10-05-2010, 12:34 PM

Hi, first post here.

So I recently purchased a 1TB Western Digital 'My Passport' external hard drive for use with my Macbook Pro. I plugged it in and the hard drive showed up in my Finder, no problem. I dragged some files onto the drive and they all copied over, again, no problem.

However, after ejecting the device, I tried to re-plug it in a little while later, but this time it didn't open on my computer. I could hear the drive humming when I plugged it in, but it didn't appear in the Finder under 'Devices'.

I also tried plugging in a little 8GB flashdrive I have, and that didn't come up either. I tried every USB port on the computer - no such luck.

So I restarted my computer, and after that, it seemed to recognize both my new hard drive and flashdrive again. But sure enough, after ejecting the hard drive, waiting a few minutes and then plugging it back in, again it wouldn't open.

I've recreated this problem three times now. My computer will recognize the hard drive the first time around, but then subsequently won't recognize anything I plug into it until restarting the computer. As of right now, this is a minor inconvenience (the hard drive is usable, but I'd hate to have to restart my computer every single time I want to use it), but I'm afraid this might indicate a more severe issue I might run into with it down the road.

Any advice? Thanks!

10-05-2010, 01:01 PM

I would start with the simple "Repair Permissions" on the main drive.

10-05-2010, 01:40 PM

Thanks for the tip - no luck, though. Problem is still occurring.

10-05-2010, 02:59 PM

What kind of system is it? (iMac, Macbook, Mac Mini etc)
What version of OSX does it run?
What all is connected to system?

One of Apple's official procedures for a problem like this would be;
Shut down the system
Unplug everything from the computer
Turn it back on
Plug everything back in.

I've been searching a round but cant really find anything.

I would also try resetting the PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379