USB hard drive shows up in finder, but unable to connect and access content

I have a hard drive connected to the USB port on my Airport extreme. It shows up under "shared" in finder but when I try to access the content the connection fails. All my software and firmware is up to date. Any suggestions?

I've had (and I'm still having) a lot of AirPort Extreme Base Station + USB drive problems.
Here are some random actions that help when I lose connectivity (in the same way you describe):
Rebooting the AEBS (by unplugging power cord)
De-activating then re-activating AirPort on the mac
Unplugging then re-plugging the drive power cord
Plugging the USB drive directly on the Mac and running Disk utility repair
The first is usually enough, and maybe some of these steps are totally useless, but I swear AirPort Disks have been driving me crazy, especially since Tiger and even more since the latest updates.

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No i'm connect via ethernet (cable) with TC. The problem is when I try to connect to my TC when I'm away from home like for ex. using a free wi fi spot!! Well in this case the icon appear on my Finder but refuse to connet!! ( connection faild ).

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Relaunch the Finder, then from the Finder menu bar, select
Finder ▹ Preferences ▹ Advanced
and uncheck the box marked Empty Trash securely. Try again to empty the Trash.

Win7 can't boot in USB hard drive blue screen 7b error,but can boot when use PD8

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***stop:0x0000007B(0x80786B58,0xC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000)
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Hi,
If this issue is related with firmare, then it's recommend to contact the vender\manufacture, if you got any update of this issue, we'd be appreciate that you could share your experience with us.
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Yolanda Zhu
TechNet Community Support

External hard drive not visible in Finder, but is operating

iMac, 2 Gb RAM, Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
It has 4 external USB drives attached through a powered hub. All of a sudden, after about a year, one of them no longer shows up in ‘Finder’. However, all four drives have an icon on the desktop. The drive is visible and verifiable in ‘Disk Utility’. Double clicking the desktop icon opens the drive and I can copy a file from it. iTunes can see it. From a Macbook’s ‘Finder’, over WiFi, I can see and copy files to and from the drive. Finder Preferences shows nothing amiss. I’ve shut down and restarted the iMac several times with no change. The drive just does not show up in Finder on the host iMac.
Searching this forum has not helped. Any suggestions?
Max

Well, this is embarrassing. A suggestion from an older thread on Macrumors.com called "Hard Drive does not appear in Finder / Desktop", solved this problem. Simply drag the missing drive icon from the desktop to Finder! Perseverance and different search wording AND reading a lot of stuff pays off.
If other's problem is not solved with this fix, you might benefit from this 10.5-based thread. They also mention an Apple 10.5 fix. Both URL's below.
The op's problem was that the drive did not appear in Finder OR the desktop but was operational. There was a lot of in-depth information with this fix embedded.
Thanks for the interest and suggestions.
Max
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-209905.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA25203?viewlocale=en_US

External hard drive showing up in iTunes but tracks are not...

Hi,
I've read a bunch of the posts about running iTunes off an external hard drive but haven't had any luck getting my set up to work... I have an LG netbook, Western Digital 2 TB ethernet hard drive, the latest version of iTunes (updated yesterday)... Ideally I'd like to keep all of my iTunes stuff on the hard drive and access it through my netbook, iTouch, phone etc...
I followed Apple's instructions for moving iTunes to another drive - I consolidated the files, checked the box for keeping the files organized, changed the location for iTunes Media folder location to my external hard drive (when I 'Get Info' for the tracks iTunes it shows them in the external hard drive), then deleted the original iTunes Media folder... My Book Live shows up in iTunes, but does not list any tracks... I moved all of my iTunes (tv, music, ringtones, etc) to a folder I created in the external hard drive called iTunes... I did move the music from the iTunes folder to the Shared Music folder on the external hard drive, but neither location shows the tracks in iTunes...
Am I missing a step? I'm not great with computers in case that wasn't obvious But the instructions were clear and I had no problems going through them so I'm not sure what the problem could be...
Thanks for any help or tips you can offer

Okay, I run off my Ext HD all the time... I have had a couple minor problems trying to get multiple machines to use the same ext HD & iTunes library... but that's another story. LOL Maybe I just want too much. giggle Greedy me... I want my music everywhere and not always on my iPod. <g>
I'll keep working on that... Anyhooo... I can address YOUR problem at least. Cuz, I think I know what you may have done wrong. Although the library of music (i.e. all the music files) are stored on the external hard drive, iTunes will still use the iTunes LIBRARY files (i.e. the files that list what is stored where and data and junk) that are on your computer's main hard drive. So, if you deleted those files in your iTunes folder when you say you deleted the iTunes media files on your main hard drive... you may have killed its ability to find, identify and play all those files out on your external hard drive.
You should still have a number of files like:
Sentinel
PPTThumbs
ITunesMusicLibrary
ITunesLibraryGenius
ITunesLibraryExtras
ITunesLibrary <-key one... tells it names of all your music & where files are
ITunesPreferences <-key one... tells it where you told it you stored your library
lots of weird .tmp files
Hope this helps

Issue with hard drive showing up in Finder/Desktop

I have a Fantom Drive 1Tb that is hooked up through firewire 800. The unit used to mount fine, but all of a sudden it stopped showing up in the finder and on the desktop. I can find it through a spotlight search of items on it, and it shows up in disk utility without a problem. It is formatted Mac OS Extended. When I locate it through finder, it shows up in finder via column view, but is greyed out. the instant i close all finder windows, I have to go through and search again. I clicked "get info" and unlocked it, and ignored ownership, but it doesn't matter, i cannot get it to show up and stay in finder or anything.
This is driving me nuts

normally you'd have to put quotation marks in both commands. They are needed to interpret special characters and spaces in drive name correctly. However, since your drive doesn't have any of those in its name you can actually dispense with quotation marks and simply use
sudo xattr -d com.apple.metadata:kMDItemFinderComment /volumes/music
and
sudo chflags nohidden /volumes/music

Why don't extra hard drives show up in finder window?

I have an older MacPro running 10.7.5 with 4 internal drives. Just this morning the three extra drives do not show up in a finder window under "Devices." I used "Disk Utility" to verify all three and no problem was indicated. I checked "Finder - Preferences and under "Devices" all 4 boxes are checked. I unchecked them, closed the window and then rechecked them to no avail. One of them is my backup disk. When I attempt to enter "Time Machine" I get the message "The Time Machine Disk cannot be found." What could cause them to disappear. I have not tried opening the case, removing the disks and reinserting them.

Might be corrupted Finder preferences ...
Open the Finder. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Type or copy paste the following:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
Click Go then move the com.apple.finder.plist file to the Trash.
Restart your Mac. See if external drives mount in the Finder.
message edited by: cs

External Hard Drive showing in Disk Utility - but not desktop.

A little background:
Yesterday, I moved my shelf where I have my modem, Airport Extreme, Airport Express and an external HD connected to the extreme to be a wireless HD for all users to access. Everything worked great - no problems whatsoever.
Problem: I have reconnected everything exactly as it was and reconfigured it as it was and now the external HD is having issues. When connected to the extreme, I can see it in the airport utility, but cannot gain access to it in that way. When I connect directly to my macbook, it is recognized by the disk utility, but does not appear on the desktop.
I don't know if this may have caused the problem, but I carelessly, unplugged the power bar for which all the above mentioned hardware plugs into when moving the shelf. Now, everything works as it did, except I can't get the express to show up once it is configured (but this isn't surprising as I had to fight with it the first time I configured it - not uncommon I am told), and the HD is no longer accessible via the network, or when directly connected to my macbook.
Help! According to the utilities, the data is still on the disk, I just can't access it in any way.

From the Disk Utility, select the drive and click on the Repair Disk(not Repair Permissions) button. If the Disk Utility finds a problem it can't fix, DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro will likely succeed.
(24355)

Inserted CD will show up in finder, but isn't clickable and nothing pops up...

I know this type of question has been asked before but I feel my problem is a bit more specific. The CD is from a school textbook filled with language mp3 clips and is manufactured by a Korean university. My macbook is in fairly good condition, bought it in late last August, never had any viruses or anything like that. Just wanted to know if anybody has some insight into why this isn't working and if this problem is fixable, or if this is just user error from my lack of tech smarts.
Any help its greatly appreciated

Update: after trying 6 discs that failed, the next few worked fine. Both iTunes and Finder displayed the actual disk name and track names. However, going back to the previously failed disks did not change the outcome. They still failed. That worked for another 6 or so disks, then this morning I ran across another one that got looked up in iTunes, but not in Finder.

USB Hard Drive won't show in AirPort Utility

Hello,
I recently brought OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini 750GB hard drive and attached it to Time Capsule. I opened AirPort Utility / Manual Setup / Disks. It didn't dhow the attached USB hard drive. The file sharing option is already enabled and I also restarted everything I can.
The USB Hard Drive is working fine since I'm able to open it when I connect it to MacBook Pro. The USB Hard Drive is already pre-formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format.
Any idea?

Never mind. I come to know that Time Capsule won't provide sufficient power to these kind of large hard drives with multiple ports. I brought Belkin USB Desk Bub with 4 USB ports and then connected hard drive to Time Capsule. That's it. Now my drive automatically shows in Time Capsule.
Even I'm able to play my media (previously I moved my iTunes Media to this drive.) without connecting hard drive to my Mac directly.

Changing external USB hard drive into a FireWire Drive???

I have been reading in some of the other discussions about how it is possible to change a USB external hard drive into a FireWire external hard drive. Is this true ??? I recently pruchased an external USB hard drive only to now find out that I cannot use it to boot from. Apparently OSX will only boot from a FireWire drive ??? Is there some way to change my current external USB hard drive into a FireWire compatible drive or do I have to purchase a FireWire drive ??? Thanks.

All I can remember was an internal USB/firewire hub (for PCs, by the way), I haven't seen external adapters like cables; but you may simply ask in your local computer store about.
Yes, you can boot only from firewire drives. I was told that it is possible the new Intel Macs are able to boot from USB drives, but haven't had the time to verify this so far.
A possible solution may be to remove the harddisk from the USB enclosure and put it into a firewire case. This should work and you just need to buy the firewire case without the need for another harddisk. Just ensure that the case is able to take your harddrive (2.5" / 3.5" drives, connection interface).

USB Hard Drive corrupted - twice!

ever since my recent (and otherwise very happy) transition to macs i've had trouble with an external USB hard drive which i use to store my music collection and back up. first there were issues with not recognising the drive for ages but these were fixed by a new case and then, more recently my drive has been corrupted - twice.
first time i immediately assumed it was because the drive was two years old and had travelled quite a bit with me so i replaced it with a brand new spanking one. however, two weeks later the exact same problem occurred. all data lost. osx recognises that the drive is there, and it's name but the folder structure is gone and replaced by some garbled charachters that start 'USB£@$@%£$%' or similar.
first time this occurred i was in the middle of some file transfers and the drive itself started making a few strange noises. second time was during the nightly back up i have running with superduper! at the same time as downloading stuff. i have the drive partitioned - 100GB osx extended format for the back up and 200GB fat32 for my music colleection. in the recent manifestation it doesn't mount the back up partition, but mounts the music one. i can see the back up partition in disk utility greyed out and it agrees that there is a fault, but it can't find any problems with my music partition - which now has no data on it.
i am completely at a loss here and my last few hour's research on the net have yeilded no results so if anyone can help i'd be very very grateful. i connect the drive through usb hub and to the left usb port if that makes a difference. i had absolutely no problems with a similar set up on my windows laptop for years. is it something to do with how os x handles external drives? or should i get a new case/usb 2.0 hub? all tips appreciated

i do use unmount - but what if finder crashes in the middle of an operation, which may have been what happened first time, and even the second time (but i wasn't around to see what happened), would that garble the folder structure entirely?
i live in the heart of a big city in the UK in a (relatively) modern building and haven't seen any power failures at all (resent alarm clocks etc) or are you talking about some level of super-quick fluctuation i've never noticed before? or did you mean something internal to the drive casing or something?
no error messages related to the usb hub so far. all other devices connected though it work just fine - ipod, printer etc.
the first drive was a hitachi, the second a western digital. the casing was bought from maplin and seems pretty generic - though both problems have occurred since i got the new casing which was about a month before i got my MBP.
it's a serial drive and i have no idea about the jumpers. first time i put everything together, but the second time the drive failed, i bought the replacement drive from the IT guys who were doing the data recovery (which didn't work) and they put it all together for me.
this doesn't have a fan, which the old one did, though it does have a metal casing - do you think heat build up after prolonged heavy use could cause problems?

External Hard Disk not accessible in Finder, but OK in Disk Utility

My external hard drive suddenly disappeared from Finder, but is still there for the disk utility. I connected this Firewire drive to anouther Mac, and it couldn't find it either. I then copied a disk image of this external drive the system hard drive, and that disk image is also invisible. How do I get back my 89 gigabytes of data, which is still there? The disk needed no repairs, and my permissions on the system disk are OK.
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

My external hard drive suddenly disappeared from
Finder, but is still there for the disk utility. I
connected this Firewire drive to anouther Mac, and it
couldn't find it either. I then copied a disk image
of this external drive the system hard drive, and
that disk image is also invisible. How do I get back
my 89 gigabytes of data, which is still there? The
disk needed no repairs, and my permissions on the
system disk are OK.
G5
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Well, I got the terminal utility to work alright, but the disk name, Extra 80 GB, which the program correctly lists, then won't work with the chown command. It picks up the Extra, then the 80, then the GB, and thinks they are all separate names, and then can't find any of them.
I thought I was there .........

USB Hard Drives & RAM Question

Hi,
I've been trying to use this IDE-USB hard drive casing with my macbook, but it doesn't seem to work well. The situation has improved a lot since the firmware upgrade, but its not completely resolved. Other cases seem to work just fine.
Funny thing is, that particular hdd case works perfectly fine on my old toshiba laptop, and on my desktop. If my primitive, comparatively cheap PC's can run it, why can't my expensive MacBook? Is there a way to fix this bug?
And has the 4GB RAM issue been resolved? Can I upgrade my MacBook without having it crash on me?
I really want Apple to take a look into this. Instead of trying so hard to diss PC's, Apple should actually look at their own products. I know its not a big deal, but its just ironic because Apple makes such a big deal about their stuff being so great. Phhh.
Message was edited by: dac90

I bought it from a local shop, sorry can't really give you a link. But its similar to the ones you get on ebay. Just so you know, the casing isn't the problem - like I said, I've tried it on other computers.
I know I can always buy a new casing, but I need Apple to know that the USB has its issues. I mean - a premium notebook like this should be able to handle everything shouldn't it?
I don't see why OS X should be a problem - I've tried the same casing with different hard disks. So its most definitely a hardware compatibilty issue - particularly considering that the situation HAS improved since the EFI upgrade.

USB hard drive shows up in finder, but unable to connect and access content

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