I put my iMac (mid 2010 i7 El Capitan) to sleep earlier today and later when I woke it up, the Time Machine drive was gone from the desktop and there was an error message saying the disc was not ejected properly.

It's missing in Disk Utilities. I turned the drive off, disconnected the power and usb cable (which is connected directly to the iMac 2.0 port) and can hear it spinning up when I restarted it, but it's not showing up anywhere. I also tried disconnecting all USB devices (except my Wacom tablet) and I also restarted the iMac with no results.

It's in a MacAlly enclosure that I've been using since May '08.

I would hate to loose the data. Is there something else I can try? — TIA

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Northern California Coast

Disk warrior

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Formerly known as Dennis R

Quote
steve...
I would hate to loose the data. Is there something else I can try? — TIA

Well, you arent really losing anything, right? I mean, you are losing the "incremental" backups, but you technically still have everything on you main machine.

I would get a new drive and start again.

IF you really need all of those incremental backups, first thing might be to pull the drive from the case and try it in a dock. Maybe $25 or so.

Edit: IMHO, unless those files are critical, DW is just throwing $120 out the window.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 02:59PM by jdc.

Smack it... try DiskWarrior....
Aside from that, it may be a goner.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

If you removed the drive from its enclosure, do you hace another way to connect it? (i.e another enclosure or a dock)

Thanks all for the tips. I do have a dock that I can try. Disk Warrior is $118 so maybe a new drive might be the best option (if necessary).

I have another errand to run but will try it later this afternoon.

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Northern California Coast

Try a different cable, then a different USB port, then a different enclosure.

I tried a different cable and had already tried switching ports with no change. When I put the drive in a little USB dock, it started up normally. I did a backup and everything seems fine.

Do enclosures go bad on their own? I have another drive that I'll try in it and see what happens.

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Northern California Coast

Yes, enclosures can go bad.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I tried a spare hard drive in the (suspect) enclosure and it doesn't show up either — it looks like the enclosure was problem. At least I got 7+ years out of it.

Everything's back to normal. Thanks for your help!

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Northern California Coast

It's in a MacAlly enclosure that I've been using since May '08.

I think the enclosure died. It has done its service.

Also, how old is the drive? if it is about the same age as the enclosure, and if it was used constantly as time machine, I am surprised it lasted that long.

EDIT: OOPS, I had opened the page earlier and I didn't see your latest update. Was the drive also 7 year old? if yes, that is pretty good, can you specify the brand? Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2016 06:47PM by space-time.

Quote
steve...
I tried a spare hard drive in the (suspect) enclosure and it doesn't show up either — it looks like the enclosure was problem. At least I got 7+ years out of it.

Everything's back to normal. Thanks for your help!

Also, stop using that enclosure at once. I had one fail and it also killed an SSD when it died. don't risk any more drives in it.

Was the drive also 7 year old? if yes, that is pretty good, can you specify the brand?

The drive is a WD Black (1 TB) and was new in 2010. I'm now in the market for a new hard drive and enclosure.

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Northern California Coast

Just a 1 TB backup drive?

WD - My Passport Ultra 1TB External -- $60

No need for anything fancier than that, good reviews all accross the net.

[www.bestbuy.com]

I listed more here: [forums.macresource.com]

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

My 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black is the same vintage, and so far so good.

WD - My Passport Ultra 1TB External -- $60
No need for anything fancier than that, good reviews all accross the net.


I've got one in my basket at B&H. One dollar cheaper and no tax.

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Northern California Coast