heywhatsupitsbob

Q: External Harddrive won't stay mounted for more than a minute

So I have an external harddrive that will fire up and mount, but then about 10-30 seconds later, it will suddenly eject itself. I'll get the message that I unplugged the harddrive without ejecting. It WILL still show up in Disk Utility though.

 

I have tried it with different cords, and different ports: both FireWire 800 (with an adaptor for thunderbolt) and mini-USB. It has an eSATA port but I don't have a cable for that.

 

What ***** is that this one of two harddrives that I use in a RAID array to backup years worth of editing projects — what ***** about that is that I just discovered the RAID has not been working for a couple years, and files were being backed up to only ONE of the drives, not both. And guess which drive is now failing?

 

The Harddrives are ToughTech 2TB drives, purchased in 2010. I am using mid-2014 15-inch MacBook Pro, with Yosemite.

 

I'm willing to bet the HDD is just dying. But do you guys know of any recourse to getting the files off of it before it dies?? It's almost 1 TB of data that constitutes all of my work from the past 2 years!!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Apr 20, 2016 12:59 PM

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Q: External Harddrive won't stay mounted for more than a minute

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  • by KimUserName,

    KimUserName KimUserName Apr 20, 2016 2:15 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 20, 2016 2:15 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob

    Hi Bob:

     

    So the problem could be the electronics on the enclosure or it could be the hard drive.

     

    I suggest that you remove the drive from it case and install it in an enclosure OWC external case or using a USB to SATA adapter USB to SATA adapter and connect it to your MBP via USB. (This case is for a 2.5" drive), but you can get them for 3.5" drives)

     

    After you install the drive in the case, keep your fingers crossed and see if you can copy the files off it.

     

    If it is the hard drive itself obviously this will not help.

     

    Kim

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Apr 20, 2016 2:40 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob
    Level 6 (14,274 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 20, 2016 2:40 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob

    Depending on the actual cause of failure, be that a circuit inside an external enclosure

    or a circuit inside the hard drive itself, there are a few things you could try & do even if

    the drive itself has gone bad. Some parts inside are beyond most users ability to fix...

     

    Your dead external hard drive is likely fine! Great hope for your 'faulty' external HD

     

    The ability to connect a suspect drive via USB cable (such as previously noted adapter

    cable kit; OWC has one http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/)

    saves the trouble of taking an external enclosure apart & reassembly, just to test one.

     

    Other parts that can fail such as the 'your dead external drive is likely fine' indicates

    may be repairable if you can get a good replacement part like one that isn't working.

     

    Good luck in any event!

  • by heywhatsupitsbob,

    heywhatsupitsbob heywhatsupitsbob Apr 20, 2016 5:28 PM in response to KimUserName
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 20, 2016 5:28 PM in response to KimUserName

    Thanks for the tips! Actually, since it was 1 of 2 RAID drives, I just put the HDD in the other drive's enclosure.

     

    Unfortunately, it didn't work. Same problem.

     

    I ran SMART check on it, and it says it's "Failing"

     

    Do I have any hope for rescuing the files?

  • by KimUserName,

    KimUserName KimUserName Apr 20, 2016 6:57 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 20, 2016 6:57 PM in response to heywhatsupitsbob

    If the SMART status is telling you the drive is failing, I don't think you have much chance of recovering anything. Especially if the drive won't stay mounted for more than 30 seconds.

     

    Maybe someone on this forum may have another suggestion.

     

    Kim

  • by CMCSK,

    CMCSK CMCSK Apr 20, 2016 7:20 PM in response to KimUserName
    Level 6 (10,823 points)
    Apr 20, 2016 7:20 PM in response to KimUserName

    Get in touch with the external drive manufacturer.  See what they have to say.  Should have a troubleshooting website or customer support website.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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