Laptops :: Powerbook Won't Recognize New Hard Drive
Apr 16, 2010
I recently inherited a Pismo, 400 mhz and a 6gb hard drive. Other than the tiny hard drive, the computer is in great shape and has a lot of service left in it. I was able to load Tiger on it, and it's working fine. I replaced the hard drive with a 100gb Seagate, but when I tried to format the disk,the new hard drive didn't show up during installation attempts. However, the volume was visible in the system profiler and the disk utility...I reinstalled the original hard drive, and that booted successfully so I guess that means I didn't damage the hard drive cable, which I had feared. Does anyone have an idea about this? So odd that that I could locate the drive in the disk utility but not at the installation screen.
I just recently installed an internal seagate ultra ata 100 80gb hd into my powerbook g4 (the old one crashed beyond use). I hear the drive spinning when I boot up the computer. However after the computer boots up with the original boot disk that came with the computer and I try to format it using disk utilities, it does NOT recognize my hard drive (e.g. the hard drive doesn't come up on the list of drives to fix).
I don't play comp. Games, don't store pictures on my comp., and I don't need a lot of software. So how much memory and hard drive do I really need for a Mac laptop?
I just put a Maxmedia 640 GB SATA HDD in my 2009 Macbook Pro and since then it's been acting wierd. From initial start-up it's really slow but gets faster over time, still there is a persistant lag that kicks in every now and then, mostly when Firefox is involved. I don't think the hard drive is acting up. I can hear the disk spinning and can hear it read and write. Like I said most of the lag is around Firefox but after a while of heavier use the whole system returns to normal.
I have a Early 2008 White Macbook with a 160GB 5400RPM Fujitsu drive that is driving me mad. it is far too small and i have nowhere to store my RSS feeds and podcasts from iTunes anymore. also, it boots really slowly because of all the applications and HD podcasts on the drive. I am considering getting the Seagate Momentus ST9500420AS ( the one without G-Force Protection ) because it is a 7400RPM drive with a 500GB capacity. Has anybody had any problems with this drive in their macbooks or in general? Would the vibration/noise be an issue? I'm also considering the Scorpio Blue and Toshiba MK5055GSX because they're very power efficient, but at 5400RPM, they are slower. I'd love to see boot times in particular improve. There is already 2GB of RAM in the machine, so that isn't the problem.
I have a MacBook Pro 15 (2006) 2 ghz core duo, 2 gigs ram, & 100 gig 7200 RPM hard drive. I would like to change the the hard drive out to a larger one, but I'm seeing all kind of reviews & I'm not sure which ones to put more weight on. I have been looking at a 320 Gig or the 500 Gig. Looked at the Seagate, WD, & the Hitachi. I want to stay with the 7200 RPM. I also know there can be an issue with the, shock or drop sensor on the hard drives not being compatible with the laptops shock sensor, as well as heat & noise issues. I will state that this is my first Mac since the late 80s. But that I have a several very good friends that are long time Mac users and that have done this type of switch out, so while I know that the switch out is more complicated than some I have good tech support on that side of this switch out.
I have purchase a new hard drive for my MacBook Pro Intel 2 Core duo and know how to do it, but once it is installed in the machine, I want to know how to install the operating system. The computer now is almost empty (only a few photos I have backed up) so there is no need to transfer any data. Do I just use the discs that came with it? Please tell me how I restore the system with this new hard drive.
There has been an ongoing issue with new MacBook and MacBook Pro computers where the system will pause for a second or two and make a clicking sound, and then continue functioning normally. This problem has to do with models containing a 7200RPM 500GB hard drive from Seagate, where the drive randomly stalls and beeps, causing a pause in the active system processes that can last up to 10 seconds. As reported in this CNET article, Apple is looking into the problem and a fix should be out shortly.
Both brand-new and slightly older models of the Unibody MacBook computers may be affected, and currently there does not appear to be a fix; however, if you are experiencing this problem, the best course of action is to wait for a fix from Apple. Some people have recommended reinstalling the operating system and performing PRAM and SMC resets, but this issue appears to be a firmware incompatibility so changing the operating system setup or firmware settings will not help.
Keep in mind that this behavior is not the same as when a hard drive is dying, where regular clicks and pauses happen, followed by spinning beach balls when the system cannot access the storage media. This AppleInsider article links to a couple of YouTube videos that show how this behavior manifests itself, so check them out if you think your system has this problem. When the fix is released, it should be in the form of a firmware update so keep an eye out for one in the near future. Read this Apple Support Discussions forum thread about beeping, clicking, and freezing hard drives.
I'm sure all of you heard about the new mac book more specifically the 13 inch. I however have the original macbook 13 unibody laptop. I want to upgrade my hard drive but I want to make sure there isn't a max space which my laptop can handle. Does any one if there is a max and what the specifications of the hard drive size is like the size?
I'm fairly new to macs and am having some problems. Here's the situation:
I've got a 3 year old 13" Macbook - 2.1 Intel Core 2 Duo, 1.83 Ghz, 512MB memory, 60 GB hard drive - I bought it from Apple directly - it was a ""reconditioned"" one from the factory.
It has worked fine for 3 years, but lately has been getting slower and slower (most programs), and even the home screen has been acting weird, and loading up funny, if at all sometimes, and I get the "spinning beachball of death" much more often and/or for longer periods. I have all my files copied elsewhere, and I just figured I would start over and reinstall the 10.4 Tiger OS that came with it - I have the original grey install/restore DVDs.
In case it matters, the two install/restore DVDs read: mac os version 10.4.8 AHT version 3AA18 disc version 1.0 22691-5967-A
So here's what I've tried so far:
-I booted up with the install/restore DVDs and have run the hardware checker several times. It says everything is fine.
-Also through the Utilities on the restore disk, i checked/repaired the disks and the "permissions" which showed up in the Disk Utility as the "Mac hard drive" or something like that, about 5 or 10 GB, and the main part of the drive, the "55.9 GB Fujitsu MHV2060BHPL". That all seemed to check out fine as far as the computer could tell me.
-I tried installing Tiger from the restore DVDs, the first time with the "archive and install" option. It seems like everything is working with the installation, and it gets through the second DVD, but when its done, it states that there are "software errors" and to try to install it again. (And no it won't boot up at all on its own...) I tried it again with another of the install options, I think it was "Erase and Install" - same thing. I also tried the "first time install option" too - same thing.
Next, since I got all my info off the computer already, I tried reformatting. First I used the function that writes zeroes over everything, for both the "Mac HD" and the "55.9 GB Fujitsu" drive too. Then I tried all three different install options again, starting with the "initial install" one. I also went into Disk Utility and used the format (and/or partition?) function and the drive has been redone with the mac os "extended journal" format, always with the same result as before. The whole thing (including the DVD test that it runs) seems to go fine with the install, but at the end it always says there are software errors and to try the install again... Is this possibly a hard drive problem (even though it "tests" fine)?
What if I ordered one of these:
Would that work in my macbook? Could I just replace the drive and go for another "first install"? Or is it likely something else?
I'm thinkimg of buying the samsung ln46c670 tv, and already have a free agent go flex hard drive, with a mac laptop. I want to play movies from my hard drive on the tv with out my computer being in the way. My question is how do I do that, and is it necessary to buy the freeagent go flex tv media device to play it through. Or should I invest in a bluray player that is wirless ready, or if I even need the c670 model tv with the internet apps. Which combo package would be the best?
My August 2007 MacBook runs OSX 10.4.10. It has performed flawlessly since my daughter bought it in 2007, and perfectly after I purchased it from her last september. The other night I was surfing the web while flying on a commercial airliner. (GoGoNet or something similar) Performance was kind of slow but I attributed that to the in-air wifi, which I had never used before. Then the browser started to hang with the spinning pinwheel. Option apple escape WOULD NOT force quit safari. After a few shutdowns using only the power button, the mac hung up on startup. I hear the chime, see the apple icon, the gear turns but it never goes past that point. It may be significant that the plane was flying through scary turbulence when my problems began.
When I boot up using the mac install disk 1, I can get it to start cleanly using the C key, the D key and NO keys. But when I run the hardware diagnostic, both short and long test, the mac comes up 100% clean. But i cannot see any test for the hard drive. When I try to run disk utility, the colored pinwheel arrives and it never goes away. When I go down the road of re-installing the system software, I cannot see the target drive.
When I put my ear on the deck, just to the right of the track-pad, I can hear the hard drive quietly spinning away with regular - not random - clicks.
I see that Apple is quietly replacing these hard-drives, but the affected computers seem to have a folder/question mark on the desktop on startup, not the apple/spinning gear.
I really would like to be able to recover my photos and some files if the hard drive is going to be swapped. But I am resigned to the situation that these un-backed-up files will be forever lost.
I want to put my old 15" PowerBook hard drive into an external case. I pulled the hard drive out of the PowerBook. And I purchased a NexStar CS 2.5" SATA to USB 2.0 external case. But the connections don't match. What do I need to do? Do I need to buy some sort of adaptor? Hard drive is a Hitachi 120GB 5400RPM (model # HTS541612J9AT00) 2.5" Sorry, these photos are blurry as hell. Picture of hard drive pins:
Pins are in the following configuration (1's represent pins):...............
Startup screen is white with spinning circle. I've done all the work-around's. Won't download a new version of Lion. Disk utility says everything is fine. EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE. Can't start up from a disk. This is my 14th Mac. Kind of disapointed.
I have an ibook g4 1.2 ghz 14 inch model with the 60 gig HD runnig Os X. One day, it start freezing up, and when I restart it, it would be fine. However, after a couple of day, it would not longer boot and I would get the folder with finder and question mark. I ran the hardware test on the CD, and it said I had a mass storage error. So, I went and bought a new hd and put it in. (another hitachi one, exactly the same). So i boot it up, run the hard ware test and it is fine. Then I go about installing os x and stuff, and everything is fine. However, on my first restart a couple of hours later, my computer no longer boots up again. I run disk utility, and it does not see any Hard drives, and when i reattempt to install my os x, it can not find a destination folder. What is going on? Also, I have the old HD from my ibook that I put in my external Hd case. If this thing is not actully broken, can I use it to boot through the usb 2.0 drive on my mac? I tried to plug it in, but for some reason no power goes to it, but if i plug it to my desktop, it powers up. (the light on the case)
I just got a new external hard drive and have moved all my music over to it but can't get my itunes to recognize it, I have gone to the preferences and when I try and change the location where the music is itunes does not find my external hard drive. I have tried to repopulating the list and it does not find the Hard drive.
My iBook could be on it's last leg. I have an iBook G4 1.2 Ghz with 512 mb of RAM running 10.3.9. It started about 2 to 5 months ago. When I restart my computer, instead of the white screen with the grey Apple logo that appears during a normal start-up, I get the grey screen with a flashing box with a picture of the world inside the flashing box, then the small flashing folder that flashes the OSX logo, then a question mark (?), then it would go into the normal start-up screen (white w/Apple logo). I thought this was the Safe mode boot.
Well, recently, it would just stay on the flashing OSX logo and "?" and nothing would happen. So I would do a forced shut down (holding the power down) and power it back up. Same thing. I'd repeat this for 30 minutes to an hour, restarting anywhere from 15 to 30 times and it would eventually work.
So, the flashing OSX logo and "?" happened again last night, and I could not get it to boot after countless restarts. This morning, I grab my iBook Install disc to do a full restore. I restart and hold the C key to boot from the install disc. I go through the normal steps and when I get to Choose the Drive or Destination tab, my hard drive isn't listed. Nothing is listed. I reboot holding the option key to run the Apple hard ware test. Airport passes, Logic Board passes, then I get an error when the Mass Storage test runs. Reboot and run Test again, same results. I reboot to the install disc again and it still says no drive. I open Disc Utility and the only drive it reads is the iBook Install Disc. I restart normally, and it loads fine, and I instantly come here to seek a diagnostic as to what my problem is.
I don't understand is the strange frequency or my problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes I have to restart it a dozen or so times. How can it not recognize my hard drive [I]some[I] of the time and not all of the time? I don't want to do a full restore just yet. I'd like to know what my problem is before I do anything drastic. I do have my hard drive backed up.
I had to replace the hard drive on my daughter's iBook G4. I replaced the original Toshiba with a seagate 160gb ATA drive. When using the original install disk, the installer cannot find the hard drive to install the OS on. I was told the problem could only be the cable or a DOA drive; so I got another new hard drive and replaced the replacement, being sure that the cable was connected properly. In the past, I've replaced hard drives several times in various machines I've owned.
I seem to remember that on one occasion I had the same problem, and found the unmounted drive with Tech Tool Deluxe that I had gotten with an old AppleCare purchase. On this iBook G4, however, the Tech Tools disk won't boot the machine. Perhaps I am mis-remembering that incident, but I'm pretty sure that I was able to mount a hard disk in the past using some sort of software. Problem is that this iBookG4 won't boot off of ANY of my older system disks I own.
All of a sudden my macbook pro won't recognize my Lacie hd. I changed f/w cable and plugged external hd into an older mac but the icon does not show up on either. The drive powers up when connected either mac's but still on icon. How can I get the data off of the drive?
My external hard drive (Iomega powered 1TB hard drive) that I had as the Time Machine target recently filled up - I have 500GB on 1TB iMac - yet TM showed 999GB. I removed this hard drive and installed a WD USB powered 1TB and this keeps disconnecting - suspect by iMac. TM on System Preferences will not allow me to select the hard drive - I have to remove and reconnect the USB lead to allow the iMac to see it
My Mac book pro would not boot up. Only trouble I've had is it was getting slow to boot up I tried to reinstall OS X is it didn't show my hard drive. I put in a new 750 gig Western Digital and went to install OS X and I have the same problem I go to install and on the screen that you choose your hard drive it s
Doesn't show up. I went to disk utilities and only my DVD drive and portable hard drive shows up.
Yesturday suddenly my macbook pro just quit on me. It got really slow, and eventually froze up, so i reset the computer, but to my suprise, it would'nt start up again, it was stuck on a BLANK loading screen, one in 5/6 times rebooting it would go to the apple logo. eventually i put in the OS disk, and again, it would'nt get past the screen even while holding down 'c' eventually after countless tries, it did get past, but now it says, "Select the disk where you want to install Mac OS X" and its not showing anything under that. I went to the disk utility, and it would not show my Macintosh Hd, so I think there is something wrong with the hard drive, but I've looked online and people have complained about it being a data ribon problem as well.
-Late 2010 model, macbook pro
by the way I had the newest Os installed, but I only have the Snow Leopord Cd.
Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), Hard drive, OS
I recently had my Macbook Pro (pre-retina, 2013) checked out by Apple and was told my internal Hard Drive has packed in. I decided to buy and fit a new one myself (£100 from Apple vs £40 myself!!!) so I purchased a 2.5" 500GB SATA Hard Drive and have swapped it with the old one. I am sure I have connected it properly (I've checked 3 times) and I'm sure it is the right HDD (I checked this at the Apple Store in town). I've been told to do an Internet Recovery (Command + R at start-up) and this works fine. When I get to Disk Utility, however, to format the new drive, the drive is not recognized!! It doesn't come up as one of the options, so I cannot select it to make a partition and format the disk.
I am beginning to think it wasn't actually the HDD that was the issue, rather something else like the logic board?
I have a Powerbook G4 that I bought used a year ago. It has worked perfectly with no problems at all. Yesterday it started going to sleep randomly during use. It would wake up when the space bar is pressed and be fine for a while. This was happening every 10 - 15 minutes. Since yesterday it has gotten worse and worse, happening more and more often, and now it won't even stay awake long enough to click on something. Any ideas of what could be wrong??? I'm sorry I don't know what operating system or anything, I'm not all that Mac savvy.
I have trided to upgrade the hard drive on my G4 15" powerbook. The ribon conector from the drive to the board has come free from the board and I don't know how to refasten it.
