Toshiba external HDD not recognized by MacBook Air

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Toshiba external HDD not recognized by MacBook Air

I have a 1TB Toshiba USB3.0 external hard drive that I have been using for the last year or so to back up all my work data.

The drive works perfectly when I connect it to a PC (Dell desktop, laptop, HP laptop, etc.). I even was using it last night on a PC.

However, my work recently replaced my PC with a MacBook Air, and the system will not recognize the drive. USB port will power the drive (light comes on solid blue), but System Profile, Disk Utilities, and Finder do not recognize as attached. Once again, I used last night without issue on a windows PC.

Any help would be appreciated.

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Nov 7, 2014 12:34 PM

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Answer 1

_Caleb

Level 1

5 points

Nov 7, 2014 1:11 PM in response to RSLx2FF3

run diskutil list in terminal (command + space to launch spotlight, then type in terminal and hit launch.)

post the result.

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Answer 2

RSLx2FF3 Author

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Nov 7, 2014 1:18 PM in response to _Caleb

diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *251.0 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 250.1 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *249.8 GB disk1

Logical Volume on disk0s2

B094D0D3-A8B5-44EB-8C04-247F5B097D5F

Unencrypted

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Answer 3

_Caleb

Level 1

5 points

Nov 7, 2014 1:31 PM in response to RSLx2FF3

Your mac has not mounted the hard drive. What is the hard drive formatted as? If it is NTFS you can install a driver so your mac can read it.

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Answer 4

RSLx2FF3 Author

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Nov 7, 2014 1:35 PM in response to RSLx2FF3

I believe that it is NTFS. I don't recall reformatting to FAT when I purchased it.

I looked for drivers, but couldn't find any from Apple. All the forums I read into for enabling NTFS support were extremely technical.

Any assistance in finding an acceptable driver would be greatly appreciated.

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Answer 5

_Caleb

Level 1

5 points

Nov 7, 2014 2:57 PM in response to RSLx2FF3

Do you have the toshiba canvio 3.0?

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Answer 6

Nov 7, 2014 8:51 PM in response to RSLx2FF3

you have a dead SATA bridge card, confirm same ext. HD on another computer ...

if same, its a dead SATA bridge in the ext. HD, which is easily removed. (unless its a newer canvio)

very common issue.

I see you tested it with PC, fine, Verify the USB port by using the other.

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Answer 7

RSLx2FF3 Author

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Nov 10, 2014 7:40 AM in response to _Caleb

Yes. V63600-c, part number HDTC610XK3B1.

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Answer 8

RSLx2FF3 Author

Level 1

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Nov 10, 2014 7:42 AM in response to PlotinusVeritas

Not a dead SATA bridge. MacBook Air is less than 1 month old, and all usb ports work with other devices. External HDD works on every other computer I have plugged it into, except Apple computers.

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Answer 9

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Nov 10, 2014 11:13 AM in response to RSLx2FF3

You may try a powered hub. The Toshiba may need more current than the MBA USB port can supply. A USB Y cable is also a possible alternative.

Ciao.

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Answer 10

cp900deg

Level 1

0 points

Feb 19, 2015 7:08 PM in response to PlotinusVeritas

My Iomega 1TB Mac edition external HD started disconnecting from my MBP for no reason. I would get the error message that said my external HD was "ejected improperly". Then it started not to be recognized at all. I took it to a computer repair shop and they said that because my bridge card stopped working, my HD was "zapped" and my external HD was empty. They are in the process of recovery but from your description of dead SATA bridge cards, it doesn't seem likely that it should've effected my data. . . Am i right to assume this?

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