Mac Mini won't read new external HD

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Mini Core Duo 1.83ghz (early 2007), 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi, 2GB Ram
I recently bought a WD Caviar Black 750GB and a Rosewill enclosure to use as an external HD. Half of the time I connect it, it won't show up on the desktop, but will show up on System Profiler as an unknown device. The few times it does show up on the desktop, it disappears after a few minutes with a warning that it was improperly removed. System profiler will still recognize it as a Rosewill External HDD though.

It connects through both USB and Firewire, with the same problem, regardless of which port I plug it into. I figured I'd ask to see if there was anything I could try before I send the drive and enclosure back for a refund.
 

cwa107


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14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
The drive is probably fine, I'd be willing to bet it's the enclosure. Rosewill is not exactly known for their quality.
 

dtravis7


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Agree with CWA completely. I had a very cheap CompUSA FW400/USB2.0 enclosure that did almost exactly the same thing. The WD drive I had installed was fine. Got a better enclosure and it's never missed a beat since.
 

cwa107


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And if you really want to see the performance benefits of the Black Edition drive, you'll need to get an enclosure that supports FireWire 800. Otherwise, you might as well use a Green Edition drive.
 
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Thanks for the quick replies. Do you have any recommendations on a better enclosure? I bought both the HD and enclosure from Newegg and will opt for a replacement from them to avoid a restocking fee. I would like a firewire 400 enclosure under $100.
 

dtravis7


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Which model Rosewill case is it? They have a expensive one also.

These are the 3 that caught my eye. I have had good luck with many Macally products. That Vantec looks good. The funny thing is of all the cases with USB and FW, all get some negative reviews here and there.



Newegg.com - VANTEC 360UFS-BK Aluminum 3.5" Black USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire 400(1394a) External Enclosure - External Enclosures

Newegg.com - macally PHR-S100SUA Aluminum 3.5" USB & 1394 & eSATA External Enclosure - External Enclosures

Newegg.com - macally G-S350SUA Aluminum 3.5" USB & 1394 & eSATA External Enclosure - External Enclosures
 
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dtravis7


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The one I bought to replace the dying CompUSA was Acromdata. Not sure how they are today as that was maybe 3 years ago now and it's never let me down.

Read the ratings also and see if there is a pattern to problems.
 

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