external firewire drive not seen in tiger

C

c merlin

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I have an imac g5 (pre intel) and a Lacie 20 gig Pocketdrive Firewire. I cannot get the drive to be seen in tiger. I have tried repairing the disk permissions - in disk utlility, I have checked the cord ( I know it works) and I have checked the drive (works fine at work on panther (at work) - plug and play just like it's supposed to be.) I've searched the net for answers but come up empty. I'm hoping that you guys can give me the solution. What else can I try? I've been a mac user for a few years but I'm not super techy - I'm frustrated that I can't take data from work and load it on my computer at home. I appreciate your help.
 
Suggestion:
01. Click on the 'Desktop', to bring 'Finder' forward.
02. Select 'Finder's 'Finder, Preferences... ' menu item. A window will appear.
03. Click on the window's toolbar's 'General' icon button.
04. Make sure the 'Show these items on the Desktop:'s 'CDs, DVDs, and iPods' check box has a check mark. I am presuming it does not. Once its check box is check marked - all external volumes will be listed on the 'Desktop'.

Or ...

Launch 'Disk Utility' (in the '/Applications/Utilites/' folder) and note whether or not the external volume is listed in the left side list. If so, click on the indented icon (the one with the 'name' of the volume, and not the '... GB ...' title), and then the toolbar's 'Mount' button. If not, the iMac G5 is not recognizing the external volume ... for some unknown reason.
 
I am Having the same problem with my Seagate external hard drive I got today! I've tried everthing disk utility, plugs, USB connection (I can see it's connected) everything...... I'm at a loss :(
 
Tried your suggestions, no dice!
I checked the finder - all the checkmarks are on.
In Disk Utility - it doesn't see the pocket drive.
I checked Lacie - I have all the latest drivers as they were installed in my os.

Anything else I can try?
 
Does it work on any machine? It could be in some format that Mac OS doesn't understand, some windows format. You drive could be faulty too.. does it say it works with mac on the package?
 
No - Drive is not faulty - I took it into a mac dealer had them try it on their mac - also running tiger - and it saw it just fine. Showed on the desktop and everything. That's when I knew that the cord was also not faulty. He was the one that suggested that I repair the disk permissions...unfortunately this didn't solve the situation.

The only thing I haven't tested are the actual firewire ports - unfortuately I don't have any other firewire peripherials to test with. It's a brand new G5...I really think this has to be an OS problem.
 
Power off the G5, unplug the power cord and wait 20 minutes.
Plug it back in and boot up - this should reset the Firewire ports.
 
Tried this too....Nope! Argh!

I unplugged the cord - let it sit for 20 min - powered up - then plugged in the fw drive. Same as before - the light on the front of the drive lights up for a second but then goes out. It's like it gives the drive power for a second - but then doesn't bother to read the drive.
 
tiger at home. (doesn't work here )

panther at work. (works fine here)

Please read my first post and then you'll be up to speed with all that I have been able to diagnose.
 
Just clarifying..
Do you have the latest updates?
Are you sure that the port is not faulty?
Can you read any external drives?
 
Not sure. I don't have anything else FW to check with. Brand new imac. I've only had it since Christmas. Had to take it in for repair for faulty cd/dvd drive though. Maybe I have a lemon? If there is nothing else in the os to check - then I'll have to take it in I guess.
 
Oh - and I have the latest updates....
I've contacted Lacie too - maybe they have a history on these drives. I'll have to wait til monday for a respose though.
 
Sorry Folks, but this problem is bigger than a simple Finder Prefs/Disk Utility/Unplug-Plug cord solution (et. al. the running list of redundant nonsolutions. BTW, those solutions work if you really don't have a serious problem). As many of you may have noticed, myriads of 3rd party devices are having problems mounting to the DeskTop. We are not alone. Do a search, online, and you will find sites that have a long list of 3rd party FW devices not working since the 10.4.4/10.4.5 OSX updates. Apple has it's hands full & seems to be in a dither about how to fix it, since the FW problem has not yet been resolved with a patch.

To those who have found their way out of this mess—congratulations!!

To those who haven't, be patient, or you'll do something hasty. My FW device was tested by 2 Mac specialists & their was nothing wrong with my device. It mounted just fine to their computers. The difference, between their Macs & mine, was that they hadn't upgraded to 10.4.4/10.4.5.
 
I am starting to realize this. The tech guy from Lacie is supposed to be calling me soon - so maybe he will have some fix....I'll keep you posted.

The only other thing I was going to try was to mount the hard drive using usb. Unfortunately I don't have a spare power supply. I am hoping a friend may have one - then I can see if this is a firewire problem alone - or whether this is a third party hard drive problem.

Thanks for your post and for everyone else who has replied. I know I am not alone in this problem. It is comforting to see that there are others who share my frustration. Until I get this drive up and running I have resorted to burning CD and DVDs.

I'll Keep you posted when I find out more.
 
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