WD External portable hard drive not recognised by Smart TV?

[aelfheah]

My Toshiba smart TV has always been ok with my Seagate External 2tb portable Hard Drive, playing the files as soon as plugged in.

I bought a new WD External portable hard drive (4tb), connecting ok to my laptop and I copied files across from my old HD to this new one.

However, I plugged the new HD into the USB of my TV, but nothing happened? The TV simply says there is no drive connected?

[poisondeathray]

What file system was it formatted with ? NTFS, exFAT ? FAT32 ? Some playback devices are only compatible with FAT32 - check your TV manual

[aelfheah]

NTFS. My TV manual simply says that 'some devices, such as mp3 players, may be incompatible'

Can I reformat (losing my copied files) or try to return the HD?

[Bernix]

Also do you have external powersuply for this HDD? Stupid question. It shouldnt work on PC's without it eighter. But 2,5'' HDD are common up to 2TB even 4TB 2,5'' are on the market. Just asking....


Bernix

[aelfheah]

No, both of my Ext HD's are portable, USB, no mains plugs etc?

Both work perfectly with my lap, and the 'old', 2tb one does with my TV?

Do I have to take the damned thing back?

[Bernix]

If this HDD has external plug try to use it. I don't get your first sentence. But problem can be that tv is unable to give enough power to disc.


Bernix

[aelfheah]

I mean that both have no power, they are USB plug-in-and-play external portable HD's, not desktops.

[Bernix]

So the power can be problem. Laptop can give the HDD enough but TV can be not able. Thats all. Check voltage and wattage for this HDD.


Edit - 4TB portable needs i think can be wrong usb 3.0 does your tv has usb 3.0???

[poisondeathray]

Some USB ports that are supposed to provide power , can be underpowered . Do you have multiple USB ports on the TV ? If yes, try the other port(s)

Regarding returns - it depends on where you bought it from . Some places have no questions asked. Some might argue it's fully functioning (since it works with your laptop) and the problem is your TV

[aelfheah]

OK, thanks guys.

No other USB ports on my TV and I think it's a 2.0. Looks like I'm stuck with the HD now, I have the receipt but threw the box away (bought from Currys, UK store)

[lingyi]

Yep, sounds like not enough power being supplied. It's unlikely the drive is USB 2.0 since it's new and 4TB

Get a dual USB adapter like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and and attach the white (USB 2.0) plug into an external USB power charger.

For reference: USB 2.0 supplies only 5V, USB 3.0 supplies 12V which is why you're not getting enough power through your TV.

[lingyi]

Couple of things to check while you're waiting to get your cable. Listen to the drive when plugged in. Is is spinning? If it is, is it clicking or starting or stopping? This is typical sign of not enough power.

Also, as Bernix stated, check the formatting of the drive. Is it the same as your 2TB (exFAT, NTFS, FAT32)? I just learned recently that some external drives are factory formatted as exFAT which some TVs may not recognize.

Finally, consider getting an standalone media player such as an Android Box for <$50 U.S. As discussed numerous times here, the built in media player on a TV is a power substitute for a standalone player. Unless you're only loading your own DVD/Blu-Ray rips to to your drive, you'll probably come across some video format that's not recognized by your TV's player.

[aelfheah]

When I plugged in the new HD (which is NTFS as my 'old' one is), it lit up and whirred away as usual, but wasn't ''recognised''.

I'll get those cables!! So to use the new HD I always have to plug those cables into a power charger?

Thanks again!

[lingyi]

Yes, the second connector provides the additional power needed. Get two and keep one as a spare as they come in in handy for troubleshooting external drives.

There's also a possibility that your TV's player may be limited to recognizing up to 2TB drives only.

[jagabo]

Some devices don't support drives over 2 TB. So try deleting the existing 4TB partition, creating a single partition less than 2 TB, and formatting NTFS.

[aelfheah]

Some devices don't support drives over 2 TB. So try deleting the existing 4TB partition, creating a single partition less than 2 TB, and formatting NTFS.

Sorry, but how would I do that? Would I then lose all of the files that are now on it?

[lingyi]

Getting off-topic, but FYI, the additional power requirement of 4TB portable drives may be an issue with non-powered USB hubs or having too many devices plugged in a hub.

[jagabo]

Some devices don't support drives over 2 TB. So try deleting the existing 4TB partition, creating a single partition less than 2 TB, and formatting NTFS.

Sorry, but how would I do that?

Use a partitioning tool that supports > 2TB drives. Western Digital has such a tool you can download for free (for use on WD drives). Windows has a built in partitioning tool accessed via the Disk Management tool.

Would I then lose all of the files that are now on it?

Yes, deleting the partition will lose all the files. You would have to copy over the files from your old drive again (or backup and restore if you no longer have the files on the old drive). There are some advanced tools that will let you resize partitions while retaining all the files. Obviously, such tools can't shrink a partition to a size smaller than that of all the files currently on the drive. And I'd be wary of doing it that way -- if something goes wrong during the resize you might lose all your files.

[lingyi]

I recommend EaseUS Partition Master Free. It will allow you set partition sizes and shrink partitions.

A couple of caveats though:

While you can create two, 2TB partitions on your drive, only the first may be recognized by your TV.

Next, while it's possible to use Partition Master to shrink your partition down to 2TB, there's not only the possibility of data loss (as jagabo stated), but it will take longer than copying the data over again from another drive. Also, if the issue is the format of the partition (GPT vs MBR*), shrinking the partition may not solve the issue.

* >2TB partitions are GPT which some systems may not recognize