Seagate 1TB stuck in trash

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Level 1

9 points

Seagate 1TB stuck in trash

My Seagate external hard drive worked with Time machine up until 2/10 when I tried to eject it and it stuck in the trash with two QuickBook files open. Went to Time Machine which indicated a backup interrupted. Plugged in Seagate and let it back up for hours; still in trash. Seagate support offered a Paragon fix which not only failed, but now Time Machine does not recognize the drive. I can only eject it through Home or Computer, but it's still in the trash. Any ideas are MUCH appreciated. (I just want to use this drive for one thing: QuickBooks backup.)

MacBook Pro, iOS 10

Posted on Mar 17, 2018 12:41 PM

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Answer 1

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Mar 18, 2018 6:46 PM in response to Befuddled66

Does it mount at all? You didn't mention which computer, which may affect the options you have to reformat.

Sometimes there are tricky situations where it just won't reformat. The ways around that are maybe use an old Mac to reformat, or take it to a Windows machine to reformat. A Windows machine won't recognize a Mac format, and with then offer to reformat it. From that point you can take it back and it should be possible to reformat for the Mac.

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Answer 2

Befuddled66 Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 21, 2018 10:10 AM in response to y_p_w

The solution turned out to be much simpler. As a newbie, I didn’t realize that I could turn the continual backup off through the Time Machine icon at the top. Once the backup stopped, the drive pulled out of the Trash unharmed. Lesson learned: Never drag the Seagate to the Trash to eject it. Must go to Finder to eject.

I learned this from a great Geek Squad guy at Best Buy where I bought the drive. Thanks to him, and again, thanks to you for your willingness to help out. It’s much appreciated.

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Answer 3

y_p_w

Level 6

17,642 points

Mar 21, 2018 10:49 AM in response to Befuddled66

Befuddled66 wrote:

The solution turned out to be much simpler. As a newbie, I didn’t realize that I could turn the continual backup off through the Time Machine icon at the top. Once the backup stopped, the drive pulled out of the Trash unharmed. Lesson learned: Never drag the Seagate to the Trash to eject it. Must go to Finder to eject.

I learned this from a great Geek Squad guy at Best Buy where I bought the drive. Thanks to him, and again, thanks to you for your willingness to help out. It’s much appreciated.

That was it? It's been a long time since the trash can was used to eject. I remember that's how a floppy was ejected with an old Mac.

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Answer 4

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Mar 21, 2018 11:00 AM in response to y_p_w

I don't use the Trash to eject myself, but there shouldn't be a problem using it. As you drag the disk to the Trash it will change to the Eject icon. It should also warn you if the disk is in use. I'm not sure what happened in the OP's example.

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Answer 5

Befuddled66 Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 21, 2018 11:07 AM in response to y_p_w

You're absolutely right. I tried to mount a WD easy store on my MacBook Pro and it failed; even got a case number from Western Digital. Turned out the Arris router on our network simply wouldn't support it. The Seagate situation was my own lack of understanding. Thanks for taking the time to explain those possible scenarios.

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Answer 6

Befuddled66 Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 21, 2018 11:14 AM in response to macjack

The Eject symbol always came up, but no warning that the Seagate drive was still backing up. Since I didn't have my MacBook Pro plugged in and the QB backup had finished onscreen, I assumed it couldn't be in continuous backup mode.

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