[Magma]

My hard drive on my laptop is almost completely full, and my computer is running a bit slow. So I just purchaced an external hard drive to free up some space. My laptop is a Toshiba, so I thought the smart thing to do would be to buy a portable hard drive made by the same company. My problem is that now I don't know how to transfer the files. The computer is recognising it as "External USB HDD" but it wont let me open up a file to put my photos/videos/pictures/etc. into it. I bought it on amazon and picked it because it had good reviews and was supposed to be REALLY simple to use, but now I have NO IDEA how to work it. ANY help would be MUCH appreciated!! :}

PS. Amazon called it: "Toshiba Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive 320 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive E05A032BAU2XK Black"

[phillpower2]

Magma
Please provide more details about the notebook itself model name/number etc

Did you format the new external HDD before copying data to it?
Use cloning software to transfer your data across after the drive has been formatted (Free) http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/

[Magma]

First of all: THANK YOU for respoinding! I need all the help I can get.
Secondly:
I should have probabally started by saying that I know VERY little about computers. Just the basics.
That being said, I know my laptop is a Toshiba Satellite. The bottom said "L500" I think thats the model??

I havent coppied any data to the device because I cannot figure out how to, and I have no clue how to format it. I bought it because I thought it would be really simple for someone who doesn't know much. I have another external device that involves installing and whatnot and after owning it for a year and a half I still cannot figure out how to use it.

This one was supposed to be a solution. From what I read online, there wasnt supposed to be any installing or fuss involved. I should have been able to plug it into the USB port and use it. But when I went into MY COMPUTER file it doesn't show up. It does however show up under CONTROL PANEL/HARDWARE AND SOUND/ DEVICES AND PRINTERS as "EXTERNAL USB HDD" but it wont let me copy any files to it.

I am CLUELESS. I don't know how to format it or clone it (I don't even know what that means)
If you know ANYTHING, and can explain it as if you were talking to a TEN year old, I would be SOOO greatful!!
: }

[phillpower2]

Hey no worries we all had to start somewhere, the L500 sounds like a familiar model number but I need to do some research, what OS system are you using - Windows 7?

Is the notebook @ http://uk.computers....DUCT_ID=1070509 the same as yours?

[Magma]

Yes it uses Windows 7, and the picture of the laptop on that link is similar, but not exactly the same.
I've had it a couple of years, and I don't think they make this kind anymore.
Looks exactly like this:
http://www.toshibadi...lite&model=L500

[phillpower2]

See http://windows.micro...isks-and-drives and;

1.Plug in and turn on the external USB hard drive
2.Right click on My Computer
3.Left click on Manage
4.Left click on Device Manager
5.Expand the USB list
6.Find the USB device for your USB Hard Drive
7.Right click - Uninstall
8.Turn off the external USB hard drive
9.Turn on the external USB hard drive and let it find and install the driver.

Let us know how it goes.

[Magma]

I just have a couple of questions:

I got as far as "6.Find the USB device for your USB Hard Drive" and got stuck because I don't know which one is my device. There are a bunch called "USB Root Hub" that I am pretty sure is not it. But there is two that it could be and I'm not sure which one "USB Composite Device" or "USB Mass Storage Device" are either of these correct??

Also, I have a question about:
"8.Turn off the external USB hard drive
9.Turn on the external USB hard drive and let it find and install the driver."
The hard drive that I have does not have an off/on switch. All it has is a plug-in for the USB cord and a light at the top showing if it is on or not(when I plug it into the computer the light goes on, when I take it out, the light goes out). Is there a way I can turn it off on the computer??

Lastly, thank you for the information about "Formatting" but I was wondering if that means that once I can get the computer to recognise the device, will I then have to format it??

Thank you sooo much for looking into this for me and answering my questions. I know I probabally sound painfully simple, but this is all new to me, and I really appreciate you taking the time to help me.
: }

[Magma]

I think I may have had a stroke of brilliance. I decided to unplug the device and see which of the two is left over. I am now positive it is called "USB Mass Storage Device" !!
: D

[phillpower2]

Magma, on 01 April 2012 - 09:06 AM, said:

I think I may have had a stroke of brilliance. I decided to unplug the device and see which of the two is left over. I am now positive it is called "USB Mass Storage Device" !!
: D

You are correct with "USB Mass Storage Device". ( as you have already found for yourself )
For future reference do not disconnect the device before shutting the device itself down manually in My Computer etc or by shutting the whole system down as you would normally, this will help prevent drive failure and data corruption.

This may also help http://windows.micro...-a-drive-letter

[Magma]

First I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU for taking the time to try to help me! And also for providing me with information so that I am at least a LITTLE more computer savvy. ; }
I think I may have ACCIDENTALLY discovered the problem, and I NEVER would have without your assistance.

I had the "Device Manager" open when I "Safely removed mass storage device from computer" and noticed that "Disk 1" an unnamed drive was removed from the list. I figured that that must have been the mass storage drive and that was why I couldn't figure out how to format it. SO, I connected the drive again and when it came up I noticed, again, that it was different from the other devices because it was called "Unallocated" and that sounded bad to me. I googled what it meant and found a video on youtube that showed me how to fix the problem and it formatted the device as well. YAY!

this video:


I am now able to successfully transfer files to the device and I am sooo happy! I was sure that I would have to return it to amazon and I can't tell you how grateful I am that you helped me avoid that!
: }

[phillpower2]

Congratulations Magma for resolving your external HDD issue - I am pleased that the issue is now resolved and thank you for posting the solution so that it may help others in the future

[Magma]