Ejected External Hard Drive Improperly

[jbcbasket]

Hi all,

I have an external hard drive (WD EasyStore) with 10+ years and >1TB of information on it that I mistakenly pulled out without ejecting properly. Now the drive is seen by the Disk Utility but will not eject or open in read only when running commands in terminal. I only have a mac so haven't tried anything on a PC. Any advice on how to salvage all this data?

From,
J

 

[mightyjabba]

Have you tried just restarting your computer?

 

[niray9]

I had the same symptoms on my WD My Passport Ultra when I pulled it out without "ejecting" it. Running WD Utilities, or Disk Utilities's various options didn't help. So, I let the OS "run on it" for "a long time", and eventually OSX was able to mount it. Changed "Energy Saver -> Computer Sleep" to 3 hours to prevent sleeping.

Caveat: I haven't checked the mount via terminal, but via MAC OS UI and Disk Utility.

 

[MassMacMan]

I had the same thing just happen with an external 1TB SSD: after an "unscheduled disconnection", it wouldn't mount. I left it plugged into the MBP, and after about 30 minutes it came back to life.

 

[mollyc]

Restarting will fix this.

 

[jbcbasket]

Have you tried just restarting your computer?

Thanks all! I have restarted the computer. Used Command+Option+P+R. Still no luck

It has been plugged in to the MBP for an extended period of time (overnight) and still nothing. At this point, I'm just hoping all the files are still on it and it's salvageable.

 

[maflynn]

As I understand things, macOS keeps the cache open and the external drive powered, even if inactive, so pulling the cable out, has a potential of corrupting the data or filesystem. This seems like that may be the case

I would look into getting something like Disk Warrior to fix your issue

 

[chabig]

It has been plugged in to the MBP for an extended period of time (overnight) and still nothing. At this point, I'm just hoping all the files are still on it and it's salvageable.

If not, you’ll just restore from backup, right?

 

[jbcbasket]

As I understand things, macOS keeps the cache open and the external drive powered, even if inactive, so pulling the cable out, has a potential of corrupting the data or filesystem. This seems like that may be the case

I would look into getting something like Disk Warrior to fix your issue

Ok, I'll investigate that. Thank you!

If not, you’ll just restore from backup, right?

Unfortunately, this was housing over a decade's worth of photos and was meant to be the backup. Hopefully I can recover everything!

 

[Fishrrman]

"Unfortunately, this was housing over a decade's worth of photos and was meant to be the backup. Hopefully I can recover everything!"

Having data on ONE drive only is not "a backup".

That data needs to be on at least TWO drives.
THREE is better.

DiskWarrior might be the tool that fixes this for you.

If DW can't fix it, there are "other ways".
But they are not for the feint-of-heart.

 

[Peadogie]

Having data on ONE drive only is not "a backup".

That data needs to be on at least TWO drives.
THREE is better.

Sage advice right there (Emphasis added by me).
Saved my bacon once!

 

[chabig]

Unfortunately, this was housing over a decade's worth of photos and was meant to be the backup. Hopefully I can recover everything!

What was it the backup to? Restore the photos and data from that.

 

[maflynn]

What was it the backup to? Restore the photos and data from that.

Sounds like he doesn't have a backup

 

[Passingby]

This happens a lot on macOS, especially if you're connected with a hub or adapter.

If the drive is using ExFat or FAT32 format, plug the drive into a PC. Windows will recognise that the directory is corrupted and ask if you want to repair it. After a minute the directory should be repaired and the drive should work. It will also work in macOS now.

This is why users should have operating systems with lots of deep features and options that aren't hidden, crippled or require IT support.

 

[niray9]

Ok, I'll investigate that. Thank you!



Unfortunately, this was housing over a decade's worth of photos and was meant to be the backup. Hopefully I can recover everything!

I had another drive with the same issue. I tried the "repair" option on Windows 10 and it worked fine for me. My filesystem was formatted to exFAT.