[slick70+]

The 250GB buffalo external USB drive just doesn't appear when I plug it into my new macbook. It works with my mini.

Can I force the macbook to find it?

Probably a daft newbie question, but it's driving me nuts!

Many thanks

[richwig83]

have u tested the USB port with another device to test the port???

[chipchen]

1. Test your USB port with something else.

2. Go to Applications > Utitlities > Disk Utility, does it show up on the left?

3. Try restarting while it's still plugged in. (the hard drive that is)

4. Reset PRAM. (hold down CMD, OPTION, "P", and "R" right after startup chime... wait to hear a total of three chimes and let go)

[marcowashere]

If you have an external drive with dual ports (firewire and USB) try that to see what result you get. Also, have you tried both the USB ports? To test it's not a hardware problem boot from your restore DVD with the USB drive plugged in and see if the installer sees the drive.

[slick70+]

The USB port does work with a flashpen

I worked around the issue by using my wireless network & copying files over the network. It's pretty slow.

What is PRAM and are there any ill effects of resetting it?

I was surprised that it didn't "just work"

Thanks for the advice guys

[richwig83]

Mac OS X: What's stored in PRAM?