Disk Utility will not partition or erase EHD

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Level 1

15 points

Disk Utility will not partition or erase EHD

I have a new WD external hard drive that was my Time Machine backup. It acted weird on me and I set it aside forever. I have attempted to erase and partition the drive but it will not work.. it is not recongized on the desktop or Finder, but DU does see it but will not list a partition under its listing like other EHD do. I have followed all the advice on WD help to swap cables, etc. WD told me that I have an operating system error that will not allow me to complete the erase or partition.

Do I have any options?

MacPro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), MacBook Pro, iPhone 3Gs, iPad wifi+3G 32gb

Posted on Apr 26, 2011 3:32 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 26, 2011 5:14 PM in response to me100finn

I assume you have tried connecting the drive to a another computer? Another Mac, or even a Windows machine might be able to reformat that drive.

But assuming that does not work there is another approach I would try. The problem might well be in the electronics of the external enclosure. (I have had more than one of these "bridge" circuit boards just quit working.) If that is the case the drive itself would work as an internal, or another enclosure. It is usually not difficult to open these external enclosures. After you do that it's easy to take out the hard drive and install it as a second drive in another computer. The only trick in that is to make sure the jumpers on the second drive are correctly configured for it to work as a secondary drive.

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Answer 2

me100finn Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 28, 2011 3:57 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

Trying to reformat with another computer is my next step. I surely hope that will solve the issue and I can get Time Machine updated on that drive again. But really, how reliable would it be if it already crashed on me?!! I do have online back up, but only selected portions of the drive.

How would I go about checking the jumpers?

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Answer 3

Apr 28, 2011 4:05 PM in response to me100finn

Every hard drive has on it a diagram showing the options for jumper settings. The required jumpers are almost always on the drive, but not necessarily in the right place. You need long finger nails or a pair of tweezers to remove a jumper, and a little manual dexterity to put one on.

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