Welcome guest. Before posting on our computer help forum, you must register. Click here it's easy and free.

« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: External Hard Drive  (Read 2402 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

trninfan

    Topic Starter


    Newbie

    • Experience: Beginner
    • OS: Unknown
    External Hard Drive
    « on: November 09, 2011, 08:51:46 PM »
    Hi all, I'm trying to gain access to an external hard drive that a friend brought from India. It's a Western Digital My Passport. When I open the folder to browse the files, it says there are no files there, yet the disk is showing it's 100% full (which it is). The problem, I was told, is that the files are in FAT and not NTFS. I found out how to convert the files to NTFS through command prompt, but there isn't enough space on the disk to make the conversion. Is there any way to selectively delete some files to make room? Or to somehow share memory on my computer? Or to transfer the contents to another device? Some of the files are too important to risk losing, so I don't want to mess with it without knowing what I'm doing. Any help would be appreciated!
    Logged

    Transfusion



      Mentor

    • STUPID=Smart Talented Unique Person In Demand
      • Thanked: 105
      • Yes
      • Yes
      • Yes
    • Computer: Specs
    • Experience: Familiar
    • OS: Linux variant
    Re: External Hard Drive
    « Reply #1 on: November 10, 2011, 05:22:09 AM »
    If there is sensitive data on the drive, you would be better off cloning the drive via a cloning tool like Norton Ghost to another drive and then working with the copy.


    Windows should read a drive with a FAT file system without issues... are you sure it is FAT, not, say, FATX or HFS? You could try www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk to recover lost partitions and regenerate your partition table.
    Logged
    In Soviet Russia, iPhone touch you. Computer shut you down. Mouse click you. Floppy inserts you. Yahoo answers you. Man in TV watches you. Computer game addicts you. Guitar shreds you. Motherboard fries you. The laughter in manslaughter is put back in.
    Giveaway of the Day" style="border: none

    Geek-9pm


      Mastermind
    • Geek After Dark
      • Thanked: 1026
      • Gekk9pm bnlog
    • Certifications: List
    • Computer: Specs
    • Experience: Expert
    • OS: Windows 10
    Re: External Hard Drive
    « Reply #2 on: November 10, 2011, 05:14:40 PM »
    It is not an issue of FAT32 or NTFS. Windows versions from r 2000 on do read both formats very well. I is the drive and its interface.  Some external hard drives can only be correctly read using the actual interface of the enclosure.  If .you are using the enclosure and getting strange things, you have to get a  driver from the maker of the enclosure.
    Logged

    trninfan

      Topic Starter


      Newbie

      • Experience: Beginner
      • OS: Unknown
      Re: External Hard Drive
      « Reply #3 on: November 10, 2011, 07:06:23 PM »
      I don't understand what that means. As far as I know, I have the proper driver to use the hard drive, and my friend who owns the hard drive tried it on her computer with a driver that the call center told her to download. She originally loaded the drive from her other computer, which is broken. I do notice, though, that in the "properties" tab it says the drive is only 1.38 MB, when in reality it is 80 GB.
      Logged

      patio

      • Moderator


        • Genius
      • Maud' Dib
        • Thanked: 1769
        • Yes
      • Experience: Beginner
      • OS: Windows 7
      Re: External Hard Drive
      « Reply #4 on: November 10, 2011, 07:29:04 PM »
      You should find out what she tried to do with the drive on her broken computer...
      Something major has changed.
      Logged
      " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "
      Pages: [1]   Go Up
      « previous next »