External Hard Drive Backup

[seepea]

The worst happened yesterday and my external hard drive completely failed.  I was unable to access any files on it.  Fortunately, because of your advice, I had an exact copy of it made with SyncToy on a second external hard drive.  I spent yesterday using SyncToy to then make a mirror copy of this good hard drive to have as a new backup (I used echo).  When I was done, I noticed that the number of GB stored on each of the 2 drives was different.  Why would this be so if I simply copied all the files over from one to the other?

[Brian]

I wouldn't worry about it that much. It has to do with the cluster sizes and how the data is stored on the drives. Unless the two drives were completely identical, and you had a dramatic size difference, then I'd be worried. But you copied a 8TB Drive to a 12TB drive and things are a little different? That's a typical thing to happen.

[seepea]

Thank you!  Another issue has come up.  As I've tried to copy files from my computer to my "new" main external hard drive, I received an error asking if I was sure I wanted to move the file without some of its properties.  This leads me to believe my external hard drive is formatted as a FAT drive instead of a NTFS drive.  Is this going to make any difference?  I only use windows.  Do I need to change the formatting on the external hard drive?  It already contains a ton of data.

[Brian]

Yeah, that usually happens when you copy a file that was on a NTFS Drive and moved to another format, like FAT. You will see this a lot if copying stuff to a thumbdrive. Nothing bad will happen per se, it's just that the file properties will be lost if copied back to a NTFS.

So before putting anything on this new drive, we need to make sure WHAT partition type it has. If it's an external hard drive and you are using Windows, IT NEEDS TO BE NTFS and not FAT32 (Unlikely) or the stupid exFAT that Manufacturers are using. Worse yet, using Manufacturer's software that "Preps" the drive for you also screws you up. All you need is the Windows Disk Management App that is built into Windows. Right-Click on the Start Button, select Disk Management and with the new EHD installed, take a screenshot and post it here. I wanna see how that new drive is setup.

[seepea]

Here is the screenshot.  Some notes:  E: main backup is a Seagate EHD that used to be F:.  This drive was originally the back-up to the first E:--which is now dead.  I have no idea how that original dead drive was formatted--my computer won't recognize it anymore.  When it died--I renamed F: to E: to keep it as my main EHD.  I then purchased a new Seagate EHD and that is the F: drive now.  I have already used SyncToy to copy all of my files from the new E: to F:.  Please let me know if you need any clarification on all this.

[Brian]

44 minutes ago, seepea said:

E: main backup is a Seagate EHD that used to be F:.  This drive was originally the back-up to the first E:--which is now dead.  I have no idea how that original dead drive was formatted--my computer won't recognize it anymore.  When it died--I renamed F: to E: to keep it as my main EHD.  I then purchased a new Seagate EHD and that is the F: drive now.

Huh? 🤪 LOL!!

Simplify!!! You like to over-think things, I do this as well, but when it comes to hard drives and your data, you need to take things one-step-at-a-time. First, we need to think about where your files are going and if that hard drive is setup correctly or not. Because rushing in a panic because another HD failed is going to set you up for a catastrophic failure at some point. Clearly with the way your "Main Backup" drive is set now, it's inevitable.

So let's disconnect the camera or media card. (That's the EOS_Digital) I just want the new EHD hooked up to your new computer. As I suspected, you have exFAT Partitoned/Formatted HDs. This is what is causing you grief and will ROYALLY F*CK things up in the future. So let's begin...

 

That "Main Backup E:\" which I'm reading should be the "New" EHD,

WILL NEED TO BE NUKED AND YOU WILL HAVE TO START OVER!

This is why I wanted to make sure of the Partition Type BEFORE you did anything on it. And why you should COPY/Paste things instead of "cut and paste" or move the files. This way we can do things again.

Step one: The new "Main Backup," see where it says "exFAT?"

This is BAD, but it is fixable. If there are ANY files on that drive and aren't somewhere else, you need to copy them over to a new location because the next step is...

Right-Click on that Main Backup Block and select "Delete Partition."

I want to see nothing but a black line all the way across, completely empty. When you get there, post another screen-shot.

WARNING!!

Make sure you are on the CORRECT DRIVE when you do this. This is a one-way proposition. We are deleting everything on that drive and starting over.

[seepea]

When I right click, I don't see "delete Partition."  This is what I see:

[Brian]

It's good that you have selected the correct drive, now you need to click on the correct area.

Right Click on this area, where it says "Main Backup (E:)," then  you should see "Delete Partition."

Basically, when you right-click on this "Block" or "Section," you will see a list of choices of what do to with the exiting Partition.

[seepea]

OK, here are my choices.  Which should I choose?

[Brian]

Delete Volume

Now, before you do this, you have everything on this HD backed up / located somewhere else? Because this will nuke everything on that drive. So if you are 100% sure you can delete everything without worry, go ahead and select Delete Volume. You then should have a black stripe all the way across. Post a screenshot when you are done.

[Brian]

Alright, I'm just going to save some time. After you select the exFAT Partition Block, then right-click and choose "Delete Volume," the EHD in Disk Management should be a solid black line all the way across. Here is an example of what I'm talking about. Please note! My HD is A LOT smaller than yours.

Now for the fun part, creating a new NTFS Partition!

1. Right click on the area that has a black stripe and select, "New Simple Volume."
   
   
    
2. The Wizard should appear, click Next: 
   
   
    
3. Specify the Volume Size. For the majority and this example, we will leave it at the default, which is the maximum capacity of the drive. If you are going to create multiple partitions on this Hard Drive at different sizes, I'd use an online calculator tool to create the size you need. For example, if you wanted to create a 6TB partition, you would enter 6,291,456. But to keep things simple, again...leave it at the default and click next. 
   
   
    
4. Assign a Drive Letter. This is the spot that you can assign a drive letter if you choose. For example, if this EHD is one that will contain personal files. we could change the Drive Letter to P:\ for "Personal Drive." Again, this is completely up to you to decide. There is no right or wrong answer. If you'd like all of your EHDs to be the "E Drive" (i.e. E:\ ) then change the default to E by clicking the Down Arrow next to the Drive Letter and selecting E.
   
   
   
   After making your choice, click Next. We will leave it at "D" for this example. You could choose "E" or "H" or even "P," it only matters to you.
    
5. The next screen is very important. It's the "Format Partition" selections. For today's modern Windows Computers' hard drives that are meant for permanent storage, you want to use NTFS. Some devices like Thumb Drives, you would want to use FAT32. Again, for this example we will leave it at the default of NTFS. The Allocation Size should be left at the default and it is highly recommended that you give your HD a name, to keep things organized. "Data," "Photos," "EHD #2," etc. are all examples. Keep is short and simple.
   
   
   
   Before clicking Next, be sure to click the check-box next to "Perform a quick format!" Otherwise it will take HOURS to format your HD!
   Leave the "Enable file and folder compression" UN-CHECKED.
   
   Click Next.
    
6. A Summary Window should appear with your selections. Confirm them if you'd like and click Finish.
   
   
    
7. The Hard Drive will begin the process and Windows will assign it a letter and name. This process should take less than 30 seconds, but this depends on the speed of your computer and Hard Drive. Some complete this task in as little as 5-7 seconds, others take longer. When completed, the Disk Manger should have the drive in the list, along with the name that you chose for the drive:
   
   
    
8. Exit out of the Disk Manger and either use "This PC" or the "Windows Explorer" to use the new Drive.
   
   
    
9. With any new Hard Drive, now is the time to think of a Directory Structure on how you want to organize your Hard Drive. This is completely up to you, but I would take the time and think of how you are going to store stuff, rather than it become a dumping ground for your files/images. Here is one example:
   
   
   
   You could also keep things very simple, and have folders that are just the year:
   
   
   
   The sky's the limit! So make your Directory Structure a good one!

[seepea]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I'm so glad you saved time and gave me fantastic instructions.  I was able to get it all done and create my backup EHD.  I sleep much better knowing I have a complete backup.  Thank you!

[Brian]

Yippee!!!

I'm just glad we caught the exFAT thing when we did. NTFS is the way to go, and no permission errors either!!

[seepea]

Another problem just cropped up with this drive--I'm happy to start another thread if you would prefer.  Whenever I try to safely eject it, I get the error that it is in use.  That never goes away.  I've always assumed that when I shut my computer down I can then safely remove the external hard drive, but today I noticed that after my computer turned off, the light on the external hard drive stayed on and it was spinning (if spinning is what it does--I could hear and feel it).  Any idea what's happening?

[Brian]

This is a common problem with modern computers. Powered Off doesn’t mean what it used to. If there is any power detected by the drive, via the USB Port,  it will spin up and down constantly. Only way around it is to either turn off the power switch on the EHD if you have one or pull the USB cable. There might be some power management tweaks you can do. What external drive is this. Does it have a power switch?

[seepea]

It's a Seagate Backup Plus 4TB EHD.  It does not have a power switch.  Just so I'm sure I understand--are you saying that if I shut down my computer, it is OK to pull the USB cable even if the light is on and the drive is spinning?

[Brian]

The funny part is, a power switch is no longer a "Power Switch," it's a "Request for Power."

"Huh?"

Your computers are always "On," it's for that instant-on capability. People are used to computers booting in 15 seconds or less, they don't want to wait. It's very much like TV's from 60 years ago. Back then when you turned it on, you had to wait for things to warm up. (This is when they used Vacuum Tubes instead of Transistors.) Eventually, TV's had more of a "Instant On" feature, same things go with computers/laptops these days.

So yes, in order to have the drive not spin up and down, you will need to physically disconnect it after you power off your computer. Honestly? I feel that there will be more wear-and-tear on a drive that's constantly spinning up-and-down than if you pull the usb cable out after the computer is off.