Solved external hard drive problem, unable to detect or format

[brentxlee]

Hi there,

I need some good advice here, I hope someone can help me.

I just bought a usb3.0 320gb external hard drive the brand and model are: "Imation Apollo M100"

I plugged it into a usb 3 port and it worked but I wanted to format it before i used it, so i right clicked on it in my computer, and clicked format from the drop down box.

I selected quick format and then started it. It ran for a while, then a box popped up saying: unable to complete format" or something to that effect. after that it was inaccessible. the drive showed in my computer as "local disk H:" or something like that. there was no gauge below it indicating the amount of data remaining on the disc, like all the others (ie: "30gb of 465gb left" which is displayed below my internal hard drives)

from the control panel i went to system & security -> create and format hard disk partitions. in disk management it was there with a 1mb partition and the balance of the space as RAW. so i deleted it and tried to format it again with the same result (minus the 1mb partition) i unplugged it and tried the process again, this time i unchecked "quick format", and still no dice.

now it wont pick up at all... i hear the ding dong when i plug it in, but it doesn't show up anywhere, in my computer or in disk manager.

Has anyone got any idea whats going on or what i have done wrong? im normally able to figure this stuff out but im completely stuck... any advice will be much appreciated

 

[Northernsoul55]

Hi,

1. Try to connect the USB 3 drive to a USB 2 port, just to discard any problems with USB 3.0 port?

2. Goto Start>Control Panel>select "Icon View">Device Manager
Click the "View" tab and select "Show Hidden Devices"
In the Device Manager window, find the item/items labeled "Universal Serial Bus controllers." And expand.
Now plug the device in. Do you see a USB mass storage driver appear under USB?
Try all USB ports.

3. Also do you see any devices in Device Manager listed as Other or Unknown, or having a yellow symbol?
If so right-click and Update.

4. Update the driver for your USB 3.0.

cheers

Dave

 

[bobafetthotmail]

need to go in Disk Management again, create a new NTFS partition and make it big as the whole drive. No RAW / free space must remain either before or after it (although some tiny amount could).

Although if not even Disk manager could see it (even as RAW), I think it could be defective.

 

[patio]

Does the BIOS see it ? ?
If not ...return it for a replacement ASAP.

 

[brentxlee]

thanks for the help guys,

Dave it wasn't showing up in device manager yesterday. i did try swapping usb ports etc. but this morning i tried again and now it is showing up in device manager as a usb mass storage device, but with a yellow triangle. if i go into its properties it says "this device cannot start (code 10)"

i think i'm just going to return it... its turning into more trouble than its worth. it shouldn't be this difficult to format a hd.

thank you for taking the time to reply to my question.

 

[Northernsoul55]

A Code 10 error is generated when Device Manager fails to start the hardware device,
a situation usually caused by outdated or corrupted drivers.

However......you are quite correct, return it!!

Western Digital Hard Drives I find are very reliable

cheers

Dave