NTFS formatted USB Disk Drive becomes unformatted after ejecting


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stevenvh

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I have an external USB hard disk, which was NTFS formatted. I switch this drive frequently between two Windows 11 PCs.

After a couple of incidents where files were unreadable, I was advised to switch to ExFAT. But then certain files I added on PC 1 weren't shown on PC 2, and when I reconnected to PC 1 they were there again. So, ExFAT wasn't the obvious solution, and I went back to NTFS. But this time I ejected safely before disconnecting. (Previously I just disconnected after putting the PC in hibernate/shut down).

Sequence of events:
1. Format drive as NTFS on PC 1
2. Restore files from backup
3. Eject drive
4. Disconnect after USB's port LED is off
5. Connect to PC 2

PC 2 now reports the drive as unformatted ("RAW")! So does PC 1 after reconnecting there.

Questions:
1. Doesn't eject work in general for external NTFS HDDs?
2. Should I wait until the PC is shut down to disconnect? (i.e. not just wait until the port's LED is off)
3. What are the best file system and disconnecting procedure when switching a drive between PCs?
 
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Have you checked health of the HDD using CrystalDiskInfo also post a screenshot of Disk Management.

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CrystalDiskInfo

About CrystalDiskInfo A HDD/SSD utility software which supports a part of USB, Intel RAID and NVMe. Related articles Aoi Edition Standard Edition Shizuku Edition Kurei Kei Edition Download System Requirements OS Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10/11Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022/2025...
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stevenvh said:
Questions:
1. Doesn't eject work in general for external NTFS HDDs?
2. Should I wait until the PC is shut down to disconnect? (i.e. not just wait until the port's LED is off)
3. What are the best file system and disconnecting procedure when switching a drive between PCs?
Click to expand...
I have used external HDDs and SSDs for many years.

1. Yes.
2. It depends on whether or not the write cache of the disk is activated. If it is activated, eject or shut down and then disconnect.
You can check the write cache status on Device Manager > Properties > Directives.
3. I always use NTFS for disks, exFAT only for Flash drives.
 

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Disk Management screenshot:

1792858880429.webp


I have since reformatted the drive and restored my files from backup, and I can access the files, so the drive seems physically OK. CrystalDiskInfo also reports a health status of "Good".
 

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The RAW file system is a state of a storage device that has an unknown or no file system on Windows.

Whether you aim to recover important files or return the drive to a usable state, my guide provides working solution for RAW storage drive.
 

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Anibor_11 said:
2. It depends on whether or not the write cache of the disk is activated. If it is activated, eject or shut down and then disconnect.
You can check the write cache status on Device Manager > Properties > Directives.
Click to expand...

The write cache sounded promising but your path through Device Manager doesn't seem to work: I can't seem to find Directives under Properties. (That is Properties for a drive, since Properties for Device Manager doesn't seem to exist.)
 

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Anibor_11 said:
Sorry, it´s Policies.
Click to expand...

Ah, OK.
"Quick removal (default)" is checked, so that should be OK. Thanks for the heads-up.


BTW, There are several drives listed with the same description: "WD Elements 25A3 USB Device". Is there any way to tell them apart? There doesn't seem to be anything in the properties, like for instance drive letter.
 

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Last edited:

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stevenvh said:
Should I wait until the PC is shut down to disconnect?
Click to expand...
Honestly, that is the safest method overall...

"Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" is the safest method...when the computer is running.
 

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Banjoman301 said:
Honestly, that is the safest method overall...

"Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" is the safest method...when the computer is running.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought. I'm trying to figure out what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future. Thanks for your reply
 

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stevenvh said:
............BTW, There are several drives listed with the same description: "WD Elements 25A3 USB Device". Is there any way to tell them apart? There doesn't seem to be anything in the properties, like for instance drive letter.
Click to expand...
You are seeing the multiple drives listed in the Device Manager because you were pulling out the external disk without resorting to the "safely remove" procedure.

Are you still seeing multiple drives in Device Manager?

In that case you need to do a "DriveCleanup" to remove all non-present drives and registry entries pertaining to those non-present drives.

Download V1.6,5 DriveCleanup.zip from Drive Tools for Windows (Roll down on this page till you see DriveCleanup V 1.6.5)

Unzip it to a folder, say "drivecleanup" in C: drive

You will have two folders Win32 and x64 each containing DriveCleanup.exe for 32 bit and 64 bit respectively.

Safely Remove all USB storage devices from your system ( nothing plugged into the USB ports in your system except your Keyboard and mouse) and reboot. Disconnect internet/network if you have network drives.

Right click on the DriveCleanup.exe and run as administrator. (Use the DriveCleanup.exe file appropriate for your bit version of Windows.).

After the clean up act, reboot and then plugin your external disk. Now you will see only one entry for that disk in Device Manager.

( When you plug in your USB devices after this cleanup, these will be installed afresh. What you have done is to remove all non-present devices and drive letters associated with them and start with a clean slate. Hopefully that should resolve the problem.)
 
Last edited:

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I had similar symptoms when I replaced my PCIe USB 3.0 card for a combo PCIe SATA III and USB 3.0 card. The new card didn't provide adequate power and the external USB disk would either not detect or could not open any folders and could not save any new files. This was solved by buying a powered USB 3.0 hub. The extra power makes the disk work properly and I think it even works faster than when it was connected to my old PCIe USB 3.0 card. So buy a powered USB 3.0 hub to give the missing power to the disk and operate properly.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (7584), 26H2 (9818)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (7584), 26H2 (9818)
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    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
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    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.

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    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 (build 26300.9818)
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spapakons said:
I had similar symptoms when I replaced my PCIe USB 3.0 card for a combo PCIe SATA III and USB 3.0 card. The new card didn't provide adequate power and the external USB disk would either not detect or could not open any folders and could not save any new files. This was solved by buying a powered USB hub. The extra power makes the disk work properly and I think it even works faster than when it was connected to my old card.
Click to expand...
Ah, that's something I haven't thought about, though it should be OK here: I'm using a powered USB hub, and have used this one for a couple of years now. Also other attached drives don't seem to be affected. Thanks for the reply, though. Kalispera!
 

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Καλησπέρα to you too.
 

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    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
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    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
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    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
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    1
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    1280x800
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    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
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    MICROSOFT EDGE
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    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 (build 26300.9818)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 (build 26300.9818)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
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    Internet Speed
    802.11ac 5GHz wireless 260Mpbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Banjoman301 said:
Honestly, that is the safest method overall...

"Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" is the safest method...when the computer is running.
Click to expand...
Safely Remove and Eject perform the same task, they are functionally identical.
 

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