External thunderbolt hard disk not powered from MBP

Question

External thunderbolt hard disk not powered from MBP

i just bouth a Lacie Rugged external hard disk (1TB, Thuderbolt series).

when i connect the drive to my early 2011 MacBookPro it doesn't appears on the desktop -- the drive doesn't receive power from thunderbolt cable (led remains off)

i tried the following:

1) connected my MBP to another external thunderbolt drive and it works (this drive has external power) = thunderbolt port on MBP works fine

2) connected Lacie Rugged to my iMac via thunderbolt cable and it also works = drive is ok, original thunderbolt cable is ok, it is powered from thuderbolt port

3) connected Lacie Rugged to my MBP via USB and it works = drive is ok, it receives power supply from USB port

4) connected Lacie Rugged drive to my MBP with another thunderbolt cable that i am sure is fine = drive doesn't get powered, disk won't mount

earlier today at local apple store i have been told that this drive was the best choice for my 2011 MBP...

so anyone knows why this drive is not working (not getting powered) via thuderbolt connection?

i searched over internet and on this forum with no luck, thanks in advance for your help

ciao

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), early 2011, 2.3 Ghz i7

Posted on Oct 9, 2013 1:14 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Oct 9, 2013 1:17 PM in response to Stefano Lavori

LaCie is not an Apple company. Contact their tech support for assistance.

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Answer 2

Oct 9, 2013 1:25 PM in response to Kappy

the drive is working perfectly, i was only wondering why it doesn't receive power from MBP thunderbolt port.

so i was only wondering if this model (early 2011) has issues with this kind of connection.

or trying to get in touch with someone with same hardware that has experienced same problem

anyway, thanks for your help

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Oct 9, 2013 1:31 PM in response to Stefano Lavori

Then why did you state it does not receive power? That doesn't mean the drive is working perfectly. So, while you waste time here you could have received an answer from LaCie. But thanks for asking.

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Answer 4

Oct 9, 2013 1:40 PM in response to Kappy

you are very kind to spend your time helping other users, i really appreciate it.

but if only you could read my original message you will find out that i tested the drive on another machine (2013 iMac), and it works flawlessly both in Thunderbolt and USB. Also works on MBP via USB. No life if connected via Thunderbolt to MBP. yes, i also tried with different thuderbolt cable.

but thanks for answering

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Answer 5

Oct 10, 2013 1:09 AM in response to Stefano Lavori

solved, simply my MBP needed thunderbolt firmware update.

i forgot to mention that logic board has been just replaced by local apple store so i had to sort of "re-install" this update (my MBP was up to date before this replacement)

now everything works great. maybe someone will find this helpful.

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Answer 6

Techno1

Level 1

0 points

Nov 27, 2013 5:06 AM in response to Stefano Lavori

Stefano ,

I have the exact same problem as you Early 2011 MBP 13" with Lacie Rugged 1TB ( USB3/thunderbolt). I was running Snow Leopard now just upgraded to Mavriks. Ran all Thunderbolt updates but still no luck . Runs fine on USB .

Please inform which Thunderbolt firmware update did you use ?

Many thanks

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Answer 7

Nov 27, 2013 5:52 AM in response to Techno1

Hi Techno1,

i am sorry but i can't tell you exactly wich update i installed... i think i found it directly trough "software updates" in Mavericks.

consider that running "system profiler" on my MBP i have these info: SMC version 1.69f3, boot ROM version MBP81.0047.B27

maybe you should check this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

hope this helps!

ciao,

m

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Answer 8

Apr 20, 2014 1:20 PM in response to Techno1

Hi Techno1,

Did you resolve this ? I have exactly the same specs MBP ( except mine is late 2011) and the same drive and again mine wont power up on Thunderbolt but is fine on USB.

Thanks for any help.

Regards

B.

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Answer 9

Apr 22, 2014 3:57 AM in response to Techno1

Hi to anyone still following the thread.

I am in the process of fault finding with Apple. All has been checked via the phone as ok.

Boot ROM firmware is correct at MBP81.0047.B27

SMC Version is correct at 1.68f99

An SMC reset was done and problem persists.

A check in recovery mode confirmed the device was not found.

I am taking the machine to a repair centre tomorrow and will report what they find.

B.

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Answer 10

May 7, 2014 6:25 AM in response to EagleOwl61

My machine has now had a new Main Logic Board courtesy of Apple and the Thunderbolt still does not power the drive. The repair centre sated that it can only be a compatibility problem between the MacBook and the drive. I have submitted a support request to Lacie to ask about compatibility with this model.

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Answer 11

May 7, 2014 6:32 AM in response to EagleOwl61

hi,

after a main logic board replacement i did a firmware update on my MBP (via software update on mavericks) and that solved the problem, the drive works perfectly now.

hope this helps

ciao

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Answer 12

May 7, 2014 6:39 AM in response to Stefano Lavori

Hi Stefano,

I read that, but my machine is all up to date firmware wise, and a new board, and still does not work. Could you maybe help and check some numbers on your machine ? Go to the Apple logo then select "More Info" - then from the next window select "System Report". It should open with "Hardware" highlighted and "Hardware Overview" in the right hand panel. In that right panel look for " Model Identifier ", "Boot ROM version" and "SMC version" . Could you post those three sets of numbers.

Then highlight "Thunderbolt" in the left hand panel. In the right hand panel ( which should be titled "Thunderbolt Bus" ) look for "Firmware version" - could you post that number.

Thanks

Bryce

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Answer 13

May 7, 2014 6:47 AM in response to EagleOwl61

hi,

HARDWARE

"Model Identifier": MacBookPro8,2

"Boot ROM version": MBP81.0047.B27

"SMC version": 1.69f3

THUNDERBOLT

"Firmware version": 22,1

ciao!

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Answer 14

May 7, 2014 6:55 AM in response to Stefano Lavori

Hi Stefano,

Thank you - that explains a bit. Your machine is a 15" and mine is 13"

The Boot ROM is the same as mine but the SMC version and Thunderbolt versions are higher. However mine are correct according to Apple for my machine.

Mine are

SMC 1.68f99

Thunderbolt 13.0-2.8

Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Bryce

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Answer 15

May 12, 2014 1:12 AM in response to EagleOwl61

Lacie have been pretty open about it - here is a shortened version of their reply:-

"The Thunderbolt in this particular drive is 1. So far we have only one drive that uses the newer Thunderbolt 2. [Regards power] .... I can tell you that the standard for the USB 3 port is 9 milliamps. We have been unable to find a standard for the Thunderbolt port either on the Apple site or the Intel site. We do know it works on a combination of 12v and 5v. I can tell you that LaCie has a page giving a guarantee of compatibility on the Thunderbolt.

http://www.lacie.com/uk/technologies/technology.htm?id=10039

If the drive works on other computers with the Thunderbolt port and cable then the incompatibility must be with the computer.

I believe this is the first small laptop that Apple sold with the thunderbolt port. It may just have been a miscalculation on their part."

This is going back to Apple for a response

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