mac does'nt see my HDD

[Slydude]

@ lmlang What you are saying is correct but shouldn't apply in this case. The Mac in this case is having trouble reading a drive that is directly connected to the computer. The afp and smb distinctions only apply if someone is trying to connect to a drive share over a network.

smb is the file sharing protocol commonly used when connecting to Windows based file shares.

 

[pm-r]

@lifeisabeach can u please tell where to find the drive model. i have no idea about this HDD as all i know is it is a seagate 1.5TB external HDD portable.

Maybe see if you can recognize the drive from one of these images to get an idea of what model it is.

There may be a tiny model lightly stamped on the bottom of the drive that you may need some magnification to actually see and read.

PS: Older external drives may not be shown or included.

Portable External Hard Drives | Seagate
Desktop External Hard Drives | Seagate
Laptop External Drives | Seagate

 

[macraz]

external HDD

I've found that mac will recognize a disk formatted as a Mac OS Extended (journaled) or exFat. OS X Will not see any other format or will have limitations. Some disks bought on the market say they are for mac or for windows. You can reformat any disk to a mac recognized format. Just be sure there is not any data on the disk you want to keep. Formatting will erase all data on the disk. If you have a windows machine that you want to interchange with your mac, then ex Fat is the choice. I have found that both platforms will recognize the format where windows will not see Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I hope this helps and I look forward to hear if you were successful with your external hard drive problem.

 

[Merel]

Tell me Why ....

It's nice to know all the details, but all Macs and all OS X versions should have the ability to at least read NTFS and FAT formatted USB drives shouldn't they??

But why do I read of so many having trouble getting their USB drives to mount regardless of proper format?

On the first statement , you are right ! It is a shame that computer builders are more concerned to fight each other rather to be concened about compatibilty.

This is formatting issue is only a little part of the stupid total picture.
Actually there is not one single "operating" system that really is able to ... "operate" . There is no such thing as a good operating system.

Macs are what they are and just as many others, they are different but not any better.

On the second issue : USB MASS STORAGE is just like any other "industrial standard" .
Industrial standards are not made for the purpose to be followed by the rules and definitions of each standard !!!

Merely do they have the purpose to know how much you are away of the standard specifications. (especially ever since "made in China" became an industrial standard in itself) ]

 

[erics72]

Some PC formatted drives, have an OS built right into it. It's a PC thing. With that software preinstalled, you can do extra automated things, like back ups. So when you plug it into your Mac, it's not recognizing the software. Hence, not recognizing the HDD.

Your only option is to plug it into your PC, back up your files, then reformat the external to either MS-DOS, or Mac Journaled in Disk Utility. Since your Mac will be able to read MS-DOS formatted drives, you can use that. That way you can still access the external on your PC, and put the backed up files back to the drive, so you can plug move them over to your Macbook. Or you can format the drive in your PC as FAT32. Does the same thing.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Some PC formatted drives, have an OS built right into it. It's a PC thing. With that software preinstalled, you can do extra automated things, like back ups. So when you plug it into your Mac, it's not recognizing the software. Hence, not recognizing the HDD.

Your only option is to plug it into your PC, back up your files, then reformat the external to either MS-DOS, or Mac Journaled in Disk Utility. Since your Mac will be able to read MS-DOS formatted drives, you can use that. That way you can still access the external on your PC, and put the backed up files back to the drive, so you can plug move them over to your Macbook. Or you can format the drive in your PC as FAT32. Does the same thing.

This is an excellent point, and is chiefly why I want to see which exact drive is in use here.

 

[Slydude]

I don't mean to be nit picky here but if I am understanding what you mean that's not entirely correct. What's on those drives is not an entire OS but basically a disk formatting pattern (DOS, FAT 32, NTFS, etc). The Mac usually reads NTFS drives with no problems even if they contain PC software. The software is useless to Mac users unless they have Windows installed.

There are some limitations to the Mac handling NTFS drives. Macs can't write to them without third-party software or employing some Terminal commands. Macs can (usually) read NTFS drives with no problems. As we have seen in another thread though this feature is not perfect.

And now back to the reason for this thread reading that drive

@OP If the drive can be read on a PC then the drive and cable are probably OK. If it cannot be read on your Mac you might want to try the Paragon NTFS driver. It seems to be able to read some NTFS drives the Mac can't and the demo version is free.

 

[pm-r]

Not to knock Paragon's "NTFS for Mac" suggestion, but as I mentioned previously, Seagate provides an NTFS reader if not writer for most of their drives. And Free.

Whatever Seagate drive it is and a confirmation of its existing format is, we still don't know unless I missed that info. But I think LaB is still waiting as well.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I don't mean to be nit picky here but if I am understanding what you mean that's not entirely correct. What's on those drives is not an entire OS but basically a disk formatting pattern (DOS, FAT 32, NTFS, etc). The Mac usually reads NTFS drives with no problems even if they contain PC software. The software is useless to Mac users unless they have Windows installed.

Some drives do have security software installed that block access to the drive unless connected to a Windows PC and can connect to a companion software on the PC. Or something like that. Or so I'm under the very distinct impression. Hmmmm. I may be getting confused with something else. I once had a thumb drive with a hidden partition containing AV software that required a tool to recover the entire space for use on my Mac. Disk Utility couldn't recover it on its own, or even see it iirc.

 

[Slydude]

I just downloaded the Seagate NTFS driver to have a look at any documentation that might be there. From the manual it looks to be the Paragon NTFS driver. I haven't figured out if it is the most recent one as I have no need to install it.

I also don't think the driver is free indefinitely since the included manual includes the following statement

NTFS for Mac OS X is a commercially distributed product, which is however can be used with no limitations completely for free during a 10-day trial period. Once it’s over, you won’t be able to use the product until you activate it through Preferences Pane.

 

[erics72]

I don't mean to be nit picky here but if I am understanding what you mean that's not entirely correct. What's on those drives is not an entire OS but basically a disk formatting pattern (DOS, FAT 32, NTFS, etc). The Mac usually reads NTFS drives with no problems even if they contain PC software. The software is useless to Mac users unless they have Windows installed.

There are some limitations to the Mac handling NTFS drives. Macs can't write to them without third-party software or employing some Terminal commands. Macs can (usually) read NTFS drives with no problems. As we have seen in another thread though this feature is not perfect.

And now back to the reason for this thread reading that drive

@OP If the drive can be read on a PC then the drive and cable are probably OK. If it cannot be read on your Mac you might want to try the Paragon NTFS driver. It seems to be able to read some NTFS drives the Mac can't and the demo version is free.

Yes. You are correct. My mistake in calling it an "OS" of sorts. It's NTFS formatted. In my experience, my Mac Pro has never been able to read NTFS formatted drives right out of the gate. My 2TB Toshiba was NTFS formatted. At first I thought it was a faulty drive, when my Mac didn't recognize it, and it wasn't coming up on Disk Utility. Then I remembered my friend's drive doing the same thing. So I just reformatted. And now works just fine on my Mac. I've never tried to use Paragon, but do have it. Next time I come across an NTFS drive, I'll have to try it. Thanks for clearing that up.

But as I've mentioned, since the OP has gone from a PC to a Macbook, there really is no reason to keep that external as is. Better off backing up his files, and reformatting the drive to something more commonly recognized by a Mac. ie. MS DOS, Mac Journal Extended, or FAT32. If he never plans on using it on a PC, format it as Mac Journal Extended. Otherwise, plug it into a PC and format it as FAT32. This is a longer way (because you have to back up files first), but in the long run, it's the simplest and easiest way to fix his issue. And no extra software to worry about and learn.

 

[erics72]

Not to knock Paragon's "NTFS for Mac" suggestion, but as I mentioned previously, Seagate provides an NTFS reader if not writer for most of their drives. And Free.

Whatever Seagate drive it is and a confirmation of its existing format is, we still don't know unless I missed that info. But I think LaB is still waiting as well.

These drivers are usually only for PC's. No Mac compatibility. IMO, NTFS format is useless for Mac users. Especially if the external is just being used as a storage media. Reformat and never worry about it again.

 

[pm-r]

Good info thanks, even though I don't need it. But I wonder if the reason a poster in another thread didn't get any Preferences Pane with their installation because they purchased the Paragon software prior to installing the Paragon's "NTFS for Mac" . It sounds like it's the same software.

 

[pm-r]

These drivers are usually only for PC's. No Mac compatibility. IMO, NTFS format is useless for Mac users. Especially if the external is just being used as a storage media. Reformat and never worry about it again.

Really??? And that's why they label it "NTFS for Mac" and have it available under their Mac Support section.

Gee, I wouldn't have known it wouldn't work with a Mac and find that rather surprising.

 

[erics72]

Really??? And that's why they label it "NTFS for Mac" and have it available under their Mac Support section.

Gee, I wouldn't have known it wouldn't work with a Mac and find that rather surprising.

I'm referring to the drivers that Seagate or any other external drive companies pre-install, or make available for users of their drives. Mac users can, however, purchase software like Paragon, to work with NTFS drives.

But unless your networking (LAN or Remote) your Mac to PC servers, and vice-versa, you don't need NTFS formatted drives. Which I'm guessing the OP doesn't require doing.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

But unless your networking (LAN or Remote) your Mac to PC servers, and vice-versa, you don't need NTFS formatted drives. Which I'm guessing the OP doesn't require doing.

Why would you need an NTFS driver to access a drive on a server?

EDIT: my "question" came out wrong (that's what I get for replying while idle at work) (and nice response by pm-r). I'll instead re-phrase this as a statement. If a Mac is networking to a PC, the file system in use is wholly irrelevant. The PC reads the data off the drive and sends it to the Mac, and vice versa. Windows doesn't need the ability to read HFS+ volumes on a Mac, nor does OS X need the ability to read NTFS volumes on a PC. The host is doing the "reading".

 

[Slydude]

I almost feel like this thread has jumped the shark so to speak or is in danger of doing so. I confess to being thoroughly confused at this point regarding what the OP has or has not tried. When I'm more awake I'll try again to sort this out.

 

[pm-r]

Why would you need an NTFS driver to access a drive on a server?

Isn't that one of those speciality drivers that's needed for some of those propriety screws used with some server HDDs??

Or due to the fact that some golf courses require a registered and qualified golfer to use or restrict certain clubs anywhere near their waited food services?

Sorry... I couldn't resist...

 

[sreeram]

@lifeisabeach I have erased everything of the mac installed OSX via internet recovery, still my HDD doesn't show up on disk utility. Here are the pics of my HDD, when connected to MBP. In the pic u can see the light on my HDD. it is connected directly to my MBP via USB3.0. I really appreciate your patience, hope this will be resolved...

 

[Lifeisabeach]

@lifeisabeach I have erased everything of the mac installed OSX via internet recovery, still my HDD doesn't show up on disk utility. Here are the pics of my HDD, when connected to MBP. In the pic u can see the light on my HDD. it is connected directly to my MBP via USB3.0. I really appreciate your patience, hope this will be resolved...

Alrighty, I assume it's this model here:
http://www.seagate.com/files/static...c/expansion-portable-usb3-datasheet-en-us.pdf

What's very interesting is that in the supported platforms, it says:

• Works with Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, Windows® XP

There is no mention whatsoever regarding Mac OS X, which is very unusual because most of their other external drives do say they are compatible with Windows and Mac. Unfortunately I'm at a complete loss to explain why this is. Maybe there's something implemented at a hardware level that looks for a compatible OS before allowing the drive to be accessed. At this point, I can only recommend contacting Seagate to see if they have any advice, but if that is the correct data sheet for your drive, you may be out of luck. Here's the link to their forum:
http://community.seagate.com

EDIT: Try Paragon's NTFS driver for kicks. I was going to recommend using one that Seagate provides, but this drive is actually not on their supported list.
Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X software