USB external HDD Formatting - Failed - what am I doing wrong .

[Percy-Vering]

I have been given a Mac Mini with the following specification

Mac Mini 3.6 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i3
macOS Sonoma Version – 14.1.1
Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

I wanted to use a portable USB HDD on this Mac Mini .

I first plugged in to the Mac Mini a new USB portable HDD and carried out the steps as shown in the screen shot ( A / B / C / D )

The operation failed ( D ) .

Can some one please tell me what am I doing wrong .


Thanks

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[DeltaMac]

Change the "Scheme" from Master Boot Record (MBR) to GUID.
Unless there is a reason you need to keep the drive as MBR, and it might not help with the erase, but worth trying, I think.
And, it's a spinning hard drive, right? An SSD external would be a better match for your "new" mini, which has an SSD for internal storage.
Finally, Sonoma has had some reported struggles with some USB devices, so it might be worth it to simply let your mini update to current 14.4

 

[Percy-Vering]

Hi and Thank you .

I changed the formatting setting to GUID ( see screen shot )

Then I clicked ..... Erase

Then the Erasing Seagate started , but that formatting operation carried on for over 30 Minuets without stopping , and as I write this , its still carrying on but the Done button is grayed out . So I can't stop the formatting .

Video Link Below

Formatting Will not stop

I have nearly 1TB of music , so thats why I purchased a spinning HHD ( a lot cheaper )

As for updating the OS , I don't really have enough HDD space left .

I'm lost as what to try next


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[Fishrrman]

OP:

Did the seagate drive come with its own software? If so, you need to REMOVE ALL 3rd party software on it BEFORE re-formatting.

You can go to the Seagate website and download the utility that will do this.

Once that's done...
- open disk utility
- IMPORTANT: go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".
- Look at the "list on the left" and locate the Seagate drive
- There may be several "lines" for the Seagate. The TOP line [within the Seagate group] is the physical drive itself. All lines below the top line represent logical volumes/partitions on the drive.
- You want to click on the top line [physical drive] for the Seagate to select it.
- NOW click the "erase" button.
- I will assume this is NOT going to be "a bootable drive", right?
- OK, then you want to format it to "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
(NOT "MBR")

How does it go now?

 

[Percy-Vering]

OP:

Did the seagate drive come with its own software? If so, you need to REMOVE ALL 3rd party software on it BEFORE re-formatting.

You can go to the Seagate website and download the utility that will do this.

Once that's done...
- open disk utility
- IMPORTANT: go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".
- Look at the "list on the left" and locate the Seagate drive
- There may be several "lines" for the Seagate. The TOP line [within the Seagate group] is the physical drive itself. All lines below the top line represent logical volumes/partitions on the drive.
- You want to click on the top line [physical drive] for the Seagate to select it.
- NOW click the "erase" button.
- I will assume this is NOT going to be "a bootable drive", right?
- OK, then you want to format it to "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
(NOT "MBR")

How does it go now?

Hi and thanks for taking the time to offer the advice.

The Seagate USB drive ( Seagate Backup Plus 2TB ) came in a box and had no separate paper instructions in the box or on the box that mentioned any software or what to first do .

I'm having a problem locating the Seagate Utility that will remove all 3rd party software , so far I can only find this Link shown below ....


Seagate Info


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[Fishrrman]

Software and Firmware Downloads | Support Seagate US

Download industry leading disk drive utilities, formatting tools, and data backup management applications.

www.seagate.com

 

[Percy-Vering]

Hi and thanks for the Seagate Link , its appreciated

So I downloaded the Seagate Tool Kit app and it installed , I then plugged into my Mac Mini the the Seagate USB drive ( Seagate Backup Plus 2TB ). then a notice came onto the desktop saying .... The disk you attached was not readable by this computer ....

Then I clicked ..... Initialise

Then the Disk utility came on the desktop ( screen shot A-2 ) that showed the Seagate USB drive was there .

Then the Seagate tool kit icon came on screen and showed that no drive was connected ( screen shot A-3 )

So although the Seagate USB drive is showing up on the Disk utility , the Seagate tool kit can not see it .

I'm not sure whats going on .


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[DeltaMac]

The drive won't successfully format.
It is not visible in the Seagate Tool Kit.
That suggests that you should get the drive replaced.
Be sure to try a different USB connection cable on the drive (if the cable can be disconnected, and is not a built-in cable.
You should have a warranty on a new-in-the-box hard drive, and should take advantage of that. I did a warranty return to Seagate for a different model external (maybe about 5 years ago), and that was a relatively trouble-free return.
Your warranty on a new external storage drive will be at least 2 years, maybe up to 5 (depending on the model, and how it is sold)

 

[Percy-Vering]

Hi and thanks , it does seem that theres some thing wrong with this new USB drive , I thought I would have one last go at formatting this new Seagate 2TB USB drive , and now after doing that , the Seagate 2TB USB drive is showing up on the desk top , but this time its showing its capacity as only 500GB, and still the Seagate Tool Kit , can't see the 500GB USB shown on the desk top.now - I'm even more confused.

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[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I guess you have only 1 external device, which is the Seagate disk.
If that's the case, then move your cursor to the Mass Storage Device Media and try erasing it.

 

[HDFan]

I would get it replaced to confirm that the drive is causing the problems. With all of the issues you have had it is a risk even if you get it working. No guarantee that the problems won't return.

 

[winxmac]

On Disk Utility, try clicking View then Show All Devices... Select the drive (or brand) then click Erase and see if that helps...

 

[Percy-Vering]

Thanks , I opened Disk Utility and made sure that '' All devices '' was selected , then tried to Erase the drive
The erasing went ok , but instead of the original 2TB disk size being shown , it only now shows 500 GB.

Sadly I think it may be time to throw this new Seagate USB drive in the rubbish bin ( the online shop where I purchases it from will not replace it under warranty )


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[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

There is a possibility that you got scammed and bought a faked disk. This scam was dated back to 2016.
The real physical disk is only 500GB, but somehow the scammer managed to create a volume which seems like 2TB. The label on the box is easy for scammers.

If you are going to ditch it anyway, just for fun and seeking of truth, you can pry it open to see what's really inside. At least open the case and read the label on the internal HDD...

How to deal with the scamming online shop is up to you.

 

[Percy-Vering]

I removed the drive from its USB external case and this is the Drive in side ....

I can't see the 2TB number mentioned any where on this drive


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[winxmac]

Seagate external drive with 2TB capacity but only shows 500GB on Disk Utility with a Hitachi sticker showing 320GB

9 Ways to Test Real Drive Capacity (and Spot a Fake)

 

[Percy-Vering]

Ive just searched online the P/N as shown on the drive ..... Seagate Part Number H2T320854S7

the search results come up with this ......

So its saying the drive is .....320GB

But why is it showing ...... 500.11 GB on the Disk Utility

Now I'm really confused .




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[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Ive just searched online the P/N as shown on the drive ..... Seagate Part Number H2T320854S7

the search results come up with this ......



View attachment 2360296


So its saying the drive is .....320GB

But why is it showing ...... 500.11 GB on the Disk Utility

Now I'm really confused .




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That label is also a mess of fake.

 

[Percy-Vering]

I just registered the Seagate USB 2TB HDD on the Seagate product website using the serial number shown on the box that the drive came in. Serial Number .... NA9YKLJZ

And the Seagate web site showed this below ....

Now its really getting Crazy .



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[eldho]

Then the Erasing Seagate started , but that formatting operation carried on for over 30 Minuets without stopping , and as I write this , its still carrying on but the Done button is grayed out . So I can't stop the formatting .

My condolences re all of the problems you have had including the fraud.

In reference to the quote: erasing HDD does take real time as each part of it has to be dealt with. In the past I have left this process going for hours overnight when I wanted to have three passes for security. An SSD is virtually instant in comparison as all it has to delete is the addressing sector and that needs only one pass to be fully secure. Oh the bliss of having an all SSD set up now!

 

[Percy-Vering]

Hi and thanks for your comment 👍

I'm still a bit confused by all the things that Ive seen on my Mac Mini when trying to format the new Seagate 2TB drive , I'm still wondering if in some way all these problems trying to format the Seagate drive have been caused by my self
because this is the first Mac computer I have ever had and I'm just starting out on the learning process .

So the bottom line is, that it looks like this new Seagate 2TB drive is in fact some sort of fake .


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[eldho]

Your problems could all be stemming from what I have observed from looking back through this thread. In looking back up the thread and re your No9 post it shows that you have not managed to follow the instructions in the No4 post. You need to click on the view button at the top left of the menu bar to show all devices and then select the top option on the left column which is the actual disk. You need to follow these instructions in order to have any chance of formatting the whole disk otherwise you are dealing with only part of the disk. The other instructions should be easy enough to follow then, including the GUID partition format for general use. Good luck! This is confusing stuff so please don't beat yourself up which is too easy to do. Hopefully this helps your problems to get resolved.

It is even possible that there is nothing wrong with the disk despite the confusing details you have found. You should find that out if you manage to follow the instructions okay.

 

[Percy-Vering]

Hi and thank you .

I just followed the advice .... ( seem screen shots )

This is what happened ( above )



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[eldho]

Oh dear - I can't see anything wrong with what you have done here. Is your HDD plugged directly into your machine? That can apparently make the difference at times if a hub is not working properly.

 

[HDFan]

it may be time to throw this new Seagate USB drive in the rubbish bin ( the online shop where I purchases it from will not replace it under warranty )

Did they sell it as new? If you charged it and they offered no replacement or refund I would dispute the charge with my credit card company.