Problem with a remote drive.

[thucythucy]

For some reason I can't explain, one of my Buffalo remote drives refuses to work, that is, I connect it to my laptop and nothing happens. The light lights so it appears to be running, and if I go to the remove safely option it's there, and I get a "safe to remove BUP Slim BK" notice, but when I go to "documents" to try to access any of my files it's as if the damn thing doesn't exist.

Any ideas on how to deal with this?

Thanks! and best wishes...

[MichMan]

1. HDD or SSD?

May have failed. Hopefully nothing important is on it if that is the case.

[thucythucy]

2. It's a Seagate Portable Hard Drive.

I have backups, but it's unnerving to suddenly lose years of work for no discernable reason.

While we're tallking, what would you consider to be the most reliable way to backup files?

[MichMan]

4. I use multiple SSD

Had a failure once on a HDD (Hard Disc Drive with a spinning disc) and lost 2 years of pictures. Some were quite important to me. Sent it off to be recovered ($$$) and they said they couldn't, so didn't charge me.

I now back everything up twice on separate SSD (Solid State Drive). Heard that they can lose data if they sit for extended periods without being used, so try and plug them in periodically. One hard drive can fail at any time. The chances of two both failing is miniscule.

[thucythucy]

6. I do use more than one backup, so I haven't lost anything.

It's still unsettling though to suddenly crash like this.

What do you recommend as a replacement, that is, what product do you find most reliable?

[MichMan]

7. Not an expert by any means but I use Samsung T7 Shield

Usually buy 2TB. I take a lot of sports pictures weekly, so that is mostly what I store (other than pictures of my dogs)

[thucythucy]

13. Thank you.

I think I'll give it a try.

Best wishes--

Thucy

[thucythucy]

14. This is probably a stupid question but

when I check for Samsung T7 Shield Options I'm told to "Check for Compatability." I'm then offered a list of options. I'm not sure what these are. They look to be computer brands, but Dell isn't on the list, neither is ASUS, which are the laptops I use.

I wonder if this means I wouldn't be able to use a T7 with my computers. Is this right, or am I reading this incorrectly?

Thanks again.

[MichMan]

15. I think the only compatibility concerns are with smartphones

Should work with any Windows or Mac based PC

[thucythucy]

16. Thanks again!

As you might have guessed, I am a digital Luddite, and innocent of the ways of this techno-cyber-AI world.

Best wishes.

[brush]

3. Plugged into a USD slot on the keyboard or back of the unit?

Last edited Tue Jul 8, 2025, 02:01 AM - Edit history (1)

[thucythucy]

5. Plugged into a USD slot. nt

[canetoad]

8. Ima stick my neck out

And suggest that the drive enclosure is probably kaput.

I've used portable drives with both 3.5 and 2.5 disc drives in them for decades and have found the little bit of electronics in the portable case is nearly always the first thing to fail. In fact, I can't remember an actual drive failing.

I have a couple of drive docks - it's easy to pull out the HDD and plug it into a dock to check if it's OK. This is similar to my dock.

[usonian]

9. Back up twice.

Time for me to do as I say. One monster drive might do as a second backup device. Plug it in now and then and copy everything to it.

If I get lazy/lazier, photos get backed up first, though I do sort through them for the best ones and that makes a much smaller folder to back up.


Magnetic spinning drives are said to last longer if they never spin down. I'd take my chances with a weekly or monthly spin up.

If you're unix based, rsync makes that fast. Only copies newer files. Comes with macs and linux.

I have had interfaces inside the drives break, but haven't used a universal drive enclosure in years. You might try a data recovery app to see if the computer can access the drive and if so, check and repair it. Apple Disk Utility does so if it can. There are others. I can't advise on them.

[thucythucy]

10. Thanks everyone for these suggestions.

These give me some options to pursue, so thank you all!

Best wishes--

[CentralMass]

11. Have you tried running diagnostics on it ?

[thucythucy]

12. According to my computer

the drive doesn't exist. I plug it in and it doesm't show up, and so there's no way to run a diagnostics--not that I know of anyway.

But if you have any thoughts on how to do this, plaase let me know.

Thanks and best wishes--

Thucy