Hard Drive won't mount

[kheiderman]

My Seagate Free Agent GoFlex hard drive will no longer mount on my MacBook Pro running OS 10.13.6. This after, at least two, software updates from Apple. The Seagate Drive Setting app explained, "Your computer is no longer compatible with Free Agent GoFlex Drive." I reached out to Seagate with no results. The drive is not even half full. It will run on either Firewire or USB. Any ideas?

 

[pm-r]

The drive is not even half full. It will run on either Firewire or USB. Any ideas?

Try these:

How do I make my GoFlex drive work with my Mac? | Support Seagate US

GoFlex drives include a program that will allow you to use the drives on a Mac or on a PC without reformatting in between. This article explains how.

www.seagate.com

and:

How do I access my GoFlex home without software?
Note: If you would like to activate GoFlex Home without installing the included software, open a browser and enter http://goflex_home or http://<GoFlex Home IP address> in the Address field to start the setup process. Make sure the GoFlex Home is connected to your network before proceeding.

https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/home-entertainment/goflex%20home/_shared/docs/GoFlex%20Home%20User%20Guide.pdf

Hopefully either one would allow you to rescue and backup your data and then use Disk Utility to initialize the drive from scratch so that you could use it normally.

I assume it seems to be using a specialized driver that doesn't work with your current Mac OS version.

Some other options here if neither of the above work:

Mac Seagate Drive Setting app Your computer is no longer compatible with Free Agent GoFlex Drive. - Google Search

- Patrick
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[Rod]

This is one of the reasons I always erase external HD's and format them for macOS prior to use. Proprietary security and compatibility software can always become incompatible over time and 3rd party manufacturers don't always keep up to date, printer drivers being a classic example.
One of the links in the article from Support Seagate US regarding issues with upgrading to macOS Monterey actually recommends downloading a recovery software application from iBoysoft;

1. Free download, install, and launch iBoysoft Data Recovery software on your Mac. For your information, first-time installation of this program requires you to allow Full Disk Access and enable system extensions on Mac.

Would I do this? No way! Its almost inevitable that they will charge you and I don't like giving 3rd party apps full disk access to my data. Here is one user review "Online user documentation is very scarce. Also, I think it's a huge price from the normal version to the professional version, where only support for Windows Server is added. I also think that your refund policy is almost nil, if you read well there are no refunds." Ivan G. on G2.

Here is another review page worth checking out, especially re the cost for Mac version.

iBoysoft Data Recovery Review: My Personal Take (2024)

This is a review of iBoysoft Data Recovery, an all-in-one data recovery tool for Mac and Windows.

datarescuetools.com

Remember this is just data recovery, not fixing your problem. Your problem is the outdated propriety software.

Personally I would try plugging it into a Windows PC or Mac running older software and retrieving your data that way (free) then erase the drive at the top level (Media name) formatting it as FAT 32. That should make it visible to your Mac.

Connect the FreeAgent to any open USB port on your MacBook.
Open the Apple menu and click "Go" and then "Utilities." Double-click "Disk Utility."
Select the FreeAgent drive and open the Partition tab. Open the "Volume Scheme" drop-down menu and change the setting from "Current" to "1 Partition."
Click "Options," select "GUID Partition Table" and press "OK."
Change the "Format" setting to "Mac OS Extended" or APFS depending on your Operating System. Optionally, type a name for your disk in the "Name" text box.
Click "Apply" and then "Partition" to confirm that you want to erase the drive and reformat it. If Time Machine appears after the format, click "Cancel" unless you want to use the drive for dedicated system backups.

 

[pm-r]

If it helps the OP, one Seagate article provides this information regarding their Seagate Free Agent GoFlex drive and file access:

System Requirements

To set up and use GoFlex Home, you need: • Home network (also called a Local Area Network, or LAN) • Wired or wireless router with an available Ethernet port • Internet connection for initial setup and for file sharing over the Web PCs accessing GoFlex Home require: • Pentium III 500 MHz-equivalent processor or higher • 256 MB RAM • Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7 operating system • Internet Explorer® 6 or later, Firefox® 2.x or later, or Chrome 4.x or later Web browser Mac computers accessing GoFlex Home require: • Mac OS® X 10.5 or later operating system • Safari® 3.1 or later Web browser To use the GoFlex Access app for smartphones and tablets, devices require: • Apple® iOS 4.3 or higher • Android™ 2.2 or higher On Android devices, the Adobe® AIR® app must be installed. GoFlex Home works with most consumer home network equipment with no special settings required. However, if you have a business-grade router in your home, you may need to adjust its network settings.

https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/home-entertainment/goflex%20home/_shared/docs/GoFlex%20Home%20User%20Guide.pdf

I assume the OP knows which Mac OS version it last worked in,
and hopefully one of the machines above would work to at least recover the data.




- Patrick
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[kheiderman]

Thank you all for your suggestions!