I NEED HELP FROM A PROPELLER HEAD OR A TECH FAST!!!

[Magus]

I just bought this 5Tb external drive to back up my movie and music collection, it will take all kinds of files BUT videos, what am I doing wrong? after a few seconds it tells me it "can not find device". and stops transfer.

 

[Peanut]

The drive doesn't care about file type. What software are you using.

 

[Haertig]

Try one thing listed below at a time. If you do something and it fixes it, you don't want to have to wonder which of the three things you did at the same time was the solution. In other words, change one thing and test. If it doesn't fix it, put it back the way it was and change a different thing. This is how you isolate the cause. A problem can be caused by multiple things feeding on each other. So once you're exhausted changing/testing individual things you may need to advance to trying multiples. e.g., if you have a bad connector on your USB cable, the cable will need to be replaced. But while you were using that cable with the bad connector, it could have damaged the plug you were inserting it into in your computer. This is a case where you have two problems intermixed.

Anyway, some things to try:

Try a different USB port on your computer. If you are using a front USB port, try a port on the back (they often times use different controllers between front and back). If the usb cable connected to the drive is removable, try a different cable. Make sure all cable connections are firm and tight. Some external drives may be powered by just the USB port, while others require an external power cord. If your drive has a place to connect external power and you are not using that, connect the power cord. It is possible a drive that requires external power may kindof/sometimes almost work without that external power. Then you plug it in on a different occasion and it doesn't work reliably. I would recommend that if a drive comes with an external power cord, always use that cord even if it may appear optional to you. USB ports on a computer can and do put out different levels of power. Some may work powering a particular external drive, but others may not.

If you're running Windows, reboot the computer. That is actually the first thing you should try for any Windows computer problem. I should have mentioned this first.

If you know where to find them, look at system logfiles for warnings and errors. I'm assuming that you run Windows. I run Linux, so I can't tell you where to go to review system logs on modern versions of Windows.

You can also review SMART data for our drive. Do all the other stuff above first - interpreting SMART data is not easy. SMART has to be enabled and you need to run software to view the data. Again, assuming Windows, I'm at a loss to tell you where/how you use SMART on that OS. The data is the same as I'd see on Linux, but how you access it is different.

 

[zoomzoom]

How big are the video files?

 

[Magus]

Thanks, guys, apparently it craps itself when I try to move more than one folder at a time, sometimes more than one movie at a time, it seems to be a power hog.

 

[SoJer]

I just bought this 5Tb external drive to back up my movie and music collection, it will take all kinds of files BUT videos... after a few seconds it tells me it "can not find device". and stops transfer.

OK, couple questions:

- What 'OS' are you running - Mac or PC (and - just answer the question, let's Not get into 'religious wars', here,.. Reason being:
- If it's a Mac - Then, yes - I would suspect a 'bad USB-port', more-so than 'file format' or anything else..
- If it's a Windoze PC.. What is the Drive 'formatted As' (ie: NTFS? 'FAT-32'?) If it's Just 'FAT-32' - and NOT "exFAT" - That is Quite Possibly your issue.
For whatever Whackadoodle-Windoze "Reasons" (ok, ok, I said No religious wars, and here I am, chucking Rocks.. (but I can't Help it! there's this PITA 'File-size Limit thing', when transferring files Larger than 4GB.. So, it Could be that.. Check / lettuce know..

- How 'old' is this 5TB External (I know you "just Bought it", but.. Was it 'used' / second-hand, etc? And, is it an 'SSD' or a "Hard Drive" (spinning-platter drive) IF a 'true' spun-platter HD.. it Could be bad sectors / drive, itself.. I have Seen drives be Reeeeaal glitchy / sensitive when Over 2TB..

- Lastly, what Is the connection - USB-B? or C? (or, something Else (ie: 'Firewire') That's - also - a possibility (Bad Port.. or just a Bad Cable.. Try Others (Ports and/or Cables) I know 'money is tight', etc, but.. Is something to check out / try to Test..

Just a few ideas to try, Fwiw..
jd

 

[Magus]

PC W O/S 10
NTFS on all.
Possibly. a windows update this morning seems to have fixed it for whatever reason, but now its Sssslllowwwww!
NIB never used.
Like I say, it's going now, but I'll be all week just backing up movies (3Tb or so).

 

[Haertig]

I hate to state the obvious, but you are plugging the drive into a USB3 port aren't you? Many computers have both USB2 and USB3 ports. If you are using a really old USB cable to connect the drive, try a newer one.

 

[SLADE]

How long will you be gone this time when your compuitator crashes and burns?

 

[OldSchool]

PC W O/S 10
NTFS on all.
Possibly. a windows update this morning seems to have fixed it for whatever reason, but now its Sssslllowwwww!
NIB never used.
Like I say, it's going now, but I'll be all week just backing up movies (3Tb or so).

Could be that the proper drivers are not installed. There's software to help with that, but it's been so long since I've had to use it.... I don't have recommendations. That and some computers are just slow transferring files, it has to do with the 'chipset'. I went thru that before with a newer computer that was slow compared to an older computer.

Some of updates need time to settle-in.... and soak-up resources during the process. Give it some time before overworking, re-boot it a couple times.

 

[OldSchool]

How long will you be gone this time when your compuitator crashes and burns?

I wonder if he got one of those battery back-up things. I forget what they're called, but the computer runs off the battery full time, eliminating direct power fluctuations. When plugged-in the unit charges the battery, rather than feed power directly to the computer.

 

[OldSchool]

As long as I'm rambling.... Here's an idea @Magus

Bring up 'task manager' and look to see if your resources are being over-tasked. If so you can see what is soaking-up your memory or overworking your CPU.

If all is well there and your computer is cruising along near idle... you got another problem that could be related to drivers. If a driver disk came with the external hard drive - use it.