Disk Utilities doesn't recognise my external hard drive OSX 10.5.8

Just bought a new seagate 1tb 2.5" external hdd. I want to format it so I can use it on my mac. the problem is, I can't even find the hard drive in the first place. doesn't show up in disk utilities at all.

please help.

Is the drive self powered or does it use power from the USB port? If the drive is self powered and doesn't mount, it may be defective. However, if it's USB powered, it may not be getting enough current from the USB port to power up.

To resolve that, you can try a dual USB cable (one with two plugs) and attach it to two ports at once, or buy a powered USB hub.

Regards.

NathanKett said:

Just bought a new seagate 1tb 2.5" external hdd. I want to format it so I can use it on my mac. the problem is, I can't even find the hard drive in the first place. doesn't show up in disk utilities at all.

please help.

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Just been thru much head scratching due to intermittent Firewire issue on MacBookPro and a LaCie enclosure that had a heat problem - would unmount after getting warm. In all the testing it worked on USB OK but with Firewire sometimes it would work and sometimes not - even with three different cables.
Perhaps test your drive on another computer if u can.


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FWIW Center FW 800 cable seemed more reliable