Unable to format external HDD, USB 2.0


  1. AlasdairXIV
    Posts : 1
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
       New #1

    Unable to format external HDD, USB 2.0


    Hi there, I recently found an old 160 gb external hard drive while cleaning the house, so I decided to format it and use it to store a system image, just in case. I started the format and went to bed, but it must have been bumped or something, because the format didn't complete. I tried it a couple more times, and both times it took ~4 hours to tell me that it couldn't complete and that there might be an I/O error, so I uninstalled and reinstalled the driver. Tried it again, and now it tells me that I should check to see if the drive is read only. Not sure how to get around this. Disk management reads the drive as one RAW partition, not active. Any help would be appreciated. Attached is a screenshot of the most recent error.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Unable to format external HDD, USB 2.0-drive_format_screen.png  
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  3. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       New #2

    Try MiniTool Partition Manager Software for Windows PC and Server
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  4. Brink
    Posts : 72,049
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       New #3

    Hello Alasdair, and welcome to Seven Forums.

    Double check to make sure that write protection is disabled for the drive using the tutorial below, then see if you may be able to format it. :)

    Disk Write Protection - Enable or Disable in Windows - Windows 10 Forums
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