk

I have an external Lacie hard disk which sits under and is connected to my Airport Extreme base station. I access that volume by using the 'Connect to Server' option in the finder, and I can see the Lacie drive when I get to the stage where I click to 'browse' and then click the Network icon.
However, today instead of connecting as usual (after asking for password authorisation, etc.) I now get a temporary window message saying:
"Looking up, "x1-6........local..." I guess the IP address?
After 3 minutes I then get the following error message:
CONNECTION FAILED
The server may not exist or it is not operational at this time. Check the server name or IP address and try again.
Yesterday I had a problem with my MacPro while trying to access info on the Lacie volume and with no response from the MacPro to shut down, I had to hold the start button down to get it to shut down. I then turned the Airport Express and Lacie disk off at the main plug powerpoint (I forgot to dismount the Lacie volume from another Mac running!). Hoping this would reset everything, but now this problem has happened!
Any help or advice on this would be much appreciated as I hold some key financial and business info on the Lacie volume and I can't access it now!!!
Thanks

Hi Rick
That's worked!
I did reboot Airport Extreme initially (had to switch off power to AEBS and Lacie disk as looks like there is no power switch on the AEBS?...and tried, but same problem. But then tried this again and all now works as before.
Thanks for your advice and the direct connection tip, which I was considering doing anyway if the conventional route didn't work.
Phew!

WRT160NL: Automatic spin-down of external USB hard disks?

Hello,
do external hard disks automatically spin down after a period with no access/use when connected with the USB port of the WRT160NL?

In reference to your post could you please let me know that when you say "spin down" do you mean that does the hard drive goes into sleep mode when it is not in use?
Did you try to connect another hard drive and check whether it is the same case or not?

'Lombard' PowerBook won't see external USB hard disk?

I connect an external hard disk to a 'Lombard' PowerBook (Mac OS X 10.3.9) via USB and get the message "You have inserted a disk containing no volumes that Mac OS X can read." I connect the same disk to my MacBook Pro via USB and it mounts fine. I've run DiskWarrior on it, but it still won't mount on the 'Lombard'. Other USB devices work fine, e.g. USB flash drive. I know the 'Lombard' won't boot from an external USB disk, but will it also simply not read it at all?

HandyMac,
You are caught between a rock and a hard place. MacOS X 10.3.9 or earlier cannot mount/read a volume that has been partitioned using the GUID Partition Scheme adopted by the Intel Macs. PowerPC Macs use the older Apple Partition Scheme. You can reformat the USB HD on your Lombard (a PowerPC) using the Apple Partition Scheme and it will also mount/read/write on the MacBook Pro. However, if you are also using this HD as a bootable volume for the MBP, the HD must remain in the GUID Partition Scheme. The tech article below is discussing FireWire Target Disk Mode but I assume the same restriction applies also to removable media. I would confirm this on either the MBP Discussions or the Tiger Discussions.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303118
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303220

External USB hard disk fails to boot

I installed Arch Linux on an external USB Lacie 1 TB Hard Disk. I followed instructions on WiKi: "install from exisiting linux", method 2, since I already have Linux installed
on the internal HDD of my laptop (dual boot with Windows, also with Grub as bootloader).
Problem: The external HDD stalls during boot right after the "Welcome to Grub!" - message. I can only hard-reset my laptop from there.
The external HDD has msdos Partition Table. It is recognized by BIOS just fine, since I can choose to boot from it. It has following (very simple) partition setup:
[root@arch-laptop chris]# fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x000c9610
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 2048 40962047 20480000 83 Linux
So there's just the root partition, no boot or home partition defined. Grub installed to the external HDD with no errors.
Here's the grub.cfg auto-generated, without anything adapted. The UUID of the external HDD /dev/sdb1 is correct.
[root@arch-laptop grub]# cat grub.cfg
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
set default="${next_entry}"
set next_entry=
save_env next_entry
set boot_once=true
else
set default="0"
fi
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
menuentry_id_option=""
fi
export menuentry_id_option
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi
function savedefault {
if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
saved_entry="${chosen}"
save_env saved_entry
fi
function load_video {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
else
insmod efi_gop
insmod efi_uga
insmod ieee1275_fb
insmod vbe
insmod vga
insmod video_bochs
insmod video_cirrus
fi
if [ x$feature_default_font_path = xy ] ; then
font=unicode
else
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
fi
font="/usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2"
fi
if loadfont $font ; then
set gfxmode=auto
load_video
insmod gfxterm
set locale_dir=$prefix/locale
set lang=en_US
insmod gettext
fi
terminal_input console
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
set timeout_style=menu
set timeout=5
# Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
# unavailable.
else
set timeout=5
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_archlinux ###
menuentry "Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel" --class arch-linux --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
fi
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod ext2
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348 rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel initramfs ...'
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
menuentry "Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel (fallback initramfs)" --class arch-linux --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
insmod all_video
fi
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod ext2
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
fi
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348 rw quiet
echo 'Loading Arch Linux pkg-linux kernel fallback initramfs ...'
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_archlinux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Arch Linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348 rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
submenu 'Advanced options for Arch Linux' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348' {
menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux linux' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-linux-advanced-5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348' {
load_video
set gfxpayload=keep
insmod gzio
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='hd1,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd1,msdos1 --hint-efi=hd1,msdos1 --hint-baremetal=ahci1,msdos1 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348
fi
echo 'Loading Linux linux ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=5fe1d28c-2640-4b5c-b98b-75d147479348 rw quiet
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
### END /etc/grub.d/60_memtest86+ ###
the internal HDD (/dev/sda) also has GRUB installed, without any problems, with a graphical console menu.
GRUB version is 2.02
laptop: dv6-6b41ed
Legacy BIOS (no EFI / UEFI).
Any ideas on how to solve / troubleshoot this?
Last edited by christopher72 (2014-04-21 15:05:21)

Any hooks in particular? I don't know which hook to add other then the 'blocks' hook, which is there already:
HOOKS="base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems keyboard fsck"
Also, I don't think that could be the problem since loading the initramfs image takes place after choosing something from the Grub Menu. That menu never appears, I just get "welcome to grub!" with a blinking cursor underneath.
I did add "insmod usbms" in grub.cfg, but that didn't change anything.
What strikes me as odd is that in grub.cfg, the disk is referred to as "hd1", where I think it could just as well be "hd0" if that's the first hard disk the BIOS boots from. But I'm not sure if that really matters since the search is done with the UUID.
Another thing I tested earlier: I dd 'd the Arch Live image to the external usb HDD, and then it boots fine...

Access external USB hard disk drive with REISERFS Linux filesystem.

I recently bought second-hand an older MBP Pro (2006 model) with Tiger installed, which I use as a desktop system at home and I would like to be able to connect an external IOMEGA 500 GB hard disk drive to it and have read/write access to its contents (mostly video / picture / music files). I spent a while searching on the Internet for solutions - nothing usefule came up. Does anyone in here have any ideas on how to do this? Is it possible at all after all?
P.S.: Apart from this older MBP Pro, I also have a newer model (bought in early 2008) with Leopard installed - I wouldn't mind finding some solution on my problem on that OS instead...

Hi,
The two ways I can see to possibly do it are to network the Linux machine & Drive, then use Samba to access it.
By using the Mac OS X Virtual File System (VFS) capability and writing kernel extensions, you can add support for other file systems. Examples of file systems that are not currently supported in Mac OS X but that you may wish to add to the system include the Andrew file system (AFS) and the Reiser file system (ReiserFS). If you want to support a new volume format or networking protocol, you’ll need to write a file-system kernel extension.
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Darwin/Conceptual/KernelProgramming/Fil esystem/chapter12_section1.html

Connecting an external USB Hard drive using Virtual Box

I Installed latest version of Virtual Box and created an Ubuntu Linux 12.04 guest without any hassle (after installing guest additions). My question is, I want to connect an external drive (formatted for Linux) using one of the usb ports of my Mac mini. I want my Linux OS to detect and mount this hard drive and be able to read/write to it, and even if possible, to make my VM boot from it. Is this feasible? Thanks for your help.

You might try this: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/soho-networking/turn-external-hard-drives-into-network -storage-via-usb-with-addonics-nas-adapter/322

Backup to external USB hard disk

I've been trying to use rsync to backup my internal HD to an external USB one. I'm attempting to backup everything from /Users/ on down. There are two users on this G5, and attempts to access the other user's directories/files are being blocked with "permission denied" message.
Hoping root could reign with access privileges to all users, I've used "sudo -u root crontab -e" to set up a crontab entry to invoke a file containing the actual backup command itself:
"rsync -av --exclude-from=/Volumes/'Macintosh HD'/Users/jdorin/SysBackupExclude --progress /Volumes/'Macintosh HD'/Users /Volumes/MacBack > echo -n"
The SysBackupExclude file contains just:
/Macintosh HD/Users/user1/Library/Caches
/Macintosh HD/Users/user1/.Trash/Caches
/Macintosh HD/Users/user2/Library/Caches
/Macintosh HD/Users/user2/.Trash/Caches
I'm "user1," and my files are getting backed up. But the emailed backup status report tells me "permission denied" for each directory under "user2," as:
rsync: opendir "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/user2/.Trash" failed: Permission denied (13)
rsync: opendir "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/user2/Desktop" failed: Permission denied (13)
How can I backup all users on my Mac?

I never unplug the external harddrive, and the error message comes up only occassionaly upon startup. Maybe the USB connection gets disrupted enough to cause the computer to see it as disconnected and then reconnected while the iMac is powered.

Unable to boot MBA from external USB hard disk

I'm trying to boot an Air from an external hard disk, but the partition is not being recognized when I boot up and hold down the OPTION key. I've tried making bootable clones with Disk Utility (Restore), Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper and none of the three pop up as an available boot partition. The external drive was properly partitioned as a GUID disk. Any ideas what the problem could be?

Did you also format the drive Mac OS X Extended, Journaled? As follows:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

External USB hard disks recognized as internal disks by Win7 x64

Hello,
When I connect any of 3 different My Passport external disks to my laptop, they are shown as internal disks.
I can still disconnect them using usb icon in system tray.
It seems to me windows started to behave this way when I connected usb disk while it was still starting.
Is there a way to make the system show external disks as such again?
Robert M. Glaz

Hi,
In fact, this is controlled by the device itself. An RMB set to zero indicates that the device is not a removable media device. An RMB of one indicates that the device is a removable media device. Drivers obtain this information by using the StorageDeviceProperty
request. Yes, this information is stored in storage device descriptor.
STORAGE_DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ff566971(VS.85).aspx
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Trouble connecting to external USB hard disk through PC

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