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My new iMac can"t "see" my external HD

A

Amblinman

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 31, 2007
208
0
Got a brand new 24" iMac today. My first Mac and so far I can't believe it's taken me this long to join in the fun. However, I've tried transferring my pc stuff over using an external Maxtor HD and I cannot get the Mac to "see" the HD.

Anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance.
 
If the hard drive is BUS powered, make sure you plug it in the back of the computer, not the keyboard.

The Mac should be able to read FAT, FAT32 and NTFS drives, but it won't be able to write to an NTFS.

Have you tried any other external drive devices, like a USB stick?
 
Unfortunately I'm not tech savvy enough to know what format the HD is in. I bought it a couple of years ago for use with my pc.

It sounds like this might be easier with a memory stick of some kind?
 
to find the format of your external drive is easy... plug it into your windows machine...go to my computer and right click on the external drive and go to properties...all the info you need is there...
p.s...i also have just got a 24" imac...i maxed it up to 4 gig of ram....and installed vista ultimate...it is really nice to have the best of both worlds right there...good luck
stever
 
Amblinman said:
Got a brand new 24" iMac today. My first Mac and so far I can't believe it's taken me this long to join in the fun. However, I've tried transferring my pc stuff over using an external Maxtor HD and I cannot get the Mac to "see" the HD.

Anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Hi i had the same problem but with a western digital.Make sure ure mac is updated with the latest software.and security updates.it worked for me after i did that.The firewire drive worked and no issues now.If its usb, it should work automatically tho its slower.
 
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another thing you could try is logging out and back in (the "apple" symbol in the upper left of the desktop). That worked for me when the external drive gets buggy.
 
First, I'd like to thank all of you for your suggestions and advice.

I just wanted to let you know it was my Mac that figured out how to transfer my files without any help from me! I have a wireless network set up at home and to start I decided I would just run the iMac wirelessly. I had NO idea that it had already joined my network and can "see" my desktop PC. So I transferred all of my files that way without a hitch.

It's not my fault for not noticing at first - it's Bill Gates's. He trained me to never assume any technology will work out of the box and actually do what it claims to do.
 
Good to see you got your files across mate. You might want to put a password on that PC if you haven't already, to make it a bit more difficult for potential hackers.
 
im having the same issure my new imac can't see my mybook pro though the firewire 800 port? anyone have this same issue?
 
mad jew said:
Good to see you got your files across mate. You might want to put a password on that PC if you haven't already, to make it a bit more difficult for potential hackers.
Click to expand...

I went one better - the moment I completed my file transfers, I disconnected the PC and took it off the desk, never to be used again.

It's just me and my iMac now. :)
 
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