How to access a drive
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 19

Thread: How to access a drive

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127

    How to access a drive

    Some drives are not auto detected but the TV knows all about them, the brand, the size, etc.
    How do you access such a drive? I can understand not having access to a drive the TV can't see. I don't understand why you can't access one the TV knows about it or why USB isn't one of the Sources.
    Anyone? Thanks - rev

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    What file system did you format the drive with? It may be able to see the physical drive, but it can't read the filesystem. You'd need to check the TV manual to see which filesystems are supported (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, etc.)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127
    It's NTFS and that system is recognized. I know that from playing movies on drives the TV auto detects.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    Huh? If the TV can play movies from the drive, then isn't it working? You need to explain exactly what you are doing. Is it a smart TV? Are you using a specific app?

    Make/model of the TV and drives might help too.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127
    The TV can play movies from other NTFS drives that were auto detected. That's how I know the format is supported. It's not a format issue. It's an access issue. The drive in question is not auto detected so no media player is automatically invoked but the TV recognizes it and knows what brand and what size it is. In computer terms, it would be like seeing the drive in Disk Manager but not getting a drive letter in Explorer.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    Ok, so what are the differences between the drives? Like which ones work, and which don't? Do they have an AC adapter or are they USB-powered? You didn't give any make/models, so we're flying blind.

    For your computer reference, it could still be something like an unsupported file system. The drive would be physically detected, but the OS couldn't read it. Without more details, it's hard to give an answer.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    Some devices have problems with drives larger than 4TB. That's another possibility.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 1999
    Location
    Largo, Fl.
    Posts
    22,322
    What are the File Extensions of the movie files?
    And are they same as a known working type?
    If you're happy and you know it......it's your meds.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127
    You might have nailed it when you mentioned the size. The visible drive that's inaccessible is 5TB. I'll check the manual but I've got a feeling that's the problem.
    Working drive is WD Elements 2TB USB powered, inaccessible drive is Toshiba no model 5TB PSU powered. My TV is a Sansui 50" AND it supports all the common extensions.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    That's why it's important to give us details. I've also seen issues with some old devices and drives larger than 2TB.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127
    You guys don't need details, you know everything!
    However, just to make you happy I'll provide everything next time and I've got a doosey coming up.
    Seriously though, thanks! Now I have to split 7,000 movies across about 5 smaller disks!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,063
    The 5TB drive might work if you made the partition smaller. No guarantees though. Also, Microsoft has tweaked the NTFS format at various times during Windows "upgrades", so that can also affect things.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    California
    Posts
    4,127
    Will I have to copy everything off before creating the partition?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,063
    If the partition has enough free space, you might be able to shrink it.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,686
    Will I have to copy everything off before creating the partition?
    You'd want to. If something happens during the repartition, you probably won't be able to recover the data.

    You'd have to shrink the original partition, and then create/format a new partition from the unallocated space. Even then, as jdc2000 mentioned, this still may not work.

    A 5TB partition would require a GPT partition table, not MBR. Even if you shrink the current partition, it would still be using GPT. Your TV may not be able to recognize GPT.
    The only way to change that is to re-initialize the disk (I.E. wipe it out) and then use MBR. That limits you to 2TB, even if the physical disk is 5TB.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •