Q: Help! I fired up my Mac G4 today and can’t see any of its external FireWire hard drives. I restarted and “zapped my PRAM,” but this did not help. Disk Utility cannot even see the drives so I can’t mount them. Have I lost all my files? Please tell me I haven’t!
A: Unfortunately, we can’t promise you haven’t lost your data. (You are backing up your important files aren’t you?) Here’s something you can try, (though it sounds like you may have suffered a drive failure, in which case this won’t help):
First, power down your entire system (including all hard drives). Unplug the power cable from the back of your Mac so there is no way any power can be trickling into it. Then, leave it overnight (some say 3-4 hours, but we feel better with a longer “time out”). Okay, the next morning, before anything else, swap out at least one FireWire cable, so that there is a different cable between your Mac and the first FireWire drive in your chain (if you have a chain, of course). Now, power up your drives, then reattach the power cable to your Mac and turn it on. Check if you can see your FireWire drives again, or at least able to see them using Disk Utility, after which you can manually mount them.
At this point, if you are still not seeing the drives, it’s time to consult our service department. Good luck!