Unable to read external HDD after plugging it to a Mac (previously it is readable via a Windows PC)

AK 37 · Jan 1, 2014

Hi all,

Firstly, a Happy New Year 2014 !!

I am using a Samsung M2 Portable 3 500GB for my Windows 7 PC. A few days back, my gf used my HDD on her Mac - she wanted to see some of the pictures we took together.

I was not around and she was also not able to remember if she formatted/ deleted the data on the HDD. I am unable to find any files/ pics on the Mac and I am also unable to read the HDD on my PC.

I am really lost now and I will greatly appreciate any help. The pics and documents are very important to us.

If there is any other information I need to supply, please let me know.

Thanks in advance and God Bless.

noidea_77 · Jan 1, 2014

Do you see the disk in disk management or not at all? If it shows in disk management, what filesystem is it?

popatim · Jan 1, 2014

Have you tried plugging the drive back into the mac and seeing if themac can see and use the drive?

I ask because the normal foramt (NTFS) that windows uses cant be read on by Mac and it mayhave asked her to format the drive to begin using it. The other format externals like to use for compatibility is fat32 which works on both systems.

So IF you can use the drive on her Mac without doing anything then she formatted the drive on you.

Another possibility that happens all the time with external drives is disconnecting them without first using 'safely eject' first (I'm not sure what terminology Mac uses but its there) and this can easily corrupt or even damage the drive.

AK 37 · Jan 2, 2014

Hi guys,

Appreciate the prompt replies.

noidea_77 - unable to see the disk in disk management and also cannot read the external HDD ...

popatim - She did not do the proper eject - she just plug it out. I tried to save some files on her Mac into the HDD and it worked. Sigh ... seems that she has indeed formatted the drive

Moving forward, any solutions (cheap and affordable - less than USD$50) to recover the data ?

Thanks again !!

noidea_77 · Jan 2, 2014

AK 37 :

No way to recover any files, if it doesn't show in disk management. Can you try it again on the Mac? Would surprise me, if it shows there now.

CompGee · Jan 2, 2014

Plug it back into the Windows PC and copy all files to the Windows PC. Then partition 50% of the drive for NTFS. The other half is going to be Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

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Unable to read external HDD after plugging it to a Mac (previously it is readable via a Windows PC)

AK 37

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noidea_77

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AK 37

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noidea_77

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CompGee

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