Question Toshiba 3TB Canvio Basics USB3 HD "working properly" but no-show in WinXP Explorer

[Muse]

HDTB330XK3CA is the device model. Funny thing is the drive seems to work fine with one of my Lenovo Win10 64bit P1 laptops but not on the other, where I have a similar problem although on that Win10 laptop I see the device in Disk Management (not on the XP machine). On the Win10 machine Desk Management shows no drive letter for it and I can't assign one, has a weird error. Immediate need, though, is to access it on the XP machine. In Device Manager on the XP machine it's listed and "working properly." So, what can I try to get access to this external HD on the XP machine?

 

[VirtualLarry]

XP has a HDD size limit of 2TB, and does NOT support GPT.

Time to come out of the dark ages, Muse.

 

[Muse]

OK, so can't use that drive on the XP machine, period?

It works with my Vista Business laptop. But that one's been trouble lately, thought I'd swap it with my XP laptop.

 

[VirtualLarry]

OK, so can't use that drive on the XP machine, period?

As a 3TB drive, no.

 

[Muse]

As a 3TB drive, no.

Works with my Windows Vista Business laptop, which has had issues so I thought I would swap it with my XP laptop. A workaround would be to use a 140GB USB 2.0 drive, but that's slower, I think. At least copying data from my 3TB laptop.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Works with my Windows Vista Business laptop

Vista supports GPT partitions.

 

[Tech Junky]

@Muse

Why not hook it up to one of the machines it works on and share it on the network?

Better yet, shuck it from the enclosure and stick it inside one of the machines for better speeds.

 

[Muse]

@Muse

Why not hook it up to one of the machines it works on and share it on the network?

Better yet, shuck it from the enclosure and stick it inside one of the machines for better speeds.

Hmm. Well, one of the functions of the external HD is to facilitate transferring data to the laptop in an environment where I don't have access to a network, i.e. my volunteer gig. That's where this is going to happen when I get the laptop set up, which is what I've been doing this morning. The scenario is copying data to the external HD at home and bringing it physically to my volunteer gig where I transfer data to the laptop, which I keep there in a locker.

Thanks for the ideas, however, I love creative thinking!

 

[Tech Junky]

Hmm, ok, then how much data are we talking about? I diy portable drives with enclosures but, it seems your only hurdle here is XP. Upgrade the os or use Linux which doesn't care about drive size and is free. It also runs better on older hw.

 

[VirtualLarry]

but, it seems your only hurdle here is XP. Upgrade the os

queue bicycle_stick_fall.jpg meme.

 

[Muse]

Hmm, ok, then how much data are we talking about? I diy portable drives with enclosures but, it seems your only hurdle here is XP. Upgrade the os or use Linux which doesn't care about drive size and is free. It also runs better on older hw.

Can't run Linux on that laptop at gig because I'm using Windows only software... unless I run Wine, I'm told, but never done it.

Data transfer maybe 10GB at a time, usually.

I'm rethinking this, maybe I won't do that at all, just keep using the Vista Business laptop at the gig. There's a few issues, but not show stoppers. Maybe not worth switching. Besides, I would have to debug a couple programs. I have a mind to just bring the vista laptop back in a couple of days when I go.

 

[Muse]

queue bicycle_stick_fall.jpg meme.

Um, what is that?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm rethinking this

Just use a 2TB portable external HDD, partitioned as MBR.

 

[Tech Junky]

Why not just get a USB flash drive then? i picked up a 32GB drive for under $10 on Amazon for imaging systems @ 80MB/s. I picked up a different one for ~$60 256GB that hits SSD speeds of ~400MB/s.

 

[Muse]

Just use a 2TB portable external HDD, partitioned as MBR.

I have a working iRiver H140 recorder which has a 40GB HD in it, so can be used as an external HD. I don't know how it's partitioned but it does work with either of those laptops (although I had to reboot the laptop to get it to show up in File Explorer today). I also have a not-working iRiver H120 whose 20GB HD failed. I put in a 30GB HD in it, but the thing isn't working right now, I think because the battery died. I have a replacement battery but haven't gotten around to doing the replacement. It's pretty tricky. Also, the case is cracked, making the operation dicey. There's a procedure to replace the HDs in those with SSDs which substantially improves them. It's on my to-do list. Again, not real simple and it involves installing a certain version of 3rd party firmware (Rockbox).

My 2TB external HDs (WD) are relatively bulky compared to the 3TB Toshibas (I have 2 of those), which are about 2-3x the size of a deck of cards (by volume).

 

[bjlockie]

OK, so can't use that drive on the XP machine, period?

Reformat with MBR.

 

[Muse]

Reformat with MBR.

The 3TB HD?

 

[fzabkar]

Shucking the drive is not an option. These models integrate the USB - SATA bridge electronics onto the HDD's PCB.

If you use DMDE data recovery software on your XP machine, you should be able to "recover" the data from your USB drive to the laptop. Just be aware that the free version of DMDE is limited to recovering 4000 files of any size from any one folder per run, so ensure that you prepare all your transferable data in one folder. Note that DMDE will also transfer files from a file system that Win XP doesn't understand, eg ext2/3/4 or HFS/HFS+.

https://dmde.com/

 

[Shmee]

Why not get a newer work laptop? Does your work software only run on XP or Vista?

 

[Muse]

Why not get a newer work laptop? Does your work software only run on XP or Vista?

My requirements there at my volunteer job are very modest. In fact, I don't have access to wifi. I run a few apps that require windows but nothing beyond XP. The machine I had there I bought used from an Anandtecher for $100 and had Vista Business installed. That machine has a quirk in that its optical drive won't open oftentimes without several tries. I use that a lot. Newer laptops AFAIK don't support an optical drive. I also had an XP Lenovo T60 I didn't need at home anymore, so it became realistic to swap it for the HP Vista machine. It's working out now using a 2TB external HDD graciously given me by VitualLarry.