Help!!!!

[wogboy]

I just bought a Seagate hard drive in an external enclosure. I've assemble it (?) and it will show in disc utility but won't mount on the desktop. Any idea's as to what I should do?

thanks

Luigi

[aplowe]

You probably just need to Erase (partition and format) the disk, since hard disks are usually supplied blank (un-formatted).

In Disk Utility: select the disk, click on the 'Erase' tab, then select the appropriate format for the disk (see below). Click on the 'Erase' button and respond appropriately to the predictable warnings.

"Mac OS Extended (Journaled)": for system disks (you want to install OS X on the external disk) or you prefer to play safe.
"Mac OS Extended": for scratch disks - where a slight performance gain is more important than the safety of the data stored on the disk.

The disk should mount automatically at the end of the process and whenever you subsequently plug it in. If you ever want to unplug it while the Mac is on, drag it to the Trash and wait a second or two first.

If you already know all this, Disk Utility is reporting nonsense and/or Disk Utility refuses to Erase the disk try the following:- a different cable; check that the disk's jumpers are set to 'master'; test the enclosure with another disk; test the disk in another enclosure; try another Mac. Your local Apple store/dealer may be able to help with the more desperate options - especially if you are willing to pay an engineer to do it for you!

Good luck,

Adam.