SSD won't initialise

[rexanders]

Purchased a 4Tb ssd. Disk Utility can see it but Erase has no effect. I just getan exclamation mark and "erase process has failed". I'm on a Macbook Air with the latest os. Is there any hope or should I just bin it?

 

[pm-r]

Air with the latest os. Is there any hope or should I just bin it?

I have no idea what make or brand the 4 TB SSD is or if it would make any difference but you might want to read through some of the Google search hits for possible solution and fix:

mac "erase process has failed" - Google Search

It seems to be a problem that's not too common but still enough that something is not right.

Good luck.




- Patrick
=======

 

[ferrarr]

Sometimes, if you "Unmount" the disk prior to running "First Aid", this helps resolve the issue sometimes.

 

[rexanders]

Sometimes, if you "Unmount" the disk prior to running "First Aid", this helps resolve the issue sometimes.

Can't see an "unmount" button

 

[ferrarr]

What device and OS version are you using? And, can you post a screen shot of Disk Utility?

 

[rexanders]

I have no idea what make or brand the 4 TB SSD is or if it would make any difference but you might want to read through some of the Google search hits for possible solution and fix:

mac "erase process has failed" - Google Search

It seems to be a problem that's not too common but still enough that something is not right.

Good luck.




- Patrick
=======

It's called SDK SSD Media, if that helps. Your link was interesting. It suggests usng "diskutil eraseDisk HFS+ DISK disk2" in Terminal but this results in the same failure message. I imagine that Disk Utility is just Terminal with a more user friendly interface

 

[Jimmysb]

In disk utility ensure you are looking at devices:

 

[pm-r]

I imagine that Disk Utility is just Terminal with a more user friendly interface

That's about right. Mini Mac applications just put a graphical user interface on top of the code that terminal uses. Some computer geeks like one of my sons do 90+% of their work using terminal and keyboard commands. Don't ask me how or why but it certainly seems to be a fast method.


For your formatting problems I guess you could check out some of the Google hits and possible solutions others have come across:

Mac SDK SSD Media formatting problem - Google Search

Have you got another hard drive you can use to check the cables and ports you are currently using in case either one is not working properly?






- Patrick
=======

 

[rexanders]

What device and OS version are you using? And, can you post a screen shot of Disk Utility?

Please read the original post all the way to the end.

Here are some screen shots

 

[ferrarr]

MacBook Air came out in 2008. Running maOS versions, starting with Snow Leopard .

In DU, the top most device, for the 4TB drive, needs to be selected to be erased.

In your 2nd screen shot, select "Initialize", and then DU should erase the drive, make sure to select GUID for the "Scheme", and whatever you want for the Format.

 

[Rod]

If everything else fails I have occasionally had success by formatting as ExFat first then erasing again as APFS.

 

[Slydude]

I have a large (4TB?) SSD that I purchased cheap off of Amazon. Thus far it has refused to perform reliably on my Mac.I've tried it from Ventura or Monterey onward. It will either fail to initialize or refuse to mount after a short period of use.

I don't have this issue with a couple of other more well known SSDs. Guess I should have heeded my grandpa's words. He usually suggested that prices like that were the equivalent of "too much candy for a dime".

I may pass this on to Mrs. Slydude and see if it works with her Win 11 box.

 

[rexanders]

I have a large (4TB?) SSD that I purchased cheap off of Amazon. Thus far it has refused to perform reliably on my Mac.I've tried it from Ventura or Monterey onward. It will either fail to initialize or refuse to mount after a short period of use.

I don't have this issue with a couple of other more well known SSDs. Guess I should have heeded my grandpa's words. He usually suggested that prices like that were the equivalent of "too much candy for a dime".

I may pass this on to Mrs. Slydude and see if it works with her Win 11 box.

Looks like you and I were caught by the same scam. They did send me a step-by-step guide on how to initialise it on a PC. However, this made no sense in Windows 11 ("First right click on the computer icon." What computer icon?). However, they did refund some of the cost

 

[pm-r]

However, they did refund some of the cost

I don't know where you shopped for the place where you bought the drive from, but personally I usually purchase from those firms that provide returns and full refunds preferably with all shipping costs covered.
I would hope the firm would do the honorable thing and cover the total cost for an item you purchase that doesn't even work properly.

Maybe even provide the sellers name so that others will be protected from their Shady business practices.




- Patrick
=======

 

[Slydude]

I don't know where you shopped for the place where you bought the drive from, but personally I usually purchase from those firms that provide returns and full refunds preferably with all shipping costs covered.
I would hope the firm would do the honorable thing and cover the total cost for an item you purchase that doesn't even work properly.

Maybe even provide the sellers name so that others will be protected from their Shady business practices.




- Patrick
=======

In my case I could find the vendors name and request a refund but did not bother. A decent amount of time (several months) passed between when I purchased the drive and when I first attempted to use it. On first use the drive was fine. Since the drive wasn't in use daily several more weeks passed before I started experiencing problems and attempted to troubleshoot the problem.

In the end I decided it was not worth the hassle given the cost of the drive (about $75 US).

Edited to correct typo