OS X Lion will not read external hard drives and USB flash drives
- Thread starter tompam
- Start date
strange man, the only other thing that i did, was reformat a brand new usb flash drive using the disk utility, prior to doing that it wouldn't show up in the finder window or mount to the desktop... the disk utility window was the only place where it showed itself.
even so when that showed up on the desktop my SD card out of my DSLR wouldn't recognise and the way that i got it to mount was by doing that trick i told you...
perhaps unselecting hard disks in the sidebar tab, then re-selecting it may help..
i also noticed that before i rectified my problems, when looking at the finder window my "Macintosh HD" wasn't there under devices but now it is... perhaps this could be a help not too sure... but i understand your frustration...
Jump Drive Solution from AppleCare
I had a similar story: A USB jump drive (Crucial, 8 GB) that worked fine on numerous PC's and older Macs (G4 laptop and desktop with 10.4.x) would not mount on a Intel Core 7 MacBook Pro running Lion (10.7.2). The device and volume showed up in Disk Utility and System Profiler, but it would not mount. It's format was listed as MS-DOS FAT32.
The MacBook Pro was only a week old and had very little additional software installed (MS Office and a print driver), so I figured it was a hardware or OS problem and called AppleCare. The problem was resolved as follows:
1) Copy jump drive contents to old laptop.
2) Insert jump drive in MacBook Pro.
3) In Disk Utility, select the jump drive device (not volume) and the "Partition" tab.
4) Select "1 Partition" from the "Partition Layout" drop-down menu.
5) Click the "Options..." button and select "Master Boot Record". Then "OK".
6) Back in the "Partition" tab, select "MS-DOS (FAT)" from the "Format" drop-down menu.
7) Click the "Apply" button.
8) Restore data to jump drive from old laptop.
The drive now mounts successfully on a PC (Windows XP), MacBook Pro (Mac OS X 10.7.2 Lion), and a PowerBook G4 (Mac OS X 10.4.11).
I need the drive to work on Mac OS X and Windows, hence my selection of "MS-DOS (FAT)" in step 6. We did not try the Mac OS formats.
Initially, we tried selecting "GUID Partition Table" in the partition "Options..." menu. It mounted in Mac OS X 10.7.2, but the volume was not readable on the Windows machine.
Also...
1) The first thing we tried was resetting the "System Management Controller" (?) by shutting down the computer, pressing shift-control-option (on the left side of the keyboard) and holding the power button for 5 seconds, releasing all keys and buttons, and then starting up the computer. This did not fix anything.
2) Before calling AppleCare: The file "IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext" existed in /System/Library/Extensions/ . I tried restarting the machine as others suggested, and I tried leaving it alone for about 20 minutes so Spotlight could do its thing. Neither fixed the problem. NOTE: The Apple tech said Spotlight would index the jump drive but that it should mount and be usable immediately--Spotlight would do its indexing in the background after the volume was mounted.
So that was how I fixed my problem. I'm not entirely thrilled that it required reformatting the jump drive because:
1) It isn't possible if there is no other computer around that will mount the volume. (I will be crossing my fingers the next time someone hands me a jump drive and the only computer around is my new MacBook Pro running Lion.)
2) It probably isn't a feasible solution for those with large external drives/RAIDs that aren't mounting under Lion.
3) It still seems like the problem is with the Lion operating system. Like many others are reporting, the problem only shows up with Lion.
Best of luck...
MT
I had a similar story: A USB jump drive (Crucial, 8 GB) that worked fine on numerous PC's and older Macs (G4 laptop and desktop with 10.4.x) would not mount on a Intel Core 7 MacBook Pro running Lion (10.7.2). The device and volume showed up in Disk Utility and System Profiler, but it would not mount. It's format was listed as MS-DOS FAT32.
The MacBook Pro was only a week old and had very little additional software installed (MS Office and a print driver), so I figured it was a hardware or OS problem and called AppleCare. The problem was resolved as follows:
1) Copy jump drive contents to old laptop.
2) Insert jump drive in MacBook Pro.
3) In Disk Utility, select the jump drive device (not volume) and the "Partition" tab.
4) Select "1 Partition" from the "Partition Layout" drop-down menu.
5) Click the "Options..." button and select "Master Boot Record". Then "OK".
6) Back in the "Partition" tab, select "MS-DOS (FAT)" from the "Format" drop-down menu.
7) Click the "Apply" button.
8) Restore data to jump drive from old laptop.
The drive now mounts successfully on a PC (Windows XP), MacBook Pro (Mac OS X 10.7.2 Lion), and a PowerBook G4 (Mac OS X 10.4.11).
I need the drive to work on Mac OS X and Windows, hence my selection of "MS-DOS (FAT)" in step 6. We did not try the Mac OS formats.
Initially, we tried selecting "GUID Partition Table" in the partition "Options..." menu. It mounted in Mac OS X 10.7.2, but the volume was not readable on the Windows machine.
Also...
1) The first thing we tried was resetting the "System Management Controller" (?) by shutting down the computer, pressing shift-control-option (on the left side of the keyboard) and holding the power button for 5 seconds, releasing all keys and buttons, and then starting up the computer. This did not fix anything.
2) Before calling AppleCare: The file "IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext" existed in /System/Library/Extensions/ . I tried restarting the machine as others suggested, and I tried leaving it alone for about 20 minutes so Spotlight could do its thing. Neither fixed the problem. NOTE: The Apple tech said Spotlight would index the jump drive but that it should mount and be usable immediately--Spotlight would do its indexing in the background after the volume was mounted.
So that was how I fixed my problem. I'm not entirely thrilled that it required reformatting the jump drive because:
1) It isn't possible if there is no other computer around that will mount the volume. (I will be crossing my fingers the next time someone hands me a jump drive and the only computer around is my new MacBook Pro running Lion.)
2) It probably isn't a feasible solution for those with large external drives/RAIDs that aren't mounting under Lion.
3) It still seems like the problem is with the Lion operating system. Like many others are reporting, the problem only shows up with Lion.
Best of luck...
MT
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This thread has added to my worries over Lion to the degree I am now contemplating buying a refurbished iMac - that way I can get one pre installed with Snow Leonard. Spent all day looking at external hard drives and keep encountering issues galore with Lion to the degree I want to avoid Lion for a year or so.
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Autospell - Snow Leopard!
Though Snow Leonard does have a ring to it.
Though Snow Leonard does have a ring to it.
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I really do not understand the issue. I have Lion 10.7.2 here and on the iMac 6 external drives and 6 flash drives. All work great. FAT32, Apple format. Firewire 400/800/USB2. Never had an issue with any of them and I have a Mini with 10.7.2 and a WD external, no issues. I own other externals that I use with my Notebooks. I plug them into the Lion machines all the time and all work.
Am I going to be in trouble?
Hello all. I'm a newbie to the forum and to macs. I was thinking very seriously about buying a macbook pro - will be my first mac after having owned pcs for more than 25 years. I still have a few pcs and was thinking about getting a NAS to network a large drive to hold all my data (docs, music, photos, videos) and for backup (if this makes a difference was considering QNAP 112 as I heard good things about QNAP and their Time Machine functionality). Anyway the idea of not being able to read the drive with my Macbook Pro is scary and I'm starting to wonder if I should just stick with PCs or as David is thinking maybe get a used mac. I wonder if you can comment on why you seem to have no problem with this Dennis? Are you using the Paragon NTFS for Mac® OS X 9.5? Is this really a viable option? I want foremost to be able to use Windows 7 to be able to read/write to the external drive and absolultely need to be able to access the drive with my mac. Writing to drive from the mac is less important. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Charles
Hello all. I'm a newbie to the forum and to macs. I was thinking very seriously about buying a macbook pro - will be my first mac after having owned pcs for more than 25 years. I still have a few pcs and was thinking about getting a NAS to network a large drive to hold all my data (docs, music, photos, videos) and for backup (if this makes a difference was considering QNAP 112 as I heard good things about QNAP and their Time Machine functionality). Anyway the idea of not being able to read the drive with my Macbook Pro is scary and I'm starting to wonder if I should just stick with PCs or as David is thinking maybe get a used mac. I wonder if you can comment on why you seem to have no problem with this Dennis? Are you using the Paragon NTFS for Mac® OS X 9.5? Is this really a viable option? I want foremost to be able to use Windows 7 to be able to read/write to the external drive and absolultely need to be able to access the drive with my mac. Writing to drive from the mac is less important. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Charles
Now I got the solution!
Dear, All
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard includes a 64-bit kernel. On hardware that supports the 64-bit kernel, you can choose whether to start up (boot) your Mac using the new 64-bit kernel or the earlier 32-bit kernel.
You can use either of these methods:
Method 1: Startup key combination (for current startup only)
If your Mac uses the 32-bit kernel by default, but supports the 64-bit kernel, you can start up using the 64-bit kernel by holding the 6 and 4 keys during startup.
If your Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default, you can start up with the 32-bit kernel by holding the 3 and 2 keys during startup.
Your Mac will revert to the default kernel the next time you reboot it.
Method 2: On-disk setting (persistent)
To select the 64-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture x86_64
To select the 32-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386
Note: This setting is stored in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist file and will take effect every time you start up from this disk. If you start up from a different disk, the setting on that disk, or the hardware default, will take effect.
Additional Information
Keys held during startup (such as 3-2 or 6-4, method 1 above) will override the setting in com.apple.Boot.plist (method 2 above).
and good luck 4 all :Blushing:
Dear, All
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard includes a 64-bit kernel. On hardware that supports the 64-bit kernel, you can choose whether to start up (boot) your Mac using the new 64-bit kernel or the earlier 32-bit kernel.
You can use either of these methods:
Method 1: Startup key combination (for current startup only)
If your Mac uses the 32-bit kernel by default, but supports the 64-bit kernel, you can start up using the 64-bit kernel by holding the 6 and 4 keys during startup.
If your Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default, you can start up with the 32-bit kernel by holding the 3 and 2 keys during startup.
Your Mac will revert to the default kernel the next time you reboot it.
Method 2: On-disk setting (persistent)
To select the 64-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture x86_64
To select the 32-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386
Note: This setting is stored in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist file and will take effect every time you start up from this disk. If you start up from a different disk, the setting on that disk, or the hardware default, will take effect.
Additional Information
Keys held during startup (such as 3-2 or 6-4, method 1 above) will override the setting in com.apple.Boot.plist (method 2 above).
and good luck 4 all :Blushing:
Thanks
Booted the MBP in 32 bit mode and it saw the drives. Booted back into 64 bit mode and it saw them again. Thanks so much for the tip! Have not been able to use my external drives for over a month now and your tip was a godsend.
Booted the MBP in 32 bit mode and it saw the drives. Booted back into 64 bit mode and it saw them again. Thanks so much for the tip! Have not been able to use my external drives for over a month now and your tip was a godsend.
I had the same problem as everyone here after I upgraded last night. Here is my solution (this only works for macbooks where you can remove the battery):
--Shut down your mac
--Remove everything from it including power cable and battery.
--With everything still removed press and hold on the power button for 5 secs (I cannot remember if the power cable was in or out at this point so may need to try both ways)
--Put back together, battery and power cable plugged in.
--Press the power button then immediately press P R cmd alt until you hear the computer chime twice.
--Log in, once loaded plug in hardrive.
--Wait about 30 secs. SHOULD work. I hope this helps!
--Shut down your mac
--Remove everything from it including power cable and battery.
--With everything still removed press and hold on the power button for 5 secs (I cannot remember if the power cable was in or out at this point so may need to try both ways)
--Put back together, battery and power cable plugged in.
--Press the power button then immediately press P R cmd alt until you hear the computer chime twice.
--Log in, once loaded plug in hardrive.
--Wait about 30 secs. SHOULD work. I hope this helps!
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Hello.
I just bought a Verbatim Store´n´Go stick (my third). If I used the hub, Finder did not "see" it. I could see it via Disc Utilities, but not erase. When I plugged it directly, I could use Disc Utilities to erase. It now shows up, but after a few minutes, it disappears. The two sticks from Verbatim have never been a problem. Both the old ones are 4GB, this one is 32Gb. Really annoying.
Edit: that was using the Apple LED Cinema Display. I plugged it directly into the MacBook, and it stays put in Finder.
I just bought a Verbatim Store´n´Go stick (my third). If I used the hub, Finder did not "see" it. I could see it via Disc Utilities, but not erase. When I plugged it directly, I could use Disc Utilities to erase. It now shows up, but after a few minutes, it disappears. The two sticks from Verbatim have never been a problem. Both the old ones are 4GB, this one is 32Gb. Really annoying.
Edit: that was using the Apple LED Cinema Display. I plugged it directly into the MacBook, and it stays put in Finder.
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fix usb's and harddrives not showing up on mac's
Alright for starters with the osx update some mac's will automatically revert you (show icons in sidebar menues)
to fix this annoying problem go to
finder>preferences>sidebar
and select show harddrives and usb's
also if you cannot do this spotlight serch for the name of your usb/harddrive and if you find it drag and drop a shortcut into finder in the devices area of the sidebar
hope this helps keep on macing :0
Alright for starters with the osx update some mac's will automatically revert you (show icons in sidebar menues)
to fix this annoying problem go to
finder>preferences>sidebar
and select show harddrives and usb's
also if you cannot do this spotlight serch for the name of your usb/harddrive and if you find it drag and drop a shortcut into finder in the devices area of the sidebar
hope this helps keep on macing :0
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