# Toshiba external hard driver problem



## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Help me please I have 1000 GB (1T) external driver Toshiba brand which it is half full but now it doesn't work any more. When this problem startedI was able to see the icon of the driver when inserted in the laptop but I couldnt open it, when I tried to open it, it demanded formatting it. but when I tried to format it I was told that the window was unable to complete format. I tried other options like using ubuntu to open it, but the icon was not seen in ubuntu. Now the icon of the driver is not seen when inserted but when I go the the manage after right clicking my computer I see the external driver and it reports that the driver is working properly and the size is 935GB and unallocated space is zero. So please help me what can I do with this problem.


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## pip22 (Aug 22, 2004)

Does it have a drive letter allocated to it?
If not, give it one manually:
_Control Panel > Admin Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management_

Right-click the ribbon which represents the Toshiba drive, then choose "_Change Drive Letter & Paths"_

Next, click "New" or "Change"


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Thank you for advice, I will come back to give feedback on the solution.


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## minglancer (Sep 24, 2011)

if your hard drive has too much bad sectors, then such problem may occur.
what you have to do is go to disc manager,then click on the hard drive of yours.if it shows raw then right click on it,delete the partition and then format.format in F32.It should make the HDD work again.though the datas will be erased


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Thank you all, in the disk management the External hard drive appears at the bootom where the disks have been labelled as disk1, 2..., i have tried to change the letter to A, the letter on it came as disk 1 unknown with exact size of 935 GB and it is unlocated. But sometimes I dont see it there in the list and even the list of drives in first area. I click properties and it shows that the device is working properly. I have also tried to open using Hetman uneraser 3.1 (commercial edition), I also see the the HDD and it tries to do deep analysis and tries to recover the files, but they dont have names and when i open i see the documents that I do not know. I still need advice and I still trying so that I can use it.


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Additional from message above, It is lebelled Disk 1, Unknown, 931.51 GB, not Initialized and it is Unallocated. I tried to initialize using MBR (Master Boot Record) partion style, I get this message " Data error (cyclic redundancy check)" . If iI use the other option it becomes online but don't know how does help me to solve my problem. I got another option for formating in the Disk manager but the file system for format is NTFS only. When I tried this option I end up with the same response "Data error". Further help is needed please.


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Still need help on my external


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## brobarapas (Sep 26, 2009)

Do you need the data on it?If not go to disc management,delete the drive ,then create a new volume,format it to ntfs


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

brobarapas said:


> Do you need the data on it?If not go to disc management,delete the drive ,then create a new volume,format it to ntfs


I have tried it, in the disk management it is lebelled Disk 1, Unknown, 931.51 GB, not Initialized and it is Unallocated. I tried to initialize using MBR (Master Boot Record) partion style, I get this message " Data error (cyclic redundancy check)" . If iI use the other option it becomes online but don't know how does help me to solve my problem. I got another option for formating in the Disk manager but the file system for format is NTFS only. When I tried this option I end up with the same response "Data error". Further help is needed please


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## brobarapas (Sep 26, 2009)

Go back to disc management and see if you can partition the hdd,the error you are getting is something got to do with a bad file,may be something you have d/l


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

brobarapas said:


> Go back to disc management and see if you can partition the hdd,the error you are getting is something got to do with a bad file,may be something you have d/l


Thanks brother, The EHDD it does not appear in the list of volumes in the first box. It appears bellow where it doesn't give an option for partioning. The options which I get after right click are Initialize disk, ofline, properties and help only and sometimes New simple volume.


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## brobarapas (Sep 26, 2009)

New simple volume,create it to what it allocates,see then if you can access that partition


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

I have tried it but no success. It gives me a data error at the end.


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## brobarapas (Sep 26, 2009)

You will need to burn this iso to a disc,use it and see if you can format the hdd.


Freeware Download [email protected] KillDisk


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Thank you very much, I will try it and come to you for feedback


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## achengula (Sep 20, 2011)

Hi brobarapas, I have tried the option above erasing all data using the Active kill disk but no success. I have spend 30hrs erasing and aftre finishing I was told that the disk have been erased. But still it does not show up when I open my computer. I can only see it in the disk management. It is not *initialized* when I try to initialize it I am told that *Unable to read sectors in the drive*. So keep on helping me if you have alternatives. Thanks in advance.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Be sure you are using the correct power adapter that came with the USB drive. Using an incorrect power adapter would give you this condition. Remove the HDD out of the enclosure. Either attach it to a computer as a Slave drive or with a USB Adapter (the logic board in the enclosure may have failed, but the drive may still be good) Go to *Disk Management* and *Initialize *the Drive and try and *Format* it doing a Full format not a quick. If there are too many bad sectors the drive will give you errors. Full Format will check all the sectors and mark those that are bad. Too many bad sectors and the drive will need to be replaced.


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## Motsbro (Sep 6, 2017)

Bumping this old post to add this SOLUTION. Do not panic! Data is intact. Easy fix. 

I've had this problem with a 1TB Toshiba usb external drive . I've have also have similar issues with WD external drive previously. In my case the Toshiba drive just disappeared one day. In the Computer Management section of Control panel(discussed in this thread, above) the computer can see the drive and says it is not initialized. Its power light would come on and then eventually go out. It seem to vibrate as if spinning inside but not appear in windows explorer. tried it on windows 10 and windows XP with no success.

The issue is not the external hard drive itself but was a problem with the USB card within the drive housing of the external drive. Let me explain. 

As you may know, these external drives are the same as internal drives EXCEPT that they have a USB card that attached to the SATA or IDE connections on the drive providing the USB and sometimes a power jack and on/off switch on the outside of the drive case. 

To get access to the drive and your data, open the drive case. Some have screws and some are just clips that can be pried open. Check YT for some guidance there. Once you remove the hard drive from the housing you will see the USB card. It just plugged in and usually taped into place. Remove the tape and the USB card. Don't disturb the other card (circuit board) screwed into the drive (more on that below just FYI). Once you've removed the USB card you will see the SATA and power connections on the drive. The hard drive can be plugged in to available ports inside a PC tower, or mounted to an external drive case or device like Thermaltake BlacX Hot-Swap SATA External Hard Drive (my personal choice) ... google it! 

Incidentally, I've had the circuit board attached to the hard drive go bad as well. I was able to recover the data by purchasing the exact model hard drive (used on ebay) then unscrewing and replacing the circuit board. Lifesaver . . . 

One other related item (I learned this the hard way twice). The USB card on some WD external drives and perhaps others encrypt the data. If you attempt my fix with such a drive, you been able to see the drive and data but it will be gibberish. No amount of recover software will help. The fix, find the same model drive as you have on ebay, and swap out the USB card. Most likely that will fix the issue.


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