External HD not detected by macbook - please help

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Archive 2012 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

ashley138
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p.1 #1 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

Hi,

I know there's some real tech savvy people around this forum and I'm hoping you can help me. I use a WD My Passport external HD for my photo storage because I shoot RAW. I've used this HD for quite a while and I've never had an issue with it. Suddenly today, I plug it in but the computer doesn't recognize that it's plugged in. The HD light comes on and humms as if its working but the macbook doesn't detect it. I went to disk utility and it doesn't show up there either and I know the computer is not picking it up. I tried plugging and un-plugging, turning the macbook on and off, and I tried plugging it into a different macbook but nothing works. I'm soo scared I've lost my photos. If I have it's going to be devastating. Please let me know if anyone has any tips or advice. Thanks,

Ashley

Jan 14, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Mr Joe
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p.1 #2 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

Ideas:
Try a different cable. Plug another hard drive in with the cable to isolate the cable as the problem. If your drive has Firewire and USB, try the other kind of connection.

If you're using Firewire, unplug all of your extra peripherals. Sometimes something like a Wacom can interfere with Firewire working.

If your drive is only Firewire, you may need to zap the PRAM on your machine. More details on the OS version you're running and what kind of connections the drive accepts will allow folks to help you more.

Jan 14, 2012 at 12:52 AM

hfgarris
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p.1 #3 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

If all else fails, purchase an inexpensive external drive case appropriate for the physical size of your drive and remove the drive from the WD case and install into the new case. There is a good chance that it is the USB interface that may have failed and the drive and your data are fine.

Good luck...

-howard

Jan 14, 2012 at 02:33 AM

ashley138
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p.1 #4 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

Thanks for your help!! I think the cord must have given out because I went out and bought a new cord (USB 2.0) and it worked! (thank god) I think I got a lite over worried because I talked to a "data recovery specialist" on the Phone and he convinced me (after I described what it was doing) that it must be something wrong internally and that I needed to send the drive in. I'm so glad it was just the cord.

Thanks again,

Ashley

Jan 14, 2012 at 09:47 AM

Mr Joe
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p.1 #5 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

Glad it was just the cord!

Jan 14, 2012 at 07:56 PM

ashley138
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p.1 #6 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

ME TOO!! I was sooo relieved!!

Jan 14, 2012 at 11:02 PM

DIS Ottawa
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p.1 #7 · External HD not detected by macbook - please help

As is appears from your initial post that this drive contains the only copy of your images, maybe now would be a good time to look at back up strategies. If the images/data are important to you, you should have a minimum of two copies.

Jan 15, 2012 at 01:53 AM

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