The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer

Question

The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer

I have two external LaCie external firewire hard drives which are identical in their content (one is for backup). Both drives are fully functional but lately I am getting a "Disk Insertion" error message that reads "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" with the options to initialize, ignore or eject the disk. I know that nothing is wrong with the drive that it is referring to. I can select the eject option and turn the power off to the drive and then when I turn the power on again the drives mounts normally and everything is fine. I am just curious as to why this is happening since nothing appears to be wrong otherwise. It's not really a big deal but if anyone knows why this is occurring I sure would like to know. Thanks.

G4 (Digital Audio), Mac OS X (10.5.8), Powerlogix 1.73 processor upgrade

Posted on Apr 25, 2010 7:08 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 25, 2010 8:20 AM in response to Jerry Landers

It's possible that the drive is in the early stages of failure.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

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Answer 2

Apr 25, 2010 9:23 AM in response to Texas Mac Man

It's not really a big deal ...

On the contrary, it IS a big deal. The next time you try your "fix", it may not work.

When a drive will not mount reliably, it needs to have some repairs made. The software that can talk to a drive that is not mounted is Disk Utility.

I suggest you open Disk Utility, "insert" the drive, and click ( Repair ).

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Answer 3

David Cun

Level 4

1,427 points

Apr 26, 2010 4:50 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I ditto Tex and Grant. And, make sure your valuable stuff is backed up...now or ASAP. Prepare for a HD failure. It might not happen, but you'll be ready.

HTH

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Answer 4

Apr 27, 2010 3:09 AM in response to David Cun

Thanks for the replies. I believe you are correct. Time for another drive.

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Answer 5

natnmack

Level 1

0 points

Apr 30, 2010 6:05 AM in response to Jerry Landers

Hi, I have had the same error message come up when I put a usb thumb drive in? It's only a few weeks old and has only been used a couple times, any ideas as to why?

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Answer 6

Apr 30, 2010 8:10 AM in response to natnmack

natnmack-

Same advice as above, for hard drives:

When a drive will not mount reliably, it needs to have some repairs made. The software that can talk to a drive that is not mounted is Disk Utility.

I suggest you open Disk Utility, "insert" the drive, and click ( Repair ).

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Answer 7

natnmack

Level 1

0 points

May 1, 2010 4:20 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks Grant, I tried that but it wont repair it, says ' disc utility cant restore this disc....disc, and restore your backed up files' it only had photos on the drive which are still on my mac. Would it just be the thumb drive or something wrong with my mac?

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Answer 8

May 1, 2010 8:53 AM in response to natnmack

If your keyboard still works, there is likely nothing wrong with your Mac. If the files are not essential, just initialize the thumb drive again (erases all files), and it should be good to go.

In general, the prudent way is to always Eject the drive and wait a few seconds for activity to stop before removing it. Sometimes, it gets messed up anyway, "just because".

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Answer 9

natnmack

Level 1

0 points

May 3, 2010 6:04 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yep everything is still working fine,i'll try what you said..thanks for your help, much appreciated..

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