VLC - Broken or Missing Index

[krs]

I wonder if anyone has some ideas how to approach this issue

I have an external USB 3.0 2.5 inch spinner drive with a bunch of videos on it.
Videos are in .avi, .mp4 and .mkv format.
The drive shows up on the desktop, when I open the external drive all the videos show up but none of them plays.
Message I get is that the problem is a broken or missing index.

I have had that type of issue before but only on one specific video and VLC can sometimes repair it.
Here it happens with every video of all types.

Before I break open the external drive to see if the issue is the SATA USB 3.0 bridge I thought I would post here for ideas what to try.

What I tried so far:
1. Used a different USB 3.0 cable - no change
2. Tried a different USB 3.0 port on the Mac Mini (Mini is a 2012 running Mojave) - no change
3. Tried copying one video to the desktop - won't copy.The icon shows up on the desktop but the progress bar just sits at Copied zero bytes
4. Tried Disk Utility to repais disk - can't repair because isk can't be unmounted

I also can't eject the disk, clicking on eject does nothing - I have to unplug it and then get the error message "Disk not ejected properly"

The external has only videos on it so I can't even try non-video files to see if they open

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Sounds to me like at the minimum, the enclosure should be replaced. Hopefully it's just that and the drive itself is ok.

One thing you can try for laughs if you haven't yet is copy a known working file/video from your desktop to the external drive, then see if you can open the copy on the external. If it does open, well that may be evidence that the files on the drive are corrupt for whatever reason, but the drive itself is otherwise ok. If it won't open, then that's at least pointing to a hardware or file system failure. But really, I don't see any choice here... it's try a different enclosure and hope for the best, or write it off. Well there are advanced drive recovery software options like DiskWarrior and techTool Pro if it is related to the drive or file system that may be worth a shot, but trying a new enclosure first would be my suggestion.

 

[krs]

Thanks,
Good idea to copy a video file from the Mac to the external and then try to play it.
However, I just decided to try to play a video on that external again and now it works as if there had never been a problem.
I can now play the video which I know did not work before and gave me the message I initially posted.
So did others on that drive.
I can also eject the external and also run disk utility which btw showed no issues.

So I assume the original issue was that one or more of the contacts of the USB ports, probably on the external, didn't make contact. I never did like the USB 3 connector.

All right - so I decided to invest in another external rive to make a backup of those videos but this time I'm going to buy a 2TB external with a USB-C connector.
Well- to my surprise they don't seem to exist. Maybe I have to look harder.
I can buy a 2.5-inch SATA to USB-C enclosure and make my own USB-C external but I couldn't readily find a spinner from Seagate, WD or Toshiba with a USB- port.
I wonder why?
Making my own would cost about $30.- Cdn more than a USB 3.0 external ready made which is actually a fair bit more percentage wise since USB 3.0 externals go for about $80 in Canada.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Actually they do exist, but the terminology is confusing. USB-C is the connector type, but USB 3.0, 3.1, etc is the interface spec. So... for example, WD's My Passport Ultra line, which are HDDs, come in an enclosure with a USB-C connector, but the interface is USB 3.0. And even though that's slower than 3.1 or 3.2, it's more than adequate for a spinner.

https://www.westerndigital.com/products/portable-drives/wd-my-passport-ultra-usb-c-hdd#WDBC3C0020BBL-WESN

 

[krs]

Thanks for the link.
The price is certainly right but the reviews are less than stellar.
Several even specifically complaining about the physical cable connection which is exactly what I thought a USB-C connector would solve.
I typically don't buy anything with a less than 4.0/5.0 rating unless the negative ratings are about trivial things.
I would assume Seagate has a ompetitive product - just need to find it. Have to try google again.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Yeah, personally I don’t trust these types of externals. My general impression is that they tend to be less reliable than what you can put together.

 

[unblocktheplanet]

Yeah, personally I don’t trust these types of externals. My general impression is that they tend to be less reliable than what you can put together.

Will you please point us non-techies how to accomplish this? I have a BIG pile of Seagate externals but I knoe they're mostly hanging together solely by the power of prayer. TIA!

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Will you please point us non-techies how to accomplish this? I have a BIG pile of Seagate externals but I knoe they're mostly hanging together solely by the power of prayer. TIA!

You buy an enclosure; open it up; insert the drive; close it back up. It's absurdly simple, and there are hundreds of enclosure options available. You just have to get a 2.5" enclosure for 2.5" "laptop" sized drives, or a 3.5" one for "desktop" sized drives. OWC has a bunch. Here are their single-bay enclosures:

External Hard Drive Enclosures and Optical Drives for Macs

Browse through 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch external enclosures for storage or optical drives. Interface options include FireWire, USB 3.0, eSATA and Thunderbolt.

eshop.macsales.com

Here's NewEgg's listings:

hdd enclosures | Newegg.com

Search Newegg.com for hdd enclosures. Get fast shipping and top-rated customer service.

www.newegg.com

Here's a video demonstrating the process on one particular model of enclosure:

 

[unblocktheplanet]

Yowza! Maybe even I could do this! However, why are these enclosures any more reliable than than SG or WD? Do you suggest removing the drives from my SG enclosures & putting them in new ones...or wait till they fail?

Here in Bangkok, the seller of such enclosures would do the swap--for free--w/o my participation.

 

[krs]

You buy an enclosure; open it up; insert the drive; close it back up. It's absurdly simple, and there are hundreds of enclosure options available.

Yje hardest part is picking a quality enclosure.
And of course one with the correct internal and external interface.

 

[krs]

Yowza! Maybe even I could do this! However, why are these enclosures any more reliable than than SG or WD? Do you suggest removing the drives from my SG enclosures & putting them in new ones...or wait till they fail?

Here in Bangkok, the seller of such enclosures would do the swap--for free--w/o my participation.

Are your Seagate externals not working?
Exactly what is the issue?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Yowza! Maybe even I could do this! However, why are these enclosures any more reliable than than SG or WD? Do you suggest removing the drives from my SG enclosures & putting them in new ones...or wait till they fail?

Here in Bangkok, the seller of such enclosures would do the swap--for free--w/o my participation.

Oh no, I don't recommend removing those drives from those enclosures. The problem is that WD, Seagate, etc all tend to use their cheapest and least reliable drives inside those external USB packages. Sure, they are great deals, but as the saying goes: "cheap for a reason". Now, I'm not saying go out and buy the most expensive thing there is... that's a good way to get screwed also.

 

[unblocktheplanet]

Whew--this isgetting discouraging. Seagate externals are working but I have had two fail me. (Yeah, I know, NAS is a good idea!) So fill me in: what "quality drives" do you recommend? How do I pick a "quality enclosure"??? My experience has been 3.5s have a longer shelf life than 2.5s or, at least, I haven't had the former die on me. Yes?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Whew--this isgetting discouraging. Seagate externals are working but I have had two fail me. (Yeah, I know, NAS is a good idea!) So fill me in: what "quality drives" do you recommend? How do I pick a "quality enclosure"??? My experience has been 3.5s have a longer shelf life than 2.5s or, at least, I haven't had the former die on me. Yes?

Well enclosures aren't as big a deal to worry about. Make sure you get one that can adequately allow for cooling of your HDD. Generally, anything OWC sells should be fine. Their aluminum ones with the vents up front are great for dissipating heat.

As for drives, well WD used to be my choice with Seagate being generally less reliable, but that seems to have flipped the past few years. You should do well with Seagate and Toshiba. They all make different drives tailored to different needs. You may not need one intended for, say, security DVRs or NAS systems, for example.

 

[krs]

Whew--this isgetting discouraging. Seagate externals are working but I have had two fail me. (

If you have Seagate externals that "failed" (question is how) and you tried a different able and tried Disk Utilities and other non-intrusive reovery methods, as a last resort I would rack the enclosure open, remove the internal SATA drive and try the drive in a new enclosure or use a SATA to USB adapter.
I had three externals "fail"on me in the last few years - turned out that with two of them yje SATA-to-USB 3.0 bridge in the enclosure failed and with the third one the USB 3.0 connetor was flakey.
For none of them the failure was the actual hard drive itself.

Maybe the seller in Bangkok will do that for you to verify that it really is the drive that failed.

 

[unblocktheplanet]

Thanks for this. Dr. Macbook ran DiskWarrior on the HDD. I recovered only the titles not the data. I do suspect the failure was in the enclosure not the drive itself. My current idea (until I get the juice to teach myself NAS) is to wait until these 2.5s fail, then put them in new enclosures. I have a good 90TB of data (& it's not even WikiLeaks!); I'm an avid downloader. Yeah, I know, more than I could ever listen to or watch in this life! But I'm a magpie by nature...