MAC can't read external Hard Drive

Question

MAC can't read external Hard Drive

Hi!

I recently got an external Hard Drive online... It's a Maxtor DiamondMax 300GB external hard drive...

It said that it was MAC compatible... The little handbook says that I don't have to install anything, because the system should provide the support for the software...

But when I plug the hard drive in it shows me a window that says
"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"

I choose the button "Initialize" and get into the Disk Utility window...
There the Maxtor shows up on the left side and if I click on that then all the buttons are greyed out...

On the bottom the S.M.A.R.T. status is NOT SUPPORTED...
Aaaaaah...

Does that mean I bought it and can't use it?

If someone could help me that would be great! I wanted to call Maxtor Help Center but they don't open until Monday... I kind of want to see if I can resolve this sooner...

Thank you so much to anyone who reads this and can help somehow...

Thank you!

Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jul 22, 2006 1:00 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jul 22, 2006 5:12 PM in response to Claudia Rahardjanoto

Try opening up Disk Utility again.
Highlight the Maxtor.
Go to the top tab Erase and click on it.
Go to Volume Format and choose Mac OS Extended(journaled).
Click Erase at the bottom.

This should give you a fresh disk to work with. I wonder if the HD came with Winders format.

I hope this helps you out.

Oh yeah, if you are using Firewire(recommended), the S.M.A.R.T. is not supported but the drive can still be used. I have a S.M.A.R.T. capable ext. HD but since I connect with Firewire the S.M.A.R.T. status is unavailable.

Reply