Seagate Backup Plus Has Stopped Working

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Seagate Backup Plus Has Stopped Working

I just noticed that the green light on my Seagate Backup Plus is no longer on and it hasn't performed a back-up for over three months. I've tried unplugging it and plugging it back in and also shutting down and restarting the computer, but no luck. It's supposed to hold 4TB of data, but it only has 198GB on it, so it's not full. What else could be the problem. Should I just go out and get another? Can it be repaired? My computer is currently running OS X El Capitan.

iMac 21.5", OS X 10.11

Posted on Mar 27, 2019 8:02 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Mar 27, 2019 11:38 AM in response to Calcharmac

I was not advising you against using an external third-party drive of your choice, only to not install the vendor's drive software, which gets out of date, and subsequently can cause drive usage availability issues.

Power your Mac down. Remove, and reconnect the Seagate drive to a different USB port.

Boot into Safe Boot mode (press and hold shift key until boot progress bar is seen) and see if Disk Utility can see that Seagate drive. It will be obvious in the Disk Utility panel if it mounts.

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Mar 27, 2019 11:05 AM in response to Calcharmac

Never install drive vendor software that is included with the drive. Never needed, and once it gets out of date and conflicts with the Kernel, the drive may become a paperweight. If you did install any Seagate drive software, remove it entirely following vendor instructions of that process.

After booting, can you see the Seagate drive in Disk Utility, and perform First Aid on it?

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

685,257 points

Mar 27, 2019 12:44 PM in response to Calcharmac

See if you can get the disk to mount.

See mount section in 1st linked article.

Disk Unmount Using Terminal

Disk Utility – Force Mount Disk

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Answer 4

Calcharmac Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 27, 2019 11:28 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks for your prompt response, but it was an Apple tech specialist at the store who advised me to get and use an external hard drive when I was having computer problems and needed to back everything up. I know I have the Time Machine, but I always seem to have difficulty finding what I'm looking for.

To answer your question, no, I don't see any reference to the Seagate drive in Disk Utility, so I can't perform first aid. Maybe I need more instruction on how to locate it...

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Answer 5

Calcharmac Author

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Mar 27, 2019 4:19 PM in response to VikingOSX

I followed your instructions but did not see any Seagate drive in Disk Utility. I also moved the USB cord to another slot. The unit then lit up with a white light instead of a green one and a yellow box labeled Seagate Backu appeared on my computer screen. I did a backup by selecting this disk, but as soon as it was completed, the light went off, so it seems the problem still exists.

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Answer 6

Calcharmac Author

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14 points

Mar 28, 2019 5:04 AM in response to VikingOSX

I followed your directions and moved the USB to another port. I then prompted a backup and it worked! Could a USB port suddenly go bad? Such a simple solution....Thanks!!

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Answer 7

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Mar 28, 2019 2:55 PM in response to Calcharmac

Yes, USB ports can go bad, or simply suffer from an imcomplete connection. Good that you got this sorted.

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Seagate Backup Plus Has Stopped Working

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