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#1
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How to format USB HDD? (newbie)
I've just got a 2.5" hard dive in a USB enclosure for external storage. The
drive (an IBM Travelstar) is recognised by the system as an IBM USB device but no drive letter is assigned. I'm thinking that this is because it's a new drive and unformatted. I've never used an external hard drive before. Could anyone please tell me how to format it as an NTFS drive under Windows 2000 Pro? Thanks in advance. |
#2
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"wintermute" wrote in message ... I've just got a 2.5" hard dive in a USB enclosure for external storage. The drive (an IBM Travelstar) is recognised by the system as an IBM USB device IBM USB device? Sounds like just a generic name. Go to control panel-system-device manager (or something like that, I have XP), and check to see that you have no question marks for hardware. That would indicate a driver is missing for a device. Also check to see that there are no Xs or !s. An X means that the device is disabled, just click the enable button, a ! means a problem with the device. but no drive letter is assigned. I'm thinking that this is because it's a new drive and unformatted. No. The drive letter is still assigned. You do have to format it, as well as partition it, but the drive letter should still be assigned, right after you plug it in. I've never used an external hard drive before. Could anyone please tell me how to format it as an NTFS drive under Windows 2000 Pro? Thanks in advance. You won't be able to until you partition it . It may already be partitioned for you, I'm not sure, but if it isn't, there should be software to help you through that, as I don't think you can use fdisk here. Once you get a drive letter, you just right click on it from my computer and go to format, select the options you want. Of course, first you'll need to find out the real problem. Your drive not being formatted is not the problem, be sure it's connected firmly and try moving it to another port. If that still doesn't work, try calling technical support for that company or getting an RMA. -- MiniDisc_2k2 To reply, replace nospam.com with cox dot net. |
#3
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snip
Of course, first you'll need to find out the real problem. Your drive not being formatted is not the problem, be sure it's connected firmly and try moving it to another port. If that still doesn't work, try calling technical support for that company or getting an RMA. Thanks for responding. Much appreciated. I've tried attaching it to my USB2.0 PCI card and to an external powered USB2.0 hub, but no luck. It still detects as an IBM-DJSA-210 USB device under the disk drives category in device manager. There are no "!" or "X" symbols showing in device manager. I'll try the tech support but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be, as I bought the drive second hand. Don't know what an RMA is I'm afraid. |
#4
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Unless things are different with USB drives (and I can't see any reason why they would be) this is incorrect. A new hard drive connected directly using an IDE cable won't have a drive letter until it is partitioned. That's probably all this problem is. Setting up new drives in Windows 2000 is much easier than in 9x. Right-click My Computer and choose Manage. Under Storage click on Disk Management. I am assuming that the drive will be shown here just as it is when you connect it using an IDE cable, but I really don't know. Anyway, the device should be listed in the bottom half of the screen. Right-click it and there should be an option to partition it. Once you have done that it should be assigned a drive letter, and you just need to format it (again, by right-clicking and choosing the obvious, or by right-clicking the drive in My Computer). Please tell us what happens either way. I am making a few assumptions about the way this works, and having never setup a USB enclosure before I'm interested to see if they are correct or not. Gareth I can't believe I said that. Wow I must have been drunk that day. Yes I know perfectly well that until it's partitioned it won't have a drive letter. Sorry about the misinformation. Yes do partition the hard drive. Run fdisk, whatever. Hopefully, however, your hard drive came with some software that'll run easier than fdisk (I don't believe that fdisk can partition a usb drive) |
#5
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I've tried attaching it to my USB2.0 PCI card and to an external powered
USB2.0 hub, but no luck. It still detects as an IBM-DJSA-210 USB device under the disk drives category in device manager. If it's under the disk drives category then it's probably being recognized correctly. does 210 have any relevance to your device, for example, 210GB, 2100 rpm, 210MB/sec, etc.? There are no "!" or "X" symbols showing in device manager. I'll try the tech support but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be, as I bought the drive second hand. Don't know what an RMA is I'm afraid. An RMA is just a request to replace the device for online orders. You request an RMA from the manufacturer's or retailer's website, and then they give you a number. You package the product and write the number on the front of the box, and then ship it how they told you to. If you didn't buy this online and you can still return it to the retailer, that'll be easier, but if you can't return it to the retailer you could probably go to the manufacturer's website and get an RMA for a warranty. |
#6
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Thanks both. I'll try that later tonight and get back to you.
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#7
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Please tell us what happens either way. I am making a few assumptions
about the way this works, and having never setup a USB enclosure before I'm interested to see if they are correct or not. Gareth I sorted it out finally. Following the path: control panel administrative tools computer management storage disk management I found the drive listed as an unallocated volume and was able to set up an NTFS partition and format it. Didn't even need to reboot. I don't know if this path works for Windows 2000 though. I upgraded to XP Pro between my first post and this one. Many thanks for all the advice. I wouldn't have known where to begin without it. |
#8
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"wintermute" wrote in message
... I sorted it out finally. Following the path: control panel administrative tools computer management storage disk management I found the drive listed as an unallocated volume and was able to set up an NTFS partition and format it. Didn't even need to reboot. I don't know if this path works for Windows 2000 though. Sure does. It gets you to the same spot as right-clicking My Computer and choosing Manage. It is cool how you don't have to reboot. That really impressed me when I first saw it (especially having come from the you-just-looked-at-your-network-settings-so-now-I-want-to-reboot world that is Windows 98). The whole process sure beats the hell out of using a boot disk and fdisking/formatting. I upgraded to XP Pro between my first post and this one. Many thanks for all the advice. I wouldn't have known where to begin without it. Any time. Gareth |
#9
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On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 10:22:45 +1000, "Gareth Church"
wrote: "wintermute" wrote in message ... I sorted it out finally. Following the path: control panel administrative tools computer management storage disk management I found the drive listed as an unallocated volume and was able to set up an NTFS partition and format it. Didn't even need to reboot. I don't know if this path works for Windows 2000 though. Sure does. It gets you to the same spot as right-clicking My Computer and choosing Manage. It is cool how you don't have to reboot. That really impressed me when I first saw it (especially having come from the you-just-looked-at-your-network-settings-so-now-I-want-to-reboot world that is Windows 98). The whole process sure beats the hell out of using a boot disk and fdisking/formatting. I upgraded to XP Pro between my first post and this one. Many thanks for all the advice. I wouldn't have known where to begin without it. Any time. Gareth I was wondering, can you format to fat32 the same way? |
#10
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I was wondering, can you format to fat32 the same way?
I may be wrong but I don't think that 2000 or XP will format a drive as anything but NTFS. I haven't got a spare drive to test it out on right now. If you can get hold of Acronis OS Selector though, the disk management tool will let you partition and format drives in a variety of filesystems, Windows and otherwise. Can't use it on a USB drive though, because the DOS that it runs on has no USB drivers so it wouldn't be seen. |
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