Mac created WD Elements drive not readable by Windows

[Markverhyden]

Thanks @phaZed for clearing it up

Oh, I know Apple don't do anything for anyone on that level. I know since beginning of MacOS, it has been difficult/impossible to really work with their filesystem external to a Mac, and even then, the tools are somewhat limited. I've done a bit of data recovery for HFS before. Its not a fun game, even with a Mac sitting on your desk.

You know, in the era of duopolies, monopolies and oligopolies, it is nice to see what competition can do, even if it also reveals the problems serious competition could do cause.


Hey, anyone remember the third party Apple computers? That was a good time. I should look to see if that actually helped Apple's marketshare or hindered.

Macintosh clone - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I don't think they really amounted to much. Remember that Apple is a hardware and software company. They licensed the OS's to other who built their own hardware. They did not use Apple parts that I'm aware of.

 

[Diggs]

under Windows tools

If you don't have a native Linux machine then boot a Linux disk and see what's there. I thought every tech had an old Linux machine in the corner of their work bench.

 

[britechguy]

I thought every tech had an old Linux machine in the corner of their work bench.

I keep thinking about converting my oldest laptop, but at least up to the present day it's more useful to have Windows 7 on it to refer back to. I tend to use bootable Linux from a thumb drive on the rare occasions I need Linux or think it would be useful. (I also have no formal work bench as most of my services are performed on site.)

 

[Markverhyden]

I keep thinking about converting my oldest laptop, but at least up to the present day it's more useful to have Windows 7 on it to refer back to. I tend to use bootable Linux from a thumb drive on the rare occasions I need Linux or think it would be useful. (I also have no formal work bench as most of my services are performed on site.)

FYI. For many years now Linux has had the feature of dual booting a machine. Been a while since I've done that but what I remember is it'll detect a functioning Winderz install. It'll shrink the partition, install grub as a boot loader and the Linux side as well. This give one direct access to the underlying hardware from inside Linux.

How To Dual Boot Linux Mint And Windows 10 [Beginner's Guide]

Brief: This guide shows you how to dual boot Linux Mint with Windows 10 and enjoy both Linux and Windows together in one system. So you have decided to switch to Linux. Good decision! And if you chose to use Linux Mint, that’s even a better decision. Linux Mint

itsfoss.com

Even simpler would be to VM it.

If you have W10 Pro - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/about/

If not Virtual Box which I believe is still free.

 

[britechguy]

@Markverhyden,

In my estimation, the juice is definitely not worth the squeeze. I just don't use Linux anywhere near to frequently enough to justify these sorts of gyrations. I'm actually waiting for WSL to ultimately support full-blown Linux distros. Sort of the flip side of what you've described Linux as already being capable of. But for daily life, there's just no rush for me.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Not sure how well a VM would be for data recovery...You need native direct access to the subject drives for that.

 

[britechguy]

Not sure how well a VM would be for data recovery...You need native direct access to the subject drives for that.

Not arguing your point, but I do want to make clear that this is NOT a data recovery effort.

There is no reason to believe that anything about the drive is "bad." It's just originally formatted for a Mac which no longer functions, and the owner wants the photos on it copied on to something that can be read (and, I presume, written) by Windows. My basic solution would be, if I could get some utility to read the thing or Linux to read the thing:

1. Copy drive contents off to another backup drive.
2. Reformat original drive to exFAT.
3. Copy the stuff that was copied back to original media that's now R/W capable under Windows.

This should not be as difficult as it has turned out to be, in my opinion. In fact, it's kinda insane in the year 2022.

 

[timeshifter]

If you had a Mac or access to one this would have been A LOT simpler.

 

[britechguy]

If you had a Mac or access to one this would have been A LOT simpler.

Hence the reason I have asked another local tech who sometimes posts here, and who does a lot of Mac work, and to whom I often refer folks with "Mac issues" who call me, for assistance.

It's been kindly offered, too, but since I just tested positive for Covid Sunday night and again yesterday morning using two different test brands, I'm not going out and about until I test negative.

Luckily the client who gave me this drive did so just as they were leaving for a 2-week vacation and the exchange occurred by handing it out of a car window.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Not arguing your point, but I do want to make clear that this is NOT a data recovery effort.

There is no reason to believe that anything about the drive is "bad." It's just originally formatted for a Mac which no longer functions, and the owner wants the photos on it copied on to something that can be read (and, I presume, written) by Windows. My basic solution would be, if I could get some utility to read the thing or Linux to read the thing:

1. Copy drive contents off to another backup drive.
2. Reformat original drive to exFAT.
3. Copy the stuff that was copied back to original media that's now R/W capable under Windows.

This should not be as difficult as it has turned out to be, in my opinion. In fact, it's kinda insane in the year 2022.

If you have to access the file system of an Alien drive format that’s a data recovery IMO.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Hence the reason I have asked another local tech who sometimes posts here, and who does a lot of Mac work, and to whom I often refer folks with "Mac issues" who call me, for assistance.

It's been kindly offered, too, but since I just tested positive for Covid Sunday night and again yesterday morning using two different test brands, I'm not going out and about until I test negative.

Luckily the client who gave me this drive did so just as they were leaving for a 2-week vacation and the exchange occurred by handing it out of a car window.

Ouch. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[timeshifter]

exchange occurred by handing it out of a car window.

And now you're on a police watch list as a suspected drug dealer

 

[britechguy]

And now you're on a police watch list as a suspected drug dealer

That'll be really, really boring for them! That is unless NyQuil and other cold symptom remedies are now contraband.

 

[britechguy]

If you have to access the file system of an Alien drive format that’s a data recovery IMO.

This is a situation where I understand your perspective, but don't share it. A drive has to be unreadable under its native drive format and OS before I consider it a data recovery. This is a data format transformation.

Also, thanks very much for the well-wishes. Thank heaven this has, so far, been very much like a very bad allergy attack (ichy eyes, runny nose) combined with a dry cough, which is intermittent. It also seems to have "peaked out" last night. I've still got the symptoms today but they're not as annoying as they were yesterday. And I attribute this outcome to having been vaxxed and boostered. I can, literally, live with Covid if the result is the same as a bad cold as opposed to a life-threatening respiratory illness. And if they come out with a booster in the fall that targets the latest variant(s) I'll still be first in line to get one.

 

[britechguy]

Update: Linux Mint 20.3 behaves in almost precisely the same way as Windows, using the Windows utilities, does.

The drive, when connected, is almost immediately recognized as a physical device with its correct brand/model designation data used in what's shown for the device identifier. But it won't mount.

It will have to be connected to a Mac to see what shows up.

 

[lcoughey]

Install macdrive.

 

[britechguy]

Install macdrive.

I'll gladly give it a try. I've still got 12 days until the client returns from vacation, so time is not of the essence.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[lcoughey]

I'll gladly give it a try. I've still got 12 days until the client returns from vacation, so time is not of the essence.

Thanks for the tip.

I believe ithe demo works without restrictions for a week, too.

 

[britechguy]

demo works without restrictions for a week

5 days, but close enough!

 

[britechguy]

Well, there's only one thing left, and that's hooking this drive up to an actual Mac and seeing what we can see (if anything). At this point I am betting that the client either gave me the wrong drive or it's actually not got anything on it.

Some screenshots from MacDrive and Windows' own utilities [note - I have done nothing except to connect the drive via USB - and the WD Elements drive is it]

1. Macdrive asks me to connect a Mac drive, and the main screen stays just like this:


2. Mac Drive's Disk Manager


Windows Disk Management:


Windows Device Manager and associated properties tabs for the drive