disk utility ask to initialize external HDD

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Level 1

2 points

disk utility ask to initialize external HDD

Hello I have a serious problem. OnceI plug my external HDD to my macbook and Disk Utility ask me to initialize it. I just can Eject, ignore and initialize. A few years ago I have similar problem, but someone said that I do not preee initialize or ignore. I don't know what am gonna do to save my files. It's very important and I need help. The file system on the drive is HFS+ and interface is USB. I press eject and didn't use the disk yet. can anyone tell me what am I gonna do?

Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Aug 17, 2009 8:10 AM

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Answer 1

V.K.

Level 9

56,248 points

Aug 17, 2009 8:30 AM in response to Eugene Balul

this means that the computer does not recognize the drive as formatted. this could be because the drive has failed or is failing or because of serious file system problems. insert it and choose "ignore" in that popup. then try repairing it with disk utility (repair disk, not permissions). if that does not work you can try 3rd party programs like Disk Warrior or drive genius (both cost money). if nether work you need to reformat the drive. this may work if the drive has not failed completely in which case you need to replace it. before reformatting you can try recovering your data on the drive using data recovery software like Data Rescue II or Filesalvage.

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