I've been using my external HDDs with a docking station on my 27" iMac (2017 model) without issues for about 8 years. Recently, I've had a series of problems with them. One drive failed earlier this year, and I replaced it, switching names between my main and backup drives. Now, I've hit a wall: both my external HDDs, a WD Passport, and a Seagate SSD are all unreadable, and Disk Utility is recommending that I reformat all of them. I've managed to back up some essential files, but certain files aren't copying over, and I keep getting error messages. I'm considering wiping my Mac and reinstalling the OS to see if that resolves the issue. Before I take drastic measures, does anyone have suggestions on what to do?
1 Answer
It might be worth replacing the docking station. The controller could be faulty, which could be causing all these read issues. As a temporary fix, you can use USB HDD adapters you find online. If you have an older dock, try connecting your drives through that to confirm if the current dock is the problem.
If the dock is faulty, would that also affect drives that are connected directly via USB?
I have an older dock I can try. I’ll do that ASAP.