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User profile for user: aspenlouise
aspenlouise Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Seagate External HDD stopped working

My Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive stopped working. It was in storage for two years. I pulled out to work with an old iPhoto library. I left it plugged into my computer for a few days. Slowly it stopped working. It started taking longer and longer to do things. Then it started crashing my computer. Then after a restart from a crash it simply disappeared. The light is on. It sometimes making spinning noises and it sometimes just hums. It does not show up in DiskUtility. It does how up under System Information. It does work on my other Macbook either. I have tried different cables and different ports. I am attaching a few files so you can see my computer info and where the HHD shows up. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Apr 7, 2021 8:40 AM

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User profile for user: Ronasara
Ronasara
User level: Level 6
15,025 points

Posted on Apr 7, 2021 11:18 AM

Aside from taking it to an expensive recovery service, you can try a few things. On restart, it may temporarily function, as it has before. I would get another external disk to have handy in case the Seagate disk does startup. if so, then quickly copy your files over to the other external disk. Question - do you have these files on iCloud where they might be accessed and recovered? I assume that they are not otherwise backed up.

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User profile for user: Ronasara
Ronasara
User level: Level 6
15,025 points

Apr 7, 2021 11:18 AM in response to aspenlouise

Aside from taking it to an expensive recovery service, you can try a few things. On restart, it may temporarily function, as it has before. I would get another external disk to have handy in case the Seagate disk does startup. if so, then quickly copy your files over to the other external disk. Question - do you have these files on iCloud where they might be accessed and recovered? I assume that they are not otherwise backed up.

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User profile for user: Ronasara
Ronasara
User level: Level 6
15,025 points

Apr 7, 2021 9:30 AM in response to aspenlouise

I'm sorry, but it sounds like the drive has failed. Eventually all drives will die. I would replace it with a new compact external drive. They are now reasonably priced, readily available, compact and easy to install with a provided USB cable. Most do not even require external power. And their responsiveness is improved, especially if you elect to get a SSD drive.

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User profile for user: aspenlouise
aspenlouise Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Apr 7, 2021 11:29 AM in response to Ronasara

I do not have these files on iCloud. I do have these files backed up on another external disk using Time Machine. So I have only one other copy at the moment. The failed drive contained all my photo and music back ups. There is an iPhoto library but there are also several folders of RAW photos.


I have tried restarting the computer and I can not get the fail external disk to show up anywhere but in the system information. It is not in the Finder and not in DiskUtility.


It is so disheartening and frustrating though that it can all just disappear. I am in the process of getting two more external disks to back up my other external disks that have my only remaining copies of this data.


I was just hoping for any suggestions to try and recover the data from the failed drive myself. Any software out there that works. Or any tricks I may not have thought of.

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Seagate External HDD stopped working

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