G-RAID Shuttle 4 Does not Work with Mac Studio? SOLVED

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Level 1

6 points

G-RAID Shuttle 4 Does not Work with Mac Studio? SOLVED

There was another question posed to the Community. One that wasn't answered but is locked so I figure maybe this will help some frustrated folks.

The short story is that their new G-Raid Shuttle 4 would not work with their Mac studio. The solution was to send it back and replace it with an OWC drive. I'm not arguing with that solution...

BUT...

I too had this problem. I was able to resolve it.

You need to have installed the right things which, as of writing this, wasn't clear on the WD website. In fact, it's misleading but rest assured a WD tech led me down a path that got things working.

TL;DR

Follow all the directions here.

- But download and install both drivers.
  - Download G-RAID SHUTTLE.
  - Download G-Speed Shuttle.

2. Download and install the G-RAID Software Utility

3. Plug in the Drive, wait until it mounts, and fire up the utility.

What I did "wrong":

I only downloaded the G-RAID Shuttle Driver the first time around because that made sense to me based on the instructions.

[screenshot]

I said to myself: What is G-Speed? I don't know, I have the shuttle I'll download that.

Then I followed the direction listed here

I downloaded and installed the G-RAID Software Utility

Rebooted, plugged the drive in, and No dice.

The Drive didn't mount
Disk utility couldn't see the drive
and the Utility wouldn't open

So, I reached out to WD Tech Support.

They ultimately led me to download the G-Speed Shuttle Driver

I again followed the direction listed here

Rebooted, plugged the drive in, the Drive showed up on my desktop, and the Utility opened!

So why?

The G-Raid Shuttle Driver loaded the most current SanDiskUSB Filter (v3.0.3) extension, but it loaded an outdated version (v6.2.13) of the PromiseSTEX extension which is supposed to be v6.2.16 or later according to Tech Support. You need both of these things.

FYI don't be concerned if when looking at the extension list it says "No" under the loaded column. These extensions will load when you connect the drive. You can see in this screenshot the old version of the PromiseSTEX extension that came with the G-RAID Shuttle Driver above the newer version of the PromiseSTEX extension that came with the G-Speed Shuttle Driver and it is loaded because the drive is connected:

[screenshot]

In this screenshot, you can see the SandDiskUSBFilter extension is there but not loaded which makes me wonder if I needed to install that at all. Maybe you can test that out if you like:

[screenshot]

I hope this is valuable to others. It was frustrating but honestly, the WD Tech Support was way more helpful than I was expecting. This was via chat on a Monday and I started 130th in line. It took me 30 minutes to clear the line and about 30 minutes in a chat with a real person, I suppose it could have been AI...

Posted on Apr 4, 2023 12:08 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

133,135 points

May 10, 2023 8:57 AM in response to ithaca_andy

PromiseSTEX.kext 6.2.13 [which you said was not recent enough]

was included in MacOS 10.15 Catalina, and older versions in older MacOS at:

/Library/Extensions

for Big Sur that same PromiseSTEX.kext 6.2.13 was moved to:

/System/Library/Extensions

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Answer 2

Aug 17, 2023 6:53 AM in response to utsabnov

the original poster, Ithaca_andy, says that for this to work you need to have the specified versions of those Extensions visible in

 menu > About this Mac > (System Report) > ...

...under the Software > Extensions section:

PromiseSTEX 6.2.16

and

SanDiskUSBFilter 3.0.2

any lower versions are not going to be good enough.

as an aside, they noted that these versions should show when the drive is connected, because they would be loaded-on-demand. (But they need to be present on your computer to be loaded-on-demand!)

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Answer 3

ithaca_andy Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 18, 2024 10:50 AM in response to ithaca_andy

Update from the OP. It looks like WD has updated the driver for GRAID SHUTTLE and you no longer need to install the GSPEED Driver as well.

So Follow all the directions here to get your shuttle working on Macs with M1/M2 processors.

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Answer 4

utsabnov

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2023 7:09 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

[Not sure about - SanDiskUSBFilter 3.0.2]

Thank you got both on macOS Ventura 13.2.1 (22D68).

I was unable to load the "G-RAID Software Utility" in mac apps.

So contacted Western Digital Support over live chat, email and phone call in India.

So they replied,

As per the chat conversation, I understand that you are unable to install the software. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Please be informed that G-RAID Software Utility will only run when connected with the drive IO ports on Mac.

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Answer 5

Aug 17, 2023 7:40 AM in response to utsabnov

I don't have a G-Raid device. I was able to download and install that software, and the item that appeared in /Applications was this one, which runs, but has nothing to do:

If you are having trouble, open

system preferences > security & Privacy > General ...

...and unlock the Lock

when the install is nearly complete, you will be notified in the Security & Privacy pane, and asked to Authorize the installation of the Extensions and the App.

it may also tell you that to proceed, you will have to restart to install get the system extensions to be part of the running System first.

when I tired to install AGAIN, on top of the existing install, there was no need to re-authorizer the extensions.

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Answer 6

utsabnov

Level 1

8 points

Aug 17, 2023 3:58 AM in response to ithaca_andy

So you are saying when the hard drive is connected the utility shows up?

If the right macOS Driver and G-RAID Software Utility is insatlled on macOS 13 Ventura for G-RAID SHUTTLE 4.

After the following steps are done:

https://support-in.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/50057/~/g-raid-shuttle%3A-g-raid-software-utility-on-macos-13-ventura

Please confirm.

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Answer 7

rrd3

Level 1

8 points

Mar 11, 2024 1:37 PM in response to ithaca_andy

How did you manage to get a drive that actually works? I've bought four of the SanDisk Professional G-RAID Shuttle 4 drives and every single one of them has been DOA! I bought two of the 48TB drives from Amazon, plugged them in, pressed the power button, and nothing happens. No LED, no movement of the fan, no sound, nothing. So I call tech support and they just tell me to return them, which I did. But I still need the storage. So I order two more, this time with 72TB. Same thing happened, DOA! And again, their useless tech support just tells me to return them. But I can't keep doing that over and over!

So how are any of the other people posting here getting drives that aren't DOA???

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Answer 8

MAMVSBG

Level 1

17 points

Apr 6, 2024 11:14 AM in response to ithaca_andy

I am returning this. I have used LaCie Rugged products for years. Plugged them into my Mac, opened and followed the installation instructions. This one - the only thing that happens when I open the LaCie is a link to register and then nothing - although the instructions indicate that we should be getting the download Toolkit icon and to follow those instructions, etc. etc. All that happens is I get taken to the Seagate general page where no one is available on Saturday for a chat. I tried their "self-help" sections and ended up trying to install the toolkit, only to have the Shuttle icon disappear from the Mac and when I went to Utilities, it said it wasn't supported. This is an external hard drive. Shouldn't take a degree from MIT to install it.

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Answer 9

MAMVSBG

Level 1

17 points

Apr 6, 2024 11:16 AM in response to rrd3

Mine installed, but only to register the product. Nothing further. When I tried using some options I found on the web - certainly not any help from Seagate bc their only option is a chat and there are no chats available on Saturday - well then I no longer saw my Shuttle icon and when I checked in utilities and it said "Not supported". I have no idea what is going on, but I am returning mine.

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