Problem External Drive

S

shylo

Registered
My external drive is starting up and then automatically ejecting - does anyone know what is wrong? It's plugged into my my Mac by usb but when I connect the power cable it automatically turns off my Mac - also it doesn't need the power cable to work on other peoples laptops. It is showing under the sub section of system information but not in the finder - although the he settings are set to show in the Finder.

Thanks
 
It could be a number of reasons to the problem. First - what is on the external? (backup ? files of images or music? Or is it your startup disk? )
Was it formatted using Disk Utility before you started using it?
Did you install anything or upgrade/update anything right before this trouble began?
What version of Mac OS are you running?
 
I am running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 - I am trying to download some music software called Logic Pro 9 - I haven't installed or updated anything, and I havent formatted the external disk drive. This is the first time I've used the external drive and the laptop has recently been wiped so it's only the third or so time I'm actually using the laptop. I've been searching the last couple of days how to format the disk drive and if it's compatible and there's nothing on the internet explaining it!
 
Some people say it may not be compatible, some say they are all compatible but you have to format them - but no one has been able to give any sort of guidance on how to find out or go about doing something.
 
shylo said:
It's not an external hard drive but a disk drive because my laptop doesn't have a disk slot
Click to expand...
Ah, OK...
The external drive is not a hard drive, but an optical drive, which will read CDs and DVDs. Is that correct?
The optical drive is just a hardware device used to read and write to optical disks, and will not appear on your desktop until you insert a CD or DVD. Then, assuming the Finder Preferences allow it, you will see the disk appear on your desktop.
You do not need to format anything. A USB DVD drive will work, and you need to insert a disk in the drive so it can be used :D
Double click to open, or select it from the sidebar list (under Devices), and you will then be able to install your software.

You are running Yosemite (OS X 10.10.5)
From what I read, you may find that Logic Pro 9 is not going to perform very well, and you should probably upgrade to Logic Pro X, which requires the OS X version that you are using (OS X 10.10) or higher.
 
Just to make sure I understand... You have a CD/DVD drive connected USB to your laptop. You are inserting a DVD to install software and it is ejecting immediately.

First - check the DVD - is it for a Mac install? Check for fingerprints or dust on the disk. Is it a new disk or one that you acquired from someone?
Next - check the disk drive - is it a CD drive or a combo - CD/DVD? Is it a reader or a read/writer?
What brand/model is the disk drive? There are some older models that were incompatible to the Mac.

It could very well be that you have an older model that will not work with your Mac.
 
Yes it's a copy that a friend has given to me - he bought it back when one copy can be used on multiple devices - I've tried cleaning it as you do but it could be old and slightly scratched maybe. However I doubt this is the problem because there are multiple CDs for the download and I have tried entering two or three different ones and the same thing happens for all of them. Yea it will spin a few times and then stop - it tries about three times and then finally ejects. All I can tell from the disk drive is that is says 'compact disk' on the front. Other than that I have no idea. Are you sure that some are incompatible? I went into a techy/computer shop the other day and asked someone and the manager told me that all are compatible you just have to format them- but maybe he misunderstood my talk of a disk drive for an external hard drive. And yes the cd has an apple sign on it and says Mac on it - I believe Logic Pro is owned by Apple as it has the trademark on the disk. Thanks so much for your help
 
Multiple CD disk for one install means that it is an old version. Your present machine most likely - does not recognize the a) format of the CD OR b) the old version of the installer.

Can you try that drive with a music CD? See if it is recognized, iTunes starts up and it plays.
 
Good idea - I will do that tomorrow and let you know how it goes - I have been lending the drive from my house mate who uses it daily so I have given it back to her - but then I will be able to know I guess whether it is the drive or the CD! Good shout, thanks.
 
There official link from apple support: https://support.apple.com/downloads/SuperDrive_Firmware_Update_3_0
Chek out this,and dowload last version driver.;)

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