MAC does not recognize Iomega External Hard drive

[KADEEM]

Hello there, I have a MAC G5 series desktop which runs on Mac OS X 10.4. I had bought an Iomega External hard drive with Firewire connectivity 6 months ago. I was using this hard drive without any problems, but now my MAC does not detect the hard drive. When the hard drive is connected it gives (Initialize/ Ignore/ Eject) window. I am not able to use the hard drive and it contains lot of data which is very important. So if anybody has any solution please help.

[Devasis]

The drive must have gone bad due to some physical damage. Portable hard disks are more prone to damage because of physical wear and tear. Portable hard drive have number of platters and a movable head. The alignment of the platters and movable changes if the hard disk undergoes physical shock which leads to undetectable hard drive. Get the hard drive checked by some technician just to be sure if the hard drive is faulty.

[Calvin K]

As you have bought the hard drive 6 months back it would be covered under the warranty cover. Try to get the hard drive replaced by the dealer you bought it from. Meanwhile you can download different diagnostics tools which can be used on the hard drive to check the errors developed on them. Many diagnostics tools also repair the errors if they are repairable. By using this utility you can be sure if the hard drive had developed some bad clusters or not.

[jesse]

Have you ever connected the drive to a windows PC? Normally this sort of problem arises when you connect a hard drive formatted in the mac system to a windows base pc. Windows base pc change the file allocation table of the drive which makes it non usable in Mac system. The only solution to your problem is getting the hard drive formatted in the MAC HD format and use it.

Firewire port on the MAC can be the root cause of your problem. MAC G5 series is known to have problems with the firewire port on the logic board. Many of the users of G5 series are facing the same problem as you are facing. You will need to get the logic board replaced or put an extra Firewire card on to it. Before getting the logic board replaced, check the connecting cable of the hard drive. It may also be defective.

[Luis234]

Recently installed applications must be creating problems in detection of the drive. Uninstall any of the applications which are installed recently and check if the drive is getting detected or not. Sometimes the operating system does not detect the hard drive if they are not properly ejected. Connect the hard disk first and then power it off. Now disconnect the hard drive and then connect it back without powering it on. Once the drive is connected, power on the drive and let the operating system detect it. Hopefully the drive will be detected and will work fine.