Mac won't detect external LaCie drive - please help

I recently tried to connect a new LaCie 250 gig external hard drive (D2 Extreme with Triple Interface) to my new PowerBook G4. After plugging the drive into the power source (and the power supply into an outlet), the blue light on the drive went on and it made whirring noises, sounding like it was starting up. But when I connected it to my PowerBook, it was completely undetected (even through the disk utility). All the documentation said that moments after connecting the drive to the computer, it should "mount" automatically, which it never did.

I connected to the computer, seperately using each of the 4 included cables (FireWire 800, FireWire 400, iLink and Hi-Speed USB 2.0) but none of them made the computer detect the drive.

I tried rebooting, unplugging and then plugging the cables/power source back in, and all the steps mentioned in the troubleshooting section of the manual as well as the online FAQs. I also downloaded the LaCie Update tool from their site but when using it, it also never detected the external drive

So how can I configure it so that my PowerBook can detect my external hard drive? Please help.

oh jeez...i just plugged mine in and it just worked...

you should make sure it is plugged in snugly
also sometimes you may need to turn on the HD after it is connected, but usually not

good luck
-chris

coach_z said:

oh jeez...i just plugged mine in and it just worked...

you should make sure it is plugged in snugly
also sometimes you may need to turn on the HD after it is connected, but usually not

good luck
-chris

Click to expand...

Yeah, all cables are in snuggly and I tried turning it on after connecting, but it's still not working. Any other ideas?

Maybe it is detected. Have you gone into Finder Options and checked the boxes for it to show on the desktop and/or finder window?

It could be a defective LaCie drive. You should get something in the Disk Utility. Do you have an iPod or any other external device with a drive that plugs into Firewire or USB? If so do they show up? Pretty much any external Hard Drive or CD ROM has shown up USB or Firewire. With all those cables you tried I can't imagine you are doing it wrong or a bad cable.

Yeah, I tried all the various Finder options but it was still never detected. And the Hi-Speed USB port works fine with an iPod. Thanks for the help -- at this point, are there any other options besides just taking the drive back to The Apple Store for an exchange?