I have a Seagate Freeagent 1TB Backup Storage drive that I have been using with my iMac 27' desktop. I started with OSX 9 and have upgraded in stages, latest being El Capitan. All along I have presumed that my Freeagent drive was sort of a huge thumb drive, and used it like one. There was an icon on my desktop right next to the HD icon, and whenever I wanted to back up something, I would simply drag a copy into the Freeagent icon. Whenever I opened up the Freeagent icon, sure enough. All of the stuff I had dragged in there was there.
My iMac 27' just died. Gray screen of death, which will not open up to anything else regardless of what I do or try. I expect that I'll be getting a new iMac, but in the interim I am using a couple of older ones, one an iMac SE which is probably 20-some years old, and this one, an IMac G5 which is perhaps 10 years old. Both of these old computers have OSX 10.4.11. My Problem - I have hooked up my Freeagent backup drive to each of these expecting to find an icon on the computer desktop, which when opened would contain my backed up information. But I get nothing.
It is as if nothing is hooked up at all. I have had the Freeagent drive for awhile and I can't seem to locate any manuals (or software discs?) that came with it.?????
I have 2 Seagate FreeAgent 500g USB ST305004FDA1E1-RK units I used with my iMAC. Now with my new Pro system they seem to creating issues. I left the previous Leopard boots on them and when connected to my USB the Pro reacts unpredictably. FreeAgent Desk for Mac - Quick Start Guide, Data Sheet and Downloads.
Any ideas on what I need to do to be able to access my backed up data? And to use the Freeagent drive with these other computers? And with my new one if and when I get it? Click to expand. Thanks for your reply, Cory. My Seagate FreeAgent Drive doesn't have any model or name on it beyond the SN and PN on the bottom side of the base. The PN is 9JJ3A4-500.
The drive makes no sound when I plug it in; I know that it's on because a light comes on at the bottom of the housing and the the Seagate logo. My iMac didn't die because of a power outage; it simply fails to boot up and display my desktop when turned on.
When I turn it on I get a gray screen, then the apple with a bite out of it, then a bar across the bottom begins to fill up moving from left to right.But that's it, nothing more. I don't have a newer model iMac. I'm doing this on my older G5 model. I'll be getting a new iMac 27' in the next few days; probably ordering a refurbished one from the Apple web site.
That being the case, my main concern with respect to my FreeAgent drive is whether it will work with the new machine both to transfer my stored backed up files and material, and to use as a storage backup drive on the new machine. As I mentioned, I don't seem to have my user manual or any CD which might have a driver or other information if there is any that needs to be loaded in whatever host computer the FreeAgent Drive is used with.
Have you tried another port on the external case? Also, is the cable OK? What OS are you running on the G5? It's not a good idea to try and use an old version of TechTool Pro, given that you are using El Capitan.
I have TechTool Pro, and I am using version 9.0.1, with El Capitan. (I am actually waiting for Micromat to release an upgraded version that is compatible with Sierra, OS 10.1.2). Regarding the drive, have you tried another port on the external case?
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It would be good to try. Also, drive mechanisms tend to go 'bad' after 5 to 7 years of use. I have a 1 TB Seagate mechanism inside an Iomega external case, and for the past few weeks, TechTool Pro has been alerting me about S.M.A.R.T.
Errors with the drive. That drive mechanism is about 6 years old or so, and thus I am not surprised. I plan on purchasing a Samsung 850 Pro 512 gig SSD as a replacement for that drive (will need a much smaller and slimmer external enclosure for it). Have you tried another port on the external case?
Also, is the cable OK? What OS are you running on the G5? It's not a good idea to try and use an old version of TechTool Pro, given that you are using El Capitan. I have TechTool Pro, and I am using version 9.0.1, with El Capitan.
(I am actually waiting for Micromat to release an upgraded version that is compatible with Sierra, OS 10.1.2). Regarding the drive, have you tried another port on the external case? It would be good to try. Also, drive mechanisms tend to go 'bad' after 5 to 7 years of use. I have a 1 TB Seagate mechanism inside an Iomega external case, and for the past few weeks, TechTool Pro has been alerting me about S.M.A.R.T. Errors with the drive. That drive mechanism is about 6 years old or so, and thus I am not surprised.
I plan on purchasing a Samsung 850 Pro 512 gig SSD as a replacement for that drive (will need a much smaller and slimmer external enclosure for it). Click to expand.
Thanks, honestone. No reason to think that there is anything wrong with the cable, but I don't have another one. Nor do I have one with the type of end to connect to the other port on the FreeAgent. I am running OSX 10.4.11 on the G5; on the defunct iMac I was using El Capitan. I expect that the large difference in operating systems may be the problem.
I have just finished ordering a new iMac, so when it arrives I will try the FreeAgent drive with it. If that fails, I'll probably look into dealing with some of the local data recovery services. I'm not sure what I will do about a backup for my new machine; I am sort of snakebit after this experience with the FreeAgent. How are you connecting the drive to your Mac now? Is it via USB?
I suspect the other port is either Firewire 400 or Firewire 800. Firewire 800 is faster than USB. One of my external drives is a Seagate one, inside a Seagate enclosure. There are 4 ports on the enclosure: 2 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 Firewire 800 ports. I use one of the Firewire 800 ports. My other external drive is also a Seagate mechanism inside an Iomega enclosure.
That enclosure also has 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 Firewire 800 ports. I suspect your new iMac does not have any Firewire 800 ports, but has a Thunderbolt port. You would thus need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter/connector. I use such a connector for my MacBook Air whenever I do my backups, and it works fine. I can understand your frustration with the drive, but if it is 5 to 7 years old, the drive mechanism itself could be bad. As I mentioned above, I am having a similar issue with the Seagate drive mechanism inside the Iomega enclosure. As I also mentioned, I will be replacing that drive with a Samsung 850 Pro 512 gig SSD (will also need another enclosure, as the Iomega one is way too big).
SSDs do last longer, and there are basically no moving parts like there are with a standard hard drive.
In Apple support communities a number of Mac OS X users have reported that their Mac machine won’t show up Seagate Backup Plus drive. There are various reasons for this. This article gives you a brief idea about the reasons behind this problem along with the solutions. Seagate backup plus not appearing on Mac Why Seagate Backup Plus for Mac Not Recognized? Below are the causes for Mac not recognizing Seagate backup plus. Problem with USB ports. Recent OS update issue.
System failure. Virus infection. Motherboard issue.
External drive damage or corruption etc. So it is suggested to check whether the power cables are connected properly or not. If so then uninterrupted power supply may not transmit power. Try by connecting the Seagate drive to all ports of Mac machine if not working then connect it to some other system and check whether it works. If it is working well then recover your important files, documents, audios, videos, photos from Mac external hard drive.
And, try the troubleshooting techniques explained in the Part 2 section of this page. In case, your Seagate Backup Plus drive is not detected in other systems then immediately recover data from Seagate Backup Plus drive that is not detected on Mac using Remo Recover; because chances are there that you may lose data while fixing undetected Seagate backup plus drive. So, it is suggested to backup your data from Seagate backup plus drive before you start resolving the issue. And, is this regard Remo Recover can help you. It will easily machines that is not showing up.
This software can recover data from all Mac OS X including High Sierra, macOS Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, etc. Part 1: Recover Data from Seagate Backup Plus Drive That Is Not Detected on Mac with Remo Recover Mac Get the free download of Remo Recover (Mac) software on your Macintosh and install it. Next, follow the below step-by-step instructions to recover data from Seagate backup plus drive that is not recognized on Mac OS X. Mac OS X 10.5 – Leopard Mac OS X 10.6 – Snow Leopard Steps to recover data from unrecognized Seagate backup plus drive on Mac with Remo Recover: 1. Connect your Seagate backup plus drive to the software installed Mac, launch Remo Recover (Mac) tool and click the Recover Volumes/Drives button on the main screen. Next, click on the Volumes Recovery button to recover data from Seagate backup plus drive volumes. Select the connected Seagate backup plus drive, followed by all its volumes and click “ Next ”. If you wish you can specify file types to recover from the Seagate plus drive.
Else, hit the Skip button to select all file formats by default. The data recovery software deep scans the selected Seagate backup plus drive and lists all recovered files. Preview recovered data and Save your required files on the Mac machine’s internal hard drive (HDD). Note: Don’t save recovered files onto the same Seagate backup plus drive from where it is retrieved. Now, you have your data safely recovered from the Seagate backup plus drive.
So, you can start fixing Seagate backup plus drive that is not detected on Mac. Part 2: Fix Seagate Backup Plus Drive that is Not Detected On Mac Step 1:. Open Disk Utility and check if the external hard drive is faded or grayed out and uncountable?. If so then connect another external drive or pen drive.
This drive also grayed out and not recognized then do a proper eject from Finder Windows list. Then restart the computer and connect the external drive again Step 2:. On Mac, go to Disk Utility and choose the external drive from the left sidebar. Then click on verify disc. This will help you to find and correct the minor errors Step 3:. Go to Mac’s Finder Menu and select Go to Finder. Then type Seagate drive path which appears under Disk Utility and checks whether it will display your drive.
Step 4:. Start Mac. Go to Settings. Select Finder Preferences. Then under the General tab select the external hard drive in Show these items on the desktop. Now reinsert the drive and check Step 5:.
Open Mac. Go to Applications then to Utilities. Click on Disk Utilities.
From that change the format of Seagate external drive that is compatible with your Mac OS Step 6: If any of the above methods didn’t help you to solve the problem, then install the fresh OS X and try. Or else connect Seagate drive to any Windows computer, delete the partition and connect back to Mac Pro. I hope your issue is resolved by using the above techniques. In case, if you have tried any other technique and successfully fixed the Seagate backup plus drive that is not recognized on Mac then you can Leave a Reply and share your solution here.