Ewan66

Q: can't mount external drive

I have an external USB drive that's recently stopped mounting. I'm running El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21). I've been using the drive for Time Machine.

I can't see the drive in DiskUtilities.

Output of diskutil is as below. I saw found a post from Kappy that looked promising but can't find it again now. Any ideas how to fix this?

Many thanks!

E

 

/usr/sbin/diskutil info -all

   Device Identifier:    disk2s2
   Device Node:          /dev/disk2s2
   Whole:                No
   Part of Whole:        disk2
   Device / Media Name:  Elements

 

   Volume Name:          Elements

 

   Mounted:              No

 

   File System Personality:  HFS+

   Type (Bundle):        hfs
   Name (User Visible):  Mac OS Extended
   Journal:              Unknown (not mounted)
   Owners:               Disabled

 

   Partition Type:       Apple_HFS
   OS Can Be Installed:  No
   Media Type:           Generic
   Protocol:             USB
   SMART Status:         Not Supported
   Volume UUID:          790463BB-6329-3C3C-AA5C-F667401C7D23
   Disk / Partition UUID:AA193D32-1A0D-49B7-91DA-A42AE9B448B5

 

   Total Size:           999.8 GB (999826612224 Bytes) (exactly 1952786352 512-Byte-Units)
   Volume Free Space:    0 B (0 Bytes) (exactly 0 512-Byte-Units)
   Device Block Size:    512 Bytes

 

   Read-Only Media:      No
   Read-Only Volume:     Not applicable (not mounted)

 

   Device Location:      External
   Removable Media:      No

Posted on Apr 12, 2016 7:45 AM

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Q: can't mount external drive

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  • Helpful answers

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Apr 12, 2016 9:34 AM in response to Ewan66
    Level 10 (188,811 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 12, 2016 9:34 AM in response to Ewan66

    - Does it show in System Profiler under USB? You should see the chipset in the enclosure as well as the HD itself

      OS X: About System Information and System Profiler - Apple Support


    Have you tried on another computer?

    Tried another cable?

    Is it powered by the USB bus?

    Any lights lit on the enclosure?

    Can you feel/hear the disk spinning?

     

    Maybe either the enclosure died or the disk inside died

  • by Ewan66,

    Ewan66 Ewan66 Apr 13, 2016 6:52 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2016 6:52 AM in response to lllaass

    Hi,
    I upgraded to OSX 10.11.4, but that didn't make any difference.

    I tried it on an old XP machine. It detected new hardware, but the drive did *not* appear in Explorer. Clicking on 'Safely remove hardware' showed a USB mass storage device of type WD Elements 10A8 USB Device.

    I tried another cable, no change.

    I can feel the disk spinning when it's plugged in and there's an external light that lights up.

    I think I need to try it on another more recent computer. Any other suggestions gratefully received!

    Many thanks.

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Apr 13, 2016 7:04 AM in response to Ewan66
    Level 10 (188,811 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2016 7:04 AM in response to Ewan66

    Since XP identified it as WD Elements. That tend to indicate that it found the enclosure is OK.. If formatted in Mac format Explorer on a PC will not see it. In XP what does Disk Administration say about the disk?

    Also, as ask previously, on the Mac

    - Does it show in System Profiler under USB? You should see the chipset in the enclosure as well as the HD itself

      OS X: About System Information and System Profiler - Apple Support

  • by Ewan66,

    Ewan66 Ewan66 Apr 13, 2016 10:18 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2016 10:18 AM in response to lllaass

    In XP 'Computer Management' > Disk Management only shows the internal hard drives. In Computer Management > Device Manager > Disk Drives though I see the internal hard drives but also 'WD Elements 10A8 USB Device'. Double clicking that says the device is working properly, and gives driver information. There's nothing else interesting in the tabs (General, Policies, Volumes, Drivers, Details)

     

    Whoops, forgot to type in the Mac System Profile information. Here it is.

    Elements 10A8:

     

      Product ID:    0x10a8

      Vendor ID:    0x1058  (Western Digital Technologies, Inc.)

      Version:    10.42

      Serial Number:    575835314134344A37333132

      Speed:    Up to 480 Mb/sec

      Manufacturer:    Western Digital

      Location ID:    0x14200000 / 28

      Current Available (mA):    1000

      Current Required (mA):    100

      Extra Operating Current (mA):    0

      Capacity:    1 TB (1,000,170,586,112 bytes)

      Removable Media:    Yes

      Detachable Drive:    Yes

      BSD Name:    disk2

      Partition Map Type:    GPT (GUID Partition Table)

      Volumes:

    EFI:

      Capacity:    209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)

      BSD Name:    disk2s1

      Content:    EFI

      Volume UUID:    0E239BC6-F960-3107-89CF-1C97F78BB46B

    Elements:

      Capacity:    999.83 GB (999,826,612,224 bytes)

      File System:    HFS+

      BSD Name:    disk2s2

      Content:    Apple_HFS

      Volume UUID:    790463BB-6329-3C3C-AA5C-F667401C7D23

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Apr 13, 2016 10:32 AM in response to Ewan66
    Level 10 (188,811 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 13, 2016 10:32 AM in response to Ewan66

    That looks like the drive is powered by the USB bus

     

    Based on

    Current Available (mA):    1000

    It appears you  have 2103 Mac Pro. Is that true?

    This

      Current Required (mA):    100

    Seems low for a drive that is spinning

    If powered by USB bus does the drive/enclosure have a plug for auxiliary power?

  • by Ewan66,

    Ewan66 Ewan66 Apr 14, 2016 6:03 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 14, 2016 6:03 AM in response to lllaass

    Hi,

    The mac was bought in April 2014. There's no plug for auxiliary power, it's one of these: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=470

     

    I'll try and take it in to a mac store and see if I can plug it in to check if it mounts. I'll have to wait til tomorrow to do this.

    E

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Apr 14, 2016 6:24 AM in response to Ewan66
    Level 4 (1,190 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 14, 2016 6:24 AM in response to Ewan66

    did you at any point dismount the time machine drive?

     

    Have a WD for time machine and found that if I dismount it -- unplugging and plugging back in did now work - on the other hand restarting did.

     

    As I have a desk top - I leave it plugged in all the time -- its a book type so it has an external power supply.