cactus flower

Q: macbook telling me that my external hard drive with a usb is pulling too much power and has been dialed what do I do

I have been using my Seagate Free Agent 500g external hard drive for years without even a hint of a glitch but this morning I trying plugging in the usb and got an error message that stated that the hard drive was pulling too much power and was being diabled.  So now I cannot get the hard drive to connect period.  What do I do - could it be a power cord issue?

MacBook (13-inch Late 2009), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jun 7, 2014 7:27 AM

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Q: macbook telling me that my external hard drive with a usb is pulling too much power and has been dialed what do I do

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  • by Brett L,

    Brett L Brett L Jun 9, 2014 7:51 AM in response to cactus flower
    Community Specialists
    Jun 9, 2014 7:51 AM in response to cactus flower

    Hi cactus flower,

     

    If you are getting a message that a USB device such as your external hard drive is drawing too much power, there are a number of things you can do. I would suggest the steps in this article -

     

    Apple Computers and Displays: Powering peripherals through USB

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

     

    Specifically this section -

    Troubleshooting

    If you have a peripheral (such as a hard drive, audio device, or camera) that is acting unexpectedly—such as not turning on or not being recognized by the computer—the peripheral may require more power than is available. If you have a USB peripheral or a chain of devices, such as a joystick plugged into a keyboard, which requires more than the available power try one of these options:

    • Use a USB hub that comes with a power adapter.
    • Check that the peripheral offers the ability to connect to more than one USB port at once.
    • Find out if the peripheral comes with a power adapter.
    • If you cannot confirm your device's use with a hub, connect the device directly to the Apple computer.

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    Best,

     

    Brett L