Formatting USB hard drive

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sugarpie

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#296314 7-Jun-2022 17:57

Hello - here is my problem. I bought a 16tb USB hard drive with the intention of creating several partitions for cloning of other drives in my computer. Basically as a storage/backup device. It started out great but when it came time to split up the drive the problems began. I have spent hours trolling websites trying to sort it out but everything I have tried has failed. I have used several partition programs as well as Windows 10 built in disk management and command line functions like diskpart.

Essentially I just cannot get the partitions formatted. I can get the partitions created in the various software and it even comes back as "successful" when the formatting is finished but when I go to use the partitions they are unformatted. I can get the initial partition to format no problem but after that it won't work. I have tried NTFS and exFAT, both return the same problem. Nothing in Windows will work, whether it's file explorer, disk management or diskpart. They all either come back with "Windows cannot format the drive" or display a successful format but then revert to unformatted or unallocated.

I have tried every trick and tip and tutorial I can find and followed all the advice to the letter but the same problem remains.

Any ideas or places I can check out to try something else? Thanks

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#2923695 7-Jun-2022 18:17

How many we talking

Max of 4 primaries on MBR.

Lias

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#2923714 7-Jun-2022 19:43

By any chance was your 16tb drive very cheap and from somewhere in China like wish.com?

If so, it's probably not a real 16tb drive.

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Oblivian

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#2923718 7-Jun-2022 19:50

There is that too

Think even 1day got caught out by SanDisk SD fakes

timmmay

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#2923721 7-Jun-2022 20:22

I use Windows Disk Management. I just delete any existing partitions, create new partitions, then right click in each partition to format them. I've never had a problem doing it this way. Can you try this, documenting your steps, and post them including relevant screenshots?

It could also be a faulty / imitation drive, or a PEBKAC error.

sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923722 7-Jun-2022 20:34

Lias:

By any chance was your 16tb drive very cheap and from somewhere in China like wish.com?

If so, it's probably not a real 16tb drive.

It does show up as 16tb in explorer and all the partition applications I tried

sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923723 7-Jun-2022 20:35

I'm using GPT so that limit shouldn't apply

sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923724 7-Jun-2022 20:38

timmmay:

I use Windows Disk Management. I just delete any existing partitions, create new partitions, then right click in each partition to format them. I've never had a problem doing it this way. Can you try this, documenting your steps, and post them including relevant screenshots?

It could also be a faulty / imitation drive, or a PEBKAC error.

Yep that's exactly what I did. When it finished it would say something like "format successful" and I could see it say that in disk management but as soon as I clicked out of that confirmation it reverted back to "unallocated".

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JaseNZ

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#2923726 7-Jun-2022 20:40

This is a pretty good tool if you havn't tried it already.

https://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

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gzt

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#2923733 7-Jun-2022 20:59

Gparted is my go to. It is very capable.

What is this drive brand and exact model? Something fancy with a partition table write protection restore feature?

michaelmurfy

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#2923740 7-Jun-2022 21:30

sugarpie:

It does show up as 16tb in explorer and all the partition applications I tried

Yes, fake drives will. It is a very, very common scam.

You have not actually mentioned what kind of drive it is and where you purchased it from...

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ANglEAUT

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#2923789 8-Jun-2022 06:30

sugarpie:

Hello - here is my problem. I bought a 16tb USB hard drive with the intention of creating several partitions for cloning of other drives in my computer ...

I'd start with this. Why create partitions for cloning drives? You can create virtual drive (.VHDX) files that are a clone & don't need to mirror the size of the physical drive. Simply store those large files in one partition of the drive?

If the drive is reporting the incorrect size as others have stated, try using GParted from a live CD & see what size is reported and what you can partition. Maybe it helps to get out of the Windows eco system for a different point of view.

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sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923832 8-Jun-2022 09:27

JaseNZ:

This is a pretty good tool if you havn't tried it already.

https://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

Yes I did try that one. And MiniTool and EaseUS and AOMEI and a few others. Same result every time

sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923834 8-Jun-2022 09:28

ANglEAUT:

sugarpie:

Hello - here is my problem. I bought a 16tb USB hard drive with the intention of creating several partitions for cloning of other drives in my computer ...

I'd start with this. Why create partitions for cloning drives? You can create virtual drive (.VHDX) files that are a clone & don't need to mirror the size of the physical drive. Simply store those large files in one partition of the drive?

If the drive is reporting the incorrect size as others have stated, try using GParted from a live CD & see what size is reported and what you can partition. Maybe it helps to get out of the Windows eco system for a different point of view.

Cheers for these tips. I will try and see what happens (fingers, legs, eyes crossed)

sugarpie

59 posts

Master Geek

#2923837 8-Jun-2022 09:35

michaelmurfy:

sugarpie:

It does show up as 16tb in explorer and all the partition applications I tried

Yes, fake drives will. It is a very, very common scam.

You have not actually mentioned what kind of drive it is and where you purchased it from...

This could be a possibility. But I have checked with all the usual Windows apps - disk management, explorer, command prompt (diskpart), several partition apps, I even downloaded some utilities which give system information (Speccy which I've used before) and they all say 16tb.....in real life 15.2tb. So I'm assuming the drive is genuine. It came brand new (supposedly) from AliExpress - yes I know, buyer beware and all that. But I have put files onto the drive and had no problem in that regard. It just seems to be the damn partitioning which won't work

trig42

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#2923839 8-Jun-2022 09:39

Was it really cheap? (compared to one bought from a reputable retailer here).

They have ways of showing the capacity as what you expect, until you actually try and use that capacity.

Why not create a whole lot of VHDs and see when the drive stops accepting them?

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