Using old hdd in a caddy

Bobsyeruncle

Bobsyeruncle

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Hi guys
Picked up a 21/2" caddy. Put my old mac hdd into it and plugged it in but my macbook isn't finding it....
I replaced the hdd with a new ssd as it was getting slow.
Macbook is fine and I thought I could use the old hdd as external storage.

Any thoughts on getting it to work?

Cheers
 
Hi,

USB?
Is the caddy powered, or USB powered - try a different USB port, preferably one on the Mac if you have the caddy plugged into a hub, etc.
Can you see the USB device in About This Mac : System Report : USB
or in : Storage in the same window
Can you see it in Disk Utility?

Have you rebooted?
 
What OS version is the Macbook running?
Do you know what file system the drive was formatted with?
 
Pound Coin said:
Hi,

USB?
Is the caddy powered, or USB powered - try a different USB port, preferably one on the Mac if you have the caddy plugged into a hub, etc.
Can you see the USB device in About This Mac : System Report : USB
or in : Storage in the same window
Can you see it in Disk Utility?

Have you rebooted?
Click to expand...
Hi
It's usb powered.
Plugged straight into macbook.
Not seeing it anywhere.
Tried disk utility as well, but not showing.
 
Tori_T said:
What OS version is the Macbook running?
Do you know what file system the drive was formatted with?
Click to expand...
I'm using Catalina
The hdd was formatted to be used as the only hdd in my macbook.
I had backup of everything so I just removed the old hdd and started from scratch with the new ssd.
 
What version was the hdd first installed with, and what version was it running when it was removed?
 
Do you have another disk you can plug into the caddy to see if the is a caddy fault. I'm assuming the disk is straight out of the Mac, and therefore you know it works?
 
Pound Coin said:
Do you have another disk you can plug into the caddy to see if the is a caddy fault. I'm assuming the disk is straight out of the Mac, and therefore you know it works?
Click to expand...
The disk was starting to play up, thats why I got the ssd.
I think it's more likely my disk that's the issue, but I still thought it would be recognised.
I just wondered if there was something I needed to do other than just place it in the caddy and plug the caddy into the mac.
I don't have another hdd unfortunately.
 
Last edited:
If it’s a “proper” spinny 3.5” HDD then it’s most likely going to need a 12v supply line as well as 5v - USB can only supply 5v so my first guess is that the disk isn’t getting the power it needs to run.
For a 3.5” HDD you’d need a powered caddy (2.5” laptop format HDDs are 5v but a single USB port might not be able to provide enough power hence some of the “double ended” usb cables you sometimes see).
 
Last edited:
Krisstiffer said:
If it’s a “proper” spinny 3.5” HDD then it’s most likely going to need a 12v supply line as well as 5v - USB can only supply 5v so my first guess is that the disk isn’t getting the power it needs to run.
For a 3.5” HDD you’d need a powered caddy (2.5” laptop format HDDs are 5v but a single USB port might not be able to provide enough power hence some of the “double ended” usb cables you sometimes see).
Click to expand...
It's a 2.5" HDD from a Macbook.
When I plug it in, the blue light on the caddy flashes then goes solid.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
When I plug it in, the blue light on the caddy flashes then goes solid.
Click to expand...
Have you checked it from Disk Utility? If you can see it in Disk Utility, try running a full repair on it.
 
It's probably the disk that's goosed I think.
Feels like its trying to spin.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
It's probably the disk that's goosed I think.
Feels like its trying to spin.
Click to expand...

Is still possibly a lack of power - at spin up it’s when the HDD needs the most current and a USB port might not be able to supply what the drive needs - especially if it’s a usb 2 port that’s typically rated at 500mA max delivery.......
 
Krisstiffer said:
Is still possibly a lack of power - at spin up it’s when the HDD needs the most current and a USB port might not be able to supply what the drive needs
Click to expand...
I think that's unlikely. I've used many 2.5" HDDs on Mac USB ports and never needed to supply extra current. Our home server is in fact a MacBook Air and happily runs two 1TB drives off a single USB port. 3.5" drives are, of course, quite a different matter.
 
Cool it down (put a freezer block over/under it separated by a tea towel or similar), and see it you get any difference.
 
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