Formatting new Hard Drive

[wrenrj1]

Greetings, my wife's macbook pro'd Hard Drive Crashed showing the blinking folder and exclamation point. I was no even able to do a command R to get things going. Long story short, I replaced the hard drive and proceeded to load the operating system disk. I got it running, however the system didn't recognize the hard drive. I did some partitioning and it finally did. This is a seagate hard drive and i don't think I formatted it correctly for Mac. Can someone tell me what settings this hard drive should be set at through the disk utility? Or is there anything else I need to do prior to loading the operating system?

I did try once and after about 30 minutes it came up with "Unable to proceed" or something to that effect.

and FWIW, there was nothing on the old HD that we needed, so we were not going to try to get anything off the old one.

 

[lclev]

I need some more information. What year is the MB Pro? What version of OS X are you trying to load? I can tell you the drive has to be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Any specific error messages would also be good. Can Disk Utility "see" the drive?

Lisa

 

[Rod]

Wrenj1, what OS are you loading? It's been a long time since XOS came on a disk, not since Snow Leopard.
Secondly you need to boot the laptop from another source before you can format the internal HD. So either a bootable version of the OS you intend to instal on an external HD or thumb drive.
You cannot erase/format using the active drive, it cannot erase itself.
As for the format, it needs to have a single partition created being the whole of the drive on the new drive. It needs to be GUID partition map.
Then the partition usually named by you as Macintosh HD then it needs to be formatted Mac Extended (Journaled), then you can instal the OS.
As I don't have the answers to the question's above yet you may want to look at this article which covers a number of scenarios
pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html


Sent from my iPhone using Mac Forums.

 

[wrenrj1]

Purchase date was 5-7-2011. It may be Snow Leopard. I found some instructions on how to format the Seagate HD I bought from Bestbuy today. Think I have that figured out. I have two disks, that don't identify the OS, but they are copywrite 2011. I know that she (the wife) did upgrade at least once since then. Just hoping to get the OS installed and go from there with upgrades. I'm currently trying to reinstall the OS from disk after making some changes to the new HD in utilities.

Apparently, 30 minutes does not mean the same to Apple as it does to Dominos.

 

[harryb2448]

Shame you did not ask opinions about Seagate before you purchased. The only disc that will install is Snow Leopard OS X.6.5 DVD that came with the machine.

 

[techiesteve]

If after correctly initialising the hard drive you are still having issues installing, consider these possibilities.

Are you sure the disk set you are trying to install is the one that shipped with the MacBook Pro?

The cable connecting the logic board to the hard drive and bracket has a high failure rate. It can cause symptoms the same as a failing or failed hard drive, and fails regularly on the 13" models.

Do you hear any retries from the optical drive? Was the optical drive previously able to read DL DVD's or play DVD's? I only ask as the optical drives have a high failure rate and if they have read issues can cause the install to abort.

Is the surface of the install DVD you are using in good condition?

Once you have reinstalled 10.6.X and updated to 10.6.8, you can update the OS to whatever your wife previously updated to. If it was an older OS, consider taking it to Yosemite 10.10.5, but ensure you have 4GB ram minimum, but ideally 8GB, which is your MBP's maximum.

 

[wrenrj1]

Yes, it is snow leopard I'm trying to install. I'm using the disks that came with the machine. They haven't been taken out of their packages until now and look perfect. harryb, why can't I use another OS installation disk for a newer OS for example? I'm trying to load the OS again as we speak.

 

[wrenrj1]

Latest install failed. After about an hour (but only showing 5 minutes of install time) a message came up "Install Failed-Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer. The installer could not copy the necessary support files. Click restart to restart your computer and try installing again." I'm thinking bad install disk?

 

[Slydude]

Yes, it is snow leopard I'm trying to install. I'm using the disks that came with the machine. They haven't been taken out of their packages until now and look perfect. harryb, why can't I use another OS installation disk for a newer OS for example? I'm trying to load the OS again as we speak.

Slydude, doing best possible harryb impression Snow Leopard was the last OS version released on DVD. Subsequent releases were done as downloads through the Mac App Store. If you have access to another Mac running at least 10.6.8 you can login to the app store, create an account (if you don't have one already), and create an install disk (flash drives).

To create the flash drive you need DiskMaker X

 

[wrenrj1]

Ended up taking it to a "Simply Mac" store at the mall as our closest Apple store is 60 miles away. they attempted to install the OS and it gave them the same message. The guy behind the counter guessed that it could be the hard drive cable but deferred to the tech that'll look at it tomorrow. Thanks for the info. on creating an install disk Slydude. We will be having the latest OS installed so we'll be sure to get one made. I just wish I could get my wife to use time machine and an external HD once and a while.

 

[Rod]

I know we harp on this a lot but when you consider your time spent so far, not to mention the cost would it not be better to invest in an external HD and a cloning software app. Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper cost less than $30.00 and a 1Tb EHD about $120.00. So for around $150.00 you could have a bootable copy. You can plug it into any other compatible mac and have your own computer running in minutes, copy or restore deleted files or restore your entire computer to a new one, run Restore to diagnose and repair your internal HD, the advantages just go on and on. I advise everyone to do this and I know it's a bit late for you at the moment but for future reference with or without Time Machine it can save a lot of grief.

 

[wrenrj1]

Got our Macbook Pro back from the Simply Mac store today. Harryb2448, I am eating crow that you cooked! the Seagate HD I installed WAS BAD! They replaced it with a Hitachi (Original was a Toshiba). Additionally, one of the memory sticks was bad. All said and done with diagnosis, parts, and install of the latest Mac OS, just a few bucks over $200.00. Add in that I was able to return the HD to Best Buy, we were in it for about $150.00. Well worth the cost, but I did enjoy trying to figure it out with the help of all of you, thanks!

I have two external drives, one i'm going to dedicate to my wife's macbook Pro for backups. My last question. can I hook an external HD to our apple airport express and have her backups done wirelessly? If so, what do I need to do to configure this to happen, or is it just as simple as plugging it in to the router?

 

[pm-r]

No. It won't work.

The AirPort Express doesn't support connected USB hard or flash drives, you'd need an AirPort Extreme instead that does support such connected drives. At least the last time I checked.

 

[harryb2448]

Well wrenj1 that is not uncommon alas for Seagate's to be D.O.A. on arrival in brand new packaging. We are fortunate Down Under not suffering from Best Buy, but you did well. I deal with OWC and even by USPS First Class Air Mail cheaper and quicker than dealing with local suppliers. And I did not cook any crow. Here the recipe calls for an axe head to be boiled with the crow for six hours, throw out the crow and eat the axe head!!!!!

Any comment mate by the technician on Seagate merchandise?

 

[lclev]

Totally agree with harryb on Seagate drives. I have had more problems with them over the years because it seems they love to put them in new systems - especially the cheaper desktop PCs. Many years ago they were considered the best on the market but over there quality had seriously deteriorated.

Lisa

 

[chscag]

I have had more problems with them over the years because it seems they love to put them in new systems - especially the cheaper desktop PCs.

I wouldn't exactly call an iMac a "cheaper desktop". I've got news.... Apple has been putting Seagate drives in their iMacs since 2011. I had one replaced under Apple Care with my 2011 iMac. And my current iMac 2013 27" model sports a 1 TB Seagate drive. One reason why I buy Apple Care.

 

[wrenrj1]

I should have considered going with flash memory but it was about double the price, looking back I now I would have...

 

[wrenrj1]

No. It won't work.

The AirPort Express doesn't support connected USB hard or flash drives, you'd need an AirPort Extreme instead that does support such connected drives. At least the last time I checked.

I misspoke, I DO have an airport extreme. Any quick instructions?

 

[wrenrj1]

It's interesting how Steve Jobs in his autobiography hated using components from other manufacturers to assemble his computers. He was quite the control freak but finally made it a bit easier for the rest of the world to work on his computers, which he hated as well, but sounds like Apple is getting back to that philosophy with how they're sealing up some new IMacs (I believe the 21" model) on the inside. Steve Jobs autobiography is a great read by the way.

 

[pm-r]

I misspoke, I DO have an airport extreme. Any quick instructions?

Did you even try google…???

Try:
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204664
How to Connect a Hard Drive to the AirPort Extreme | Macinstruct
…