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- External Hard Drive For Video Storage
Equip yourself with the WD 4TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive. This unit is the perfect solution for any savvy video editor. Equipped with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility, the drive suits various file storage applications. Store recording sessions and video files with the best external hard drives for Mac and PC – options from 250GB to 50TB (Image credit: Getty/Andrew Balcombe/EyeEm) Buying the best external hard drive is no more glamorous than buying home insurance. There, we said it. Using an external hard drive with a gaming PC or a video game console can be a little tricky because games need fast access to a lot of data and it can be tough to find one that's up to the task. If you're buying an external hard drive specifically for video games, search for models that are explicitly compatible with your setup.
Summary :
- An external drive is an additional storage space where you can store your files to free up important space for your internal drive. External hard drives are available in varying storage capacities, but all can be connected to a computer either by USB, eSATA, FireWire, or wirelessly through Bluetooth.
- May 26, 2020 An external hard drive is the perfect solution. They offer the most storage capacity for the lowest cost and are effortlessly easy to use. If you're planning on using your external storage when you're frequently on the go, we'd recommend a portable hard drive or SSD instead, as they're smaller and don't require a separate power supply.
How to use an external hard drive? In this article, you can know how to add an external drive to your computer. In addition, you are offered the way to manage, use and maintain an external hard drive. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a good tool to help you to manage the drive.
Quick Navigation :
What Is an External Hard Drive
An external hard drive is a portable storage device that can be attached to a computer wirelessly,or through a USB FireWire connection. It becomes more and more popular in computer users for the following benefits:
- It is portable. An external hard drive can be connected to almost all computers because they have a USB port. Therefore, you can easily pick up your external hard drive, take it out and connect it to another computer.
- It comes with a high storage capacity. An external hard drive can store much larger data than a USB flash drive. It helps a lot if you are found of videos or audios, whichtake up a large amount of disk space. In addition, you can use it to store lots of photos, entire programs, and more on it.
- It is a safe Backup Device. To avoid data loss, you can use an external hard drive to back up your files and programs. After system crashes, you can easily connect the external hard drive to another computer so that you can recover important data.
- It is easy to be upgraded. If your external hard drive is running out of storage space for your backup files, you can easily replace it with a bigger one.
- It can prevent your computer from getting clogged up with downloads and large files. You could transfer large files from your computer to an external hard driveto improve
How to Add an External Hard Drive to Your Computer
If you get a new external hard drive, you need to add it to your computer before you can use it. Here is how to do it.
Step 1: Plug one end of the external hard drive's cable (usually the larger end) into the USB port on the housing to see whether it works.
Step 2: Plug the other end of the cable into your external hard drive.
Step 3: Now you need to format the external hard drive.
- Double click This PC.
- Right-click your external hard drive and choose Format..from menu.
- Uncheck Quick Formatand select a file system. Then click Start.
After formatting the external hard drive, you should partition the drive reasonably for better management. As for partitioning tool, you can choose freeware MiniTool Partition Wizard.
How to Use an External Hard Drive in Windows 10
Extra Storage Device
It has been mentioned that an external hard drive has many benefits. The basic one is to use it as an extra storage device, especially when you need to free up disk space.
You can transfer files to an external hard drive after you connect it to your computer. Here is a tutorial on how to use an external hard drive in Windows 10.
Skyrim ultimate hd edition. Step 1: Press Win + E to open File Explorer.
Step 2: Select the folders or files you want to move and press Ctrl + X to cut them.
Step 3: Click your external hard drive from the left action panel to access the external hard drive and press Ctrl + V to paste the folders and files.
Data Backup Device
Do you know your data is in danger? If you don't have more than one backup solution, plenty of critical information includes photos, music, videos, financial and official documents could be lost when your computer dies due to hardware failure, natural disaster, system crashes or viruses attacks.
Clearly, the more copies you have, the less risk of data loss you face. Thus, just create as many copies as you entail. In other words, you'd better protect the original data with two backups.
Usually, cloud backup can be a good choice,such as Google Cloud Storage, Microsoft Onedrive, etc.
However, they are not the best solutions.They may cost you much. Some cloud services such as iCloud and IDrive just offer you a storage capacity about 5 GB for free, and most cloud services need you to pay for month. What's more, it will be troublesome if you decide to shift among these services.
In addition, it may take much time to download everything from a cloud-based backup service if you want to manage large files or large quantities of files.
On the other hand, data stored in a cloud service is possible to be attacked by a hack. So, you can store your backup in an external hard drive, which is portable and safer. Some external devices come with security features like fingerprint recognition, which prevents other people from gaining access to the stored data.
To buy the right backup drive, here are some tips you need to know.
With MiniTool Partition Wizard,a free backup tool, you can easily back up your partitions or the whole disk to your external hard drive. Here is how to use an external hard drive for backup.
Step 1: Click the following button to download and install the tool.
Step 2: Make a backup.
- To copy disk, just right-click the disk you want to back up and choose Copy from menu.
- To copy partition, you can click the Copy Partition Wizard from action panel and choose the partition you want to back up.
- Then follow the instructions to finish the copy
Create a Windows To Go Workplace
Windows To Go is a feature in Windows 10 that allows you to boot and run Windows from USB flash drives or external hard disk drives so that you can take it to anywhere.
To create a portable Windows, you need to prepare a device with requirements as follows:
- With 32 GB capacity at least
- With USB 2.0 and faster USB connections.
With an external hard drive, you can easily achieve it. Here is how to do it.
Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to the computer.
Step 2: Search for Windows To Go in Windows and click it from the results.
Step 3: Choose your external hard drive to create a Windows To Go workplace and follow the guide to complete the process.
Then you can connect the external hard drive to another computer and boot Windows from the external drive when you go out.
How to Use an External Hard Drive for Longer
You may be aware that an external hard drive is necessary for you. However, it is easy to be broken if you don't maintain it in the right way. To avoid decreasing the life of it, you can read these tips on how to use an external hard drive for longer.
- To protect your external hard drive, you'd better place it on a stable, flat and hard surface. Considering that the hard disk is a mechanical device, it can be damaged by vibrations. And you should also be careful to prevent it from falling off the table.
- You need to make sure that it will not be banged around or treated roughly. Since the external hard drive is a portable device, you should treat it carelessly when you take it out.
- You have to avoid getting your hard drive wet or exposing it to liquid.
- Do not place your external hard drive in a restrictive area where there is no air flow. Similar to the internal hard disk in your computer, the external hard drive also gets hot when it works too long. To avoid overheating, which can damage the disk, you need to place it in an open area to dissipate the buildup of heat.
- Check error before you transfer files to an external hard drive. It can fix disk errors and ensure that you are starting with a well-functioning drive.To do that, you can use the error checking tool in Windows.
- Always eject the drive before you unplug it from your computer. It ensures data still stored in the cache memory will be removed, which prevents existing data on the disk from being damaged.
- The best way to protect your data in the external hard drive is to back up it as much as possible. Hard drive failure may happen to your external hard drive.To ensure the security of your files, you'd better prepare a second external drive to back up it.
Save Lost Data from an External Hard Drive
Similar to internal hard drivers, an external hard drive may also lose data due to various reasons, such as mistaken deletion or hard drive failure when you manage it.
If you have a backup for the data in the external hard drive, you can restore your data with the backup.
If you unfortunately find that your files or programs stored in the external hard drive is lost and you have no backup for the drive, you need to stop using it right now and try to recover files from the external drive with a third-party software as soon as possible.
MiniTool Partition Wizard is powerful in recovering deleted files and data from formatted or virus attacked disk. It is worth trying.
Step 1: Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Step 2: Click Data Recovery from the tool bar and select your external hard drive in This PC. And then click Scan.
Step 3: Now you just need to check the files you want to recover and then click Save to place the recovered files into a safe position.
If it is the first time to recover files from an external drive, you may be a little confused. To know more details, you can read the following article: The Full Guide to SSD File Recovery on Windows 10/8/7/XP.
Bottom Line
You can benefit a lot from an external hard drive. With the high storage capacity, you can store a huge number of videos, photos and programs, and it is a proper device for data backup.
This article helps you to know how to add an external hard drive to your computer, how to use an external hard drive in Windows 10, and how to maintain it to use it longer.
If you still have any questions about the external hard drive, you can contact [email protected] or post it in the comment section below.
Do you want to try it now?
How to Use an External Hard Drive FAQ
- It has large storage capacity.
- It's portable so that you can take it anywhere.
- It's a safe backup device.
- It can be used for a long time.
- Plug the external hard drive into the computer.
- Press Win + E to open File Explorer.
- Navigate to your program setup file and double-click it.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to install the program, and when you are asked where you want to save the program, choose on location on your external hard drive.
This article provides you with 100% working methods to fix 'external hard drive not working/responding error' without losing any data. If your external hard drive is not working, fails to respond or becomes undetectable, download EaseUS disk data recovery software here with 100% working methods to repair your not working external hard drive in Windows 10/8/7 PC and restore data now.
An external hard drive is a device that used to back up your most important files and data, but if it suddenly stops working or responding, don't worry. On this page, we'll focus on the external hard drive not working issue and you'll learn:
- Causes of External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding
- Part 1. Make Not Working External Hard Drive Detectable
- Part 2. Recover Data Before Fixing External Hard Drive With Not Working Error
- Part 3. How to Fix 'External Hard Drive Is Not Working/Responding' Error
Applies to: Fix external hard drive, USB drive, SD card, internal HDD/SSD, etc., not working or responding error on Windows PC.
Quick Guide - Fix External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding Error in 3 Parts:
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Part 1. Connect Not Working External Drive | Change USB cable, USB Port > Change PC > Check Power Management ..Full steps |
Part 2. Restore Data | Run software > Scan external hard drive > Recover data..Full steps |
Part 3. Fix Not Working External Drive | Method 1. Check Disk Error Method 2. Format External Hard Drive to NTFS Method 3. Create New Volume..Full steps |
No matter what brands of devices you are using such as WD Elements external hard drive, Seagate external hard drive, SanDisk or Toshiba hard disks, etc, just follow this article to get your problem solved with the provided methods here now.
Causes of External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding
Is your external hard drive suddenly not working for no reason? Is your external hard drive suddenly cannot be detected or recognized by your PC or laptop? Relax!
You don't have to buy a new external hard drive and give up all the precious data. First, check the causes that make your external hard drive not working:
- Problematic connection
- RAW, invalid or unsupported file system
- Drive letter conflict or no drive letter
- No partition
- Not initialized
- Outdated disk driver
- USB Root Hub is outdated
- Disk is physically damaged
- ..
Don't worry if you don't know what exactly causes your external hard drive not working. Continue reading, we've collected 100% working fixes here to help you fix the external hard drive to work normally again without losing any data.
Part 1. Make Not Working External Hard Drive Detectable
Applies to: Fix external hard drive not showing, not detected error due to connection problem.
Mostly, when your external hard drive suddenly doesn't work or fails to show up on your computer, you should first check the device connection between your external disk and your computer.
Now, follow to make the not working external hard drive detectable and show up on your PC again:
#1. Check and Change External Hard Drive Connection Cable
The first thing that you should do is to check the external hard drive USB connection cable:
- If the connection cable is loosened, reconnect external disk to PC and tight it.
- Is the external USB connection cable broken or damaged, switch a new cable, and reconnect the disk to PC.
#2. Change a USB Port or Connect to a New Computer
If the USB connection cable is not broken, try to reconnect the external drive to your PC via a new USB port and check if the computer detects your disk.
If still nothing shows up, change a computer and reconnect the external drive.
#3. Check Power Management for USB Hub
If it doesn't work after changing the USB port or cannot be read by a new PC, try the quick fix below to repair an unrecognizable external hard drive:
Step 1. In Run (Windows + R), type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
Step 2. Open Device Manager > expand 'Universal Serial Bus controllers'.
Step 3. Right-click USB Root Hub > Properties > Power Management > uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
- Tip
- If your external hard drive is physically damaged or broken, take it to a nearby maintenance center for a manual repair.
After following the above 3 tips, your computer should be able to detect and recognize your external hard drive now. You can try to open the drive and access the data.
If you still cannot access the data, don't worry. Move to Part 2 and we'll offer you the best hard disk data recovery software to help you quickly access and restore all valuable data on immediately.
Part 2. Recover Data Before Fixing External Hard Drive With Not Working Error
After making the external hard drive detectable, we suggest you recover data from the drive first as some measures may bring secondary damage to your data on the disk. After this, we'll offer you some reliable methods to fix the external hard drive in the next part.
3 Steps to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
To recover data from your external disk, you'll need reliable HDD recovery software for help.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard with its powerful capacity allows you to scan and recover data from the external hard drive which is not working properly in only 3 steps.
See how to restore data from the external hard drive on your own:
Step 1. Choose the external hard drive
Since you're going to recover data from the external hard drive, run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the exact drive where you lost data. Click Scan.
Step 2. Scan for lost data
The software will start immediately to scan all over the selected drive for all lost data. During the scan, you could see more and more data showing up in the results.
Step 3. Preview and recover data
After the scan is over, check the scan results for the desired data. You can preview the file by double-clicking on it. Click Recover and choose another location to save the recovered data.
Don't save the recovered data on your external hard drive before fixing and making it work normally again.
Part 3. How to Fix 'External Hard Drive Is Not Working/Responding' Error
Let's see how to repair the not responding external hard drive or undetectable external hard disk drive now.
To help you find the right fix for the 'external hard drive not working' error in Windows 10/8/7, please open Disk Management and check the state of your external hard drive:
- #1. Check and Fix Disk Errors on External Hard Drive - Disk Contains Corrupted File System Error
- #2. Format External Hard Drive to NTFS - Disk Shows RAW or Unsupported File System
- #3. Create A New Partition in External Hard Drive - Disk Displays as Unallocated
- #4. Assign a New Drive Letter to External Disk - Disk Shows as 'New Volume' with No Drive Letter
- #5. Initialize External Disk and Create a New Volume - Disk Is Unknown, Not Initialized
Method 1 to Method 7 can fix most external hard disk not working issue, and if none of them work, turn to Method 8 and Method 9 for help. Let's start the external hard disk repair process.
Method 1. Check and Fix Disk Errors on External Hard Drive
Applies to: Fix external hard drive not working due to unknown disk error or corrupted file system.
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Mostly, when an internal or external hard drive contains an unknown error or corrupted file system, the Windows computer will not be able to detect or open the drive.
Here you have two options to check up the disk and fix internal errors on a not responding external hard drive:
Option 1. Run Partition Manager Freeware to Fix External Hard Drive Not Responding Error
Download and install EaseUS Partition Master Free on your PC.
Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose 'Check File System'.
Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.
Step 3. The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.
Option 2. Run CMD to Manually Fix External Hard Drive Errors
Step 1. Type cmd in the Search box, right-click to open Command Prompt.
Step 2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
Step 3. Type chkdsk /f /r /x g: and hit Enter to let the checking process to run.
Replace g with the drive letter of your external hard drive.
Step 4. When it's finished, type: exit and hit Enter to finish the process.
After this, your not responding external hard drive should now show up. If it still doesn't work, go on with an easier chkdsk alternative.
Option 3. Run CMD Alternative to Fix External Disk File System Error
The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try EaseUS Tools M.
It is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. To fix file system error or disk error:
If you don't have any technical know-how and want to minimize data risks, using third-party software could be a better choice. The Command line is suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.
EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.
To fix file system error or disk error:
Step 1: DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for Free and install it.
Step 2: Open the software and select the 'File showing' option.
Step 3: Choose the drive and wait for repairing. After the operation completes, click the 'View' button to check the drive.
Method 2. Format External Hard Drive to NTFS to Repair Not Working External Disk
Applies to: Fix external hard drive not working, detecting or responding error due to RAW or unsupported file system.
If your external or internal hard disk shows as a RAW or unsupported file system in Disk Management, the best way is to format the disk to a recognized format.
In order to make sure that the external hard drive is secure for storing new data again, you can format it to repair the not working drive to be usable again with Windows disk management:
Step 1. In Run (Windows + R), type diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
Step 2. Go to Disk Management, right-click the external hard drive, and select 'Format'.
Step 3. Choose a file system like NTFS or exFAT and tick 'Quick format'. Click 'OK' to start the formatting.
After this, your external hard drive is viable for saving data again.
Method 3. Create A New Partition in External Hard Drive
Applies to: Fix disk displays as unallocated in Disk Management that make external hard drive not working.
Mostly, when your external hard disk shows as unallocated, it means that there is no partition in the disk. As a result, the computer cannot recognize it. To fix this issue, you need to first recover data from the disk first (as shown in Part 2).
Then, you can follow the steps below to create a new partition, making the external hard drive working again:
Step 1. Connect the unallocated external hard drive to your PC and open Disk Management.
Step 2. Right-click on the unallocated space of the external hard drive, select 'New Simple Volume'.
Step 3. Set partition size, drive letter and file system (NTFS), etc.
Step 4. Click 'Finish' to complete the process.
Method 4. Assign a New Drive Letter to External Disk
Applies to: Fix disk shows as 'New Volume' with no drive letter that causes external hard drive not responding.
Step 1. Go to Disk Management and right-click on your external hard drive.
Step 2. Go and select a new drive letter by clicking 'Change', and click 'OK' to confirm.
Then not responding external hard drive can be read and detected now.
Method 5. Initialize External Disk and Create a New Volume
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Applies to: Fix 'Disk Is Unknown, Not Initialized' that cause external hard disk not working nor showing up.
Step 1. Right-click 'My Computer' > 'Manage' to run Disk Management.
Step 2. Here, right-click the Unknow external hard drive and click 'Initialize Disk'.
Step 3. Select the disk(s) to initialize and choose MBR or GPT partition style, and click 'OK' to confirm.
Now the drive is recognized as unallocated and if you have vital data saved there, revert to Part 1 and apply EaseUS data recovery software for help.
Step 4. Then right-click on the unallocated space on your external hard drive and create a new volume on it.
![External Hard Drive For Video Storage External Hard Drive For Video Storage](https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/07/giancarlo_esposito_team_coco_1.jpg)
Method 6. Update Disk Driver
Applies to: Force not responding external hard drive to show up and work by updating disk drivers.
Step 1. Right-click 'This PC' and choose 'Manage'.
Step 2. Click 'Device Manager' then expand 'Disk drives'.
Step 3. Find and right-click the problematic external drive and select 'Update driver'.
Step 4. Click 'automatically search for driver software online'.
Method 7. Uninstall Universal Bus Controllers
Applies to: Fix external hard drive not working issue by updating Universal Serial Bus controllers drivers.
Step 1. Open 'Device Manager', find and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers
Step 2. Right-click on the USB controllers of your external drive and select 'Uninstall device'.
Step 3. Repeat to uninstall each USB controller one by one. Then restart the computer.
While rebooting PC, Microsoft will automatically reinstall the USB controllers software for your not working external hard drive.
Method 8. Run Antivirus Software
Applies to: Fix virus or malware that causes your external hard drive not working.
Sometimes, viruses or malware infections may also cause your device to malfunctioning. So it is to your external hard drive. When you tried all the above fixes, but the drive is still not working, you can try to run antivirus software to unlock the drive:
Step 1. Install and run antivirus software on your computer.
Step 2. Scan and unlock the external hard drive.
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Step 3. Wait for the cleaning process to complete and restart PC.
After this, reconnect your external hard drive to the computer and check if you can use it again.
Method 9. Turn to External Hard Drive Manufacturer or Repair Center for Help
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The last option that you can try is to contact your external hard drive producer or a local disk repair center for help. It could be the outdated firmware or disk driver that is outdated. For this issue, your disk support team can resolve and make your disk work again.
As for external hard disk data recovery, a local disk repair center or manual data recovery service can do. Here you may also try EaseUS Data Recovery Service.
External Hard Drive For Video Storage
- 1. Unformat the drive
- 2. Repair the RAID, RAW disk or operating system
- 3. Recover lost partition (the one that cannot be recovered by software)
To Sum Up
On this page, we explained the causes of external hard drive not working, not responding, and not detectable error. To make things easy for you, we divided the whole process into 3 parts:
Part 1. Make external hard drive detectable; Part 2. Recover data from the external hard drive; Part 3. Fix not working external hard drive with respective solutions.
The methods offered in this article can also be applied to repair and fix SD cards, memory cards, USB drives, flash drives, or hard drive partitions, etc devices with not responding/working or undetectable issues.
It's recommended that you should create an extra backup of your files to another secure location, like Cloud drive. When you lost data on your disk, always remember to let EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard help.