Lacie HD stopped mounting with firewire

[LeopardGate]

Portable Lacie HD (purchased earlier this year) accidentally had 800 Firewire disconnect (apparently while doing a Time Machine back-up file) when the MacBook Pro was moved on the table. I saw a pop-up message saying something about an improper disconnect. I clicked on the message and re-inserted the firewire, but the Lacie icon did not appear and I could not see Lacie external hard drive in Finder or in Disk Utilities folder.

I tried shutting down everything for 30 minutes and restarting, and tried connecting first with the 800 Firewire, and then with the 400 Firewaire, to no avail. I then disconnected the firewire and connected the usb cable to the external hard drive and then the computer and finally saw the Lacie icon and successfully did a Time Machine back (all other back-ups in the external hard drive were intact).

In all of the above configurations, the Lacie HD had the auxiliary power connection connected to one of the MacBook Pro usb connections. The MacBook Pro is 6 months old and is running the latest OS and updates.

So, if anyone knows how to get the firewire connections working again, please respond here, which will save me from a trip to Apple Store’s Genius Bar next week.

Thanks,
LeopardGate

 

[LeopardGate]

The Solution...

So... 3 days have passed and at least 35 of you viewed this thread and no one took a moment to suggest a possible remedy, or where to look for one.

Well... I found a solution that worked for me... and will take a moment to share it here for the benefit of others who have or will have this problem.

I found my answer at support.apple.com under the topic, "What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire or USB device."

As you may remember, my problem was that my previously working LaCie external hard drive could not be re-mounted with either the 800 or 400 FireWire, but could be re-mounted using a USB connection... and that I had tried a suggested remedy of shutting down the computer, waiting 15 minutes or so, and restarting and reconnecting the ext. hard drive.

The key to success this time was found in the above Apple article: Disconnect everything from the computer, INCLUDING THE POWER CORD!

Details how I got my FireWire connection working again:

I turned off TimeMachine, ejected the external hard drive, turned off Bluetooth, turned off the wireless mouse and keyboard, removed all connections from the MacBook Pro including the USB cables and power cords (the external hard drive is supplied with power from an additional USB connection), and I shut down the computer and waited 30 minutes.

I then reattached the power cord to the computer. I then restarted the computer, and reconnected the USB power cord to the external hard drive. I connected the 800 FireWire to the external hard drive and then to the computer, and was very happy to see the LaCie icon and that the ext. hard drive had indeed mounted. I then turned on TimeMachine.

The strength of these forums depends on its members taking a moment to share their experiences, thoughts, and ideas in a positive and helpful way.

 

[hughvane]

Good for you for posting your solution. See the Iomega firewire problem post. Cheers!