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10512
April 4th, 2009 17:00
Cannot transfer large files to an external HDD
I have a Vostro 400 running Windows XP. I recently purchased a WD 250GB external HDD so that i could transfer my Outlook email file to the HDD. Every time i tried to transfer the file I receive the error message "Not enough space on disk" (The HDD was empty)
My Outlook email file is 7GB in size. My thought was that a USB connection was not fast enough to transfer that large of a file. So I returned the 250GB HDD and purchased an Acomdata 500GB external HDD with an eSATA connection. I connected the new 500GB HDD to my motherboard directly using an eSATA to SATA cable.
As you can image I am still receiving the same error message "Not enough spacke on disk". I checked on Acomdata's website for drivers and i also checked on Dell's website and found nothing so far. The 500GB HDD works fine with my Toshiba laptop.
I'm not sure if it is relevant but i have two internal HDD and i can easily transfer the 7GB email file between the two internal HDDs.
Has anyone seen this problem? And does anyone know how to fix it?
jjon90
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452 Posts
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April 4th, 2009 17:00
My guess is your drive is formatted FAT32 which means it won't accept files larger than 2gb.
Reformat to NTFS and it should work fine!
Let me know if you need me to post the procedure. :emotion-2:
jjon90
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452 Posts
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April 6th, 2009 18:00
Tom99999,
Any progress with your transfer problem?
Tom99999
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April 7th, 2009 18:00
jjon90,
Yes, thank you for the info. I can successfully transfer the files. It's a wonder that such a small thing could cause me so much headache.
However, maybe you have some insight into this. Both my Dell desktop (XP) and laptop (Vista) have issues with recognizing the eSATA connection. The HDD requires both USB and eSATA wires to be plugged in. The USB is for power and the eSATA is for the transfer. I have to first plug in the USB connection to power the drive and both PC's easily recognize the HDD. Then i plub in the eSATA cable and the drive disapears. The only way to get the computer to recognize the drive is if I go into Device Manager and click "Look for changes". Then the HDD will appear with the eSATA connection. however, many times the computers will freeze or the drive will still be recognized even after i unplug it. All kinds of random issues appear.
Honestly, i wanted to setup this system for easily transfering my emails from my desktop to laptop and this has been anything but easy.
jjon90
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452 Posts
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April 8th, 2009 08:00
What Brand/model drive do you have?
All the ones I am familiar with have an independant power supply see here: esata, with usb and esata connectors..
Tom99999
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April 8th, 2009 17:00
The external HDD that i have is new and the only one like it that i have found so far. It is made by Acomdata, it is a small portible 2.5" HDD with 500GB. The drive does not have an external power supply because it is portible. Here is the link: http://www.acomdata.com/portfolio.asp
I bought it on Amazon for about $100.
jjon90
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452 Posts
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April 10th, 2009 08:00
If it does, I would try powering the drive with a USB adapter that plugs into a power outlet. like this USB Adaptor instead of plugging both connectors in the same computer.
I suspect the operating system may be seeing it as two separate devices when both plugs are inserted, thus the malfunction/lock-up. Your drive should be powered from a source other than the computer.
Does the manual state you can indeed connect both to the same computer?
jjon90
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452 Posts
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April 10th, 2009 08:00
I see now! The drive will function properly solely using the USB connection.