Feb 08, 2020 How to Format an External Drive for Mac (from NTFS to Mac OS Extended) Note: The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macOS Sierra 10.12.5. They might be different if your Mac has a different version. Step 1: Open Disk Utility. Jan 21, 2014 It seems that Spotlight was struggling with a the failed drive and would not let it go so the unmount and erase could not occur. This was solved by disabling Spotlight (terminal: sudo mdutil -a -i off) temporarily. After disabling Spotlight, Disk Utility performed its. Yesterday I purchased a WD My Passport Essential SE. My operating system is OS X 10.6 and I use a MacBook. I followed the directions on how to partition and format for the Mac. Oct 15, 2015 Update on this problem. I solved it by terminating the fsckhfs process in Activity Monitor (click on it then hit “discontinue.” This released the drive, and allowed it to unmount. I was then able to reformat it using Disk Utility without a problem. Drive is now working in Time Machine as my back-up drive. Go to Applications Utilities Disk Utility. Select the unmountable WD external hard drive and click 'Erase' on the top. Provide a name and a format to erase the drive. When finished, you can mount your WD external hard drive on Mac and use it again. Also read: Other ways to erase external hard drive on Mac.
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“Couldn’t Unmount Disk” error message usually pops up when you try formatting, partitioning, verifying or repairing internal disk by Disk Utility on Mac system. This article will focus on this error and provide 5 feasible solutions.
Disk Utility plays an extremely important and good role in solving disk problems on Mac system. Most of time, it is quite reliable. However, it still can fail to fix disk issues accompanied with some error messages, such as “Couldn’t Unmount Disk” error. This error generally results from improper modification of the boot drive, such as partitioning, disk verification or repairing or formatting. When this error pops up, not only will the Disk Utility halt suddenly, but also the disk will suffer as well, such as damaged data on this disk, like damaged Outlook file. Therefore, it is imperative to resolve this error as soon as possible. Here we will share you 5 solutions.
1. Resolve with USB Boot Drive
If this error occurs in that the disk to be modified is the boot drive, the simplest solution is to boot the Mac system from another drive and then run Disk Utility on the disk. By this means, you can make use of USB boot drive.
- First off, insert the USB boot drive to Mac and reboot.
- Then, during booting, you should hold down the “Option” key button to select the attached boot drive.
- Next, in the boot menu, select “Disk Utility”.
- After that, go to “First Aid” and verify the disk.
- Lastly, just perform the original task on the original disk.
2. Fix with Recovery Partition
If the error message appears during “First Aid” or formatting a non-boot disk, the above means will not make effects surely. At this point, you can try solving it with Recovery Partition.
- For a start, reboot your Mac.
- Then, when booting, hold down the “Option” key to select Recovery Partition.
- Next, access Disk Utility from the boot menu.
- Lastly, select “First Aid” to re-verify the disk or choose “Erase” to format the disk at your will.
3. Solve with Command Line
Moreover, you can also attempt to eradicate this error, forcing unmounting disk by command line. Follow the steps below:
- To begin with, you have to access Terminal application.
- Then, input the “diskutil list” line, which will list out all the disks on the Mac.
- At this time, you ought to find out the disk that you want to force unmount.
- Lastly, you should type “sudo diskutil unmountDisk force /dev/diskx” line. Replace the “/dev/diskx” with the correct disk number, such as “/dev/disk1”.
4. Repair with Third Party Tool
What’s more, fortunately, there are a lot of repair utilities dedicated to fixing this error on today’s market. Also, it’s pretty easy for you to find third party tools for formatting, partitioning or modifying disk. You should find and choose a reliable and experienced one that can help you perform the original task without such an error.
5. Consult with Specialists
Of course, if all means mentioned above can’t rescue you from the annoying error message, your last resort is to ask professionals for help. Based on your own case, you can opt to ask the disk repair shop nearby for help or search and contact the online disk repair service.
Author Introduction:
John deere x300 technical manual. Shirley Zhang is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including damaged mdf and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com
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Aug 18, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
Q: How many times have you faced the issue of an unmountable hard disk on your Mac?
I connected my external hard disk of 3TB to my MacBook Air, though it couldn't mount. However, it detected the hard drive when I ran Disk Utility. Is there any way to get back or recover the data from this unmounted disk of my Mac?
I connected my external hard disk of 3TB to my MacBook Air, though it couldn't mount. However, it detected the hard drive when I ran Disk Utility. Is there any way to get back or recover the data from this unmounted disk of my Mac?
Usually, Mac hard drives are partitioned into different sections, also known as logical volumes. It allows you to store a wide variety of data on it separately. The benefit of the partition system is that there is no risk of overloading on the startup disk volume. That allows the boot process to complete without any issues.
There are times when the drive doesn’t mount, preventing your system from starting. It is a critical situation because your data stores on the hard disk, and it is now not accessible. There is also the risk of the data getting lost.
- Part 1: Signs & Potential Reasons of an Unmountable Hard Disk
- Part 2: Symptoms of an Unmountable Hard Drive
- Part 3: Possible Causes
- Part 4: How can You Recover Data from an Unmountable Hard Disk?
- Part 5: How to Repair Unmountable Hard Drive on Mac?
Part 1: Signs & Potential Reasons of an Unmountable Hard Disk
Every time your Mac system boots up, it is going to run a self-test. It is then that the startup disk is mounted, and the files needed for launching the OS gets loaded. Therefore, the startup disk volume must mount appropriately. Otherwise, it may become difficult to access the required data.
As already mentioned, there are many reasons why such a situation arises. Find out the most common reasons here.
It may happen that some type of unexpected error has occurred in your Mac volume. Such errors can make the volume unmountable, preventing the data from showing up. Here are the causes of unmountable hard disks:
- File system corruption
- Catalog file corruption
- Volume header corruption
- Malware attacks
- macOS malfunction
If the Mac hard disk is insurmountable, it significantly increases the risks of notable losses in terms of essential files like photos, emails, and work documents. If it happens, you will want to know the ways to recover your unmountable and inaccessible hard disk on Mac and the files stored on it.
Format Wd Passport For Mac Couldn't Unmount Disk Windows 10
Part 2: Symptoms of an Unmountable Hard Drive
Many symptoms may show that your Mac’s hard disk is on the verge of crashing. You should know that the disc is going to unmount if you see the following signs:
- A drive doesn’t mount through one of the following ways - USB or firewire
- You can see the files, but cannot carry out any functions such as moving or copying
- The drive mounts on a rare occasion but doesn't mount again
- When you mount the drive, the Mac OS X gets frozen
- Data read/write functions and access becomes quite slow
- There is a strange noise from the drive, which can indicate some type of physical damage or corruption
Part 3: Possible Causes
The signs of a hard drive dimming out within Disk Utility can vary from one situation to another. So you should know about these different reasons to be able to determine how to repair the external hard disk that fades within Disk Utility.
Virus or Malware Attack
Once the hard drive has a virus infection, it can cause your system files to get corrupted. It can cause the hard disk to become unmountable. The result is a hard drive that is merely unmountable.
Corruption of File System
The volume data becomes inaccessible to the Mac OS X if there is corruption in the local file system structure. Some of the contributing reasons for file system corruption include erroneous formatting, erroneous re-formatting, or incorrect file system conversion.
Corrupt Volume Header
The volume header is necessary for providing the required data to the operating system. It makes use of header information for mounting a specific volume. Volume can become unmountable when there is a corruption of volume header.
A Hard Drive with Bad Sectors
Bad sectors may also cause an unmounted Mac hard disk. Avi player os x 10.6. It usually occurs when some type of physical damage happens to the drive. These bad sectors gradually deteriorate and can become entirely useless for storing data. The data stored in this sector will also become difficult to access. Hard drives are known to be highly sensitive to fluctuations in power. So, this can also cause the development of bad sectors. When there are bad sectors, Mac OS X can fail to access the data either partially or entirely.
Operating System Malfunction
Format Wd Passport For Mac Couldn't Unmount Disk Windows 7
The hard drive volume may have become unmountable because the OS crashed.
Sudden Mac Reboot
Your Mac hard drive may also be damaged by the unexpected shutdown of the Mac system. It may happen by an immediate reboot or power failure.
Failure of Disk Utility
You can use the Disk Utility tool for a wide range of tasks, including resizing, file system conversion, and re-partitioning. If an error occurs during these functions, it can render the Mac hard disk volume unmountable.
Part 4: How can You Recover Data from an Unmountable Hard Disk?
It commonly occurs that the external hard disk becomes unmountable and results in data loss. Even the disk utility may not help you repair the unmounted volume. In such a situation, the right step to take is to recover your data from the unmountable drive.
You can recover your files from an unmountable volume on your Mac OS X by downloading and installing the Recoverit Data Recovery tool for Mac. You should then follow these steps to access all the data.
Step 1: Launching Recoverit Final fantasy x pnach free.
Open Recoverit Mac Data Recovery tool. Select the hard drive volume that has the issue of lost data. Click on ‘start.’
Step 2: Scanning
Recoverit data recovery starts scanning to find the lost data from the drive. Give it some time to complete the scanning process.
Step 3: Check and recover files
Once the scanning ends, it becomes possible to check all the recoverable files. You can preview these files on the volume and recover them to a location of your choice.
Part 5: How to Repair Unmountable Hard Drive on Mac?
When you face the problem of unmountable hard drive volume, the first thought that comes to your mind is to use the Disk Utility to recover it. There is a built-in feature in Disk Utility, known as First Aid. It allows you to check volume errors and make attempts to repair them.
However, using First Aid is not a favorable method. Firstly, it is often seen to fail to repair errors at times. Secondly, it is likely to cause damage to the data, making it impossible to recover it.
Method 1: Use Disk Utility
Disk Utility is capable of repairing specific drive issues. You can use it when your Mac volume gives the unmountable error.
- Open Apple Menu
- Click on ‘restart.’
- Press and hold the buttons Command and R
- Keep pressing until you see the Apple Logo
- Click on Disk Utility
- Click on Continue
- Select the option 'View.'
- Choose ‘show all devices’
- Select the volume that you want to repair from the sidebar
- Click on ‘First Aid.’
- Disk Utility may inform that the hard drive is likely to fail. Make sure to take data back up and replace with another drive
- If Disk Utility doesn’t make that message, take the next step
- Click on ‘Run.’
- Disk Utility may inform you that the drive is repaired
- If Disk Utility doesn’t give this message, you will have to format the unmountable hard disk before restoring it
- If the 'repaired' word comes, you can use the drive without any issues.
Formatting Wd Passport For Mac Couldn't Unmount Disk
Method 2: Formatting
Once the data has been recovered, it is necessary to reformat the drive that had the unmountable error. It will ensure that it starts working correctly again. The steps involved are as follows:
- Go to Utilities and Open Disk Utility
- Click on the icon showing your hard drive volume from the sidebar
- Click on the ‘erase’ tab and fill the required information
- When the ‘erase’ button appears, click on it and the formatting will begin
Conclusion
So, your hard drive volume can become unmountable because of reasons like Disk Utility failure, File System corruption, and Mac OS issues. If you have this issue, it is essential to recover data from such a drive at the earliest.
Wd Passport For Mac Instructions
Using Recoverit Data Recovery software allows you to recover the data from your unmountable Mac hard disk in just minutes. It is a sophisticated hard disk file recovery tool for Mac. It has advanced data recovery features, yet it is easy to use for getting your data back from a drive that has been rendered unmountable.
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