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External harddrive problem

946 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  plodr, 
DesignationZ2
yo whats up. i have an external hard drive because my computer cant handle the side of sims 4. the problem is suddenly I cant save any more of the game files on the hard drive, I get a message saying something is wrong with the harddrive but when I scan to fix and what not it says its fine. its not fine.
I just bought more content I want to install but it wont go onto the harddrive! very annoying, have some pics of my issue.
help me oh lord.png

Also if you're gonna try to help me, I'm not really all that good with computers and don't understand all the tech jargon so if you can help and explain things really simple that would be cool, or if you would like to help me I'm willing to give my discord contact info so if you feel like helping me that way idk. plz help.
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Couriant
We do not perform help outside of this forum so that way we know what has been suggested and not cause potential issues. I have also edited your post for the expletive as we are a family friendly site and do not permit such words. Thank you for understanding.

as to the problem itself, how big is it and how much free space do you have?

can you try to copy some files to and from the drive to make sure you can read/write to it?
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DesignationZ2
Couriant said:
We do not perform help outside of this forum so that way we know what has been suggested and not cause potential issues. I have also edited your post for the expletive as we are a family friendly site and do not permit such words. Thank you for understanding.

as to the problem itself, how big is it and how much free space do you have?

can you try to copy some files to and from the drive to make sure you can read/write to it?
Click to expand...
OH I AM SO SORRY!!!!!! I have not used this site in years and need to re-read the rules obviously. again so sorry! I wrote this dead tired.

as for file size, im not sure about the size of the content im trying to download, i cant imagine its particularly large i have many other files from the same game saved on the drive that are most likely bigger than it. but I know that my external hard drive has about 2TB of free space.

Photograph Font Screenshot Plant Software


this is what comes up with all the image files I just tried to copy off of the drive.
Photograph Product Font Screenshot Software

However, it seems I was able to move that png file "help me" onto the drive. My confusion is why I can add that but nothing else.
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Couriant
What is the make/model of your drive and are you connected to 2.0 or 3.0 USB port? You can tell by the colout of the port.
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DesignationZ2
Couriant said:
What is the make/model of your drive and are you connected to 2.0 or 3.0 USB port? You can tell by the colout of the port.
Click to expand...
the logo on the front of the drive says its 3.0 but if you mean whats my computer?? iwasnt able to figure it out but here's a link to the info that pops up when I scan the QR code on my computer. http://qr.inc.hp.com/qr?pn=1W828UA&occ=&oll=&cc=us&ll=en&rd=1 and this is the info for my drive. https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB3-0-2TB...p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
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plodr
I suspect you might have a fake 2 TB hard drive. It is listed as unbranded. (I'd advise you to never trust your data to an unbranded device.)
Next is the price. Red flags go up when I see a 2TB hd for $40.
Prices here for 2TB run around $50 - $60. If you see a lower price, it is NOT a 2TB drive.
https://www.amazon.com/External-Har...e_two_browse-bin:7817230011&c=ts&ts_id=595048

Here is a tool to test it. h2testw is the tool you want
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-an...b-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/

Fake drives will claim larger capacity than what the drive will hold.
If you can't fit any more on it, it is because the limited capacity of the fake drive has been reached.
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Goddess-Bastet
What file system did you use for the USB drive - exFAT, FAT, NTFS etc? Some file systems can only store a maximum of 4GB per file. I suspect the game may be larger than this. It would explain why a smaller file could be transferred.
The USB should be exFAT
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plodr
In both screenshots the external drive is shown twice.
harddrive.jpg


I'm trying to determine why.

Here's a 2TB hard drive attached to mt system. (drive F WD Elements)
port_hd.jpg

When I right click it, and select properties, I can see the formatting and used and free space.
props_hd.jpg


What does D show when you right click on both the D icons and select properties?

A different 2TB hd attached.
Rectangle Font Number Parallel Pattern

And my last 2TB hd attached, looks exactly like the image above.
None of my drives show 2 of the same drive letters.
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DesignationZ2
plodr said:
I suspect you might have a fake 2 TB hard drive. It is listed as unbranded. (I'd advise you to never trust your data to an unbranded device.)
Next is the price. Red flags go up when I see a 2TB hd for $40.
Prices here for 2TB run around $50 - $60. If you see a lower price, it is NOT a 2TB drive.
https://www.amazon.com/External-Hard-Drives-2-TB/s?keywords=External+Hard+Drives&rh=n:595048,p_n_feature_two_browse-bin:7817230011&c=ts&ts_id=595048

Here is a tool to test it. h2testw is the tool you want
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-an...b-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/

Fake drives will claim larger capacity than what the drive will hold.
If you can't fit any more on it, it is because the limited capacity of the fake drive has been reached.
Click to expand...
See that's what I was worried about at first but the thing is, at one point I had a lot more on the drive, like 4 more games and all my pictures from my old computer. it all fit perfectly and there seemed to be plenty of room for more before I deleted it bc I didn't need it up there any more. but now nothing will download onto it. i will try out the test tho.
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DesignationZ2
Goddess-Bastet said:
What file system did you use for the USB drive - exFAT, FAT, NTFS etc? Some file systems can only store a maximum of 4GB per file. I suspect the game may be larger than this. It would explain why a smaller file could be transferred.
The USB should be exFAT
Click to expand...
sorry for the long pause between replies but I am really not sure how to figure that out. do you think you can tell me
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DesignationZ2
plodr said:
In both screenshots the external drive is shown twice.
View attachment 290165

I'm trying to determine why.

Here's a 2TB hard drive attached to mt system. (drive F WD Elements)
View attachment 290166
When I right click it, and select properties, I can see the formatting and used and free space.
View attachment 290167

What does D show when you right click on both the D icons and select properties?

A different 2TB hd attached.
View attachment 290168
And my last 2TB hd attached, looks exactly like the image above.
None of my drives show 2 of the same drive letters.
Click to expand...
Rectangle Product Azure Font Screenshot

ignore the censorship on the drive, my ffriend who was trying to help me told me to change the name of the drive to see if it made any difference so i did but its profanity so i had to cover it.
this is what shows when i right click and show properties.

as for why there are two. idk its been like that since i first started using it.

i hope this helps i think im having a hard time understanding what ur asking.
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plodr
The picture shows that the D (bothersome drive)is formatted exFAT. That file system doesn't have a 4GB limit on file size.

I'll have to spend time trying to search and see what it means if an external drive is listed twice. I have no experience with anything like that.

I found a thread from 2015 explaining the problems with installing Sims 4 to an external hard drive.
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Download-sims-4-to-my-external-hard-drive/td-p/4573207

Also have a read through this from the Origin site
https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/06/origin-how-to-change-the-installation-path.html
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