Troubleshooting Portable Hard Drive for Picture Storage: Fixes and Tips

A portable hard drive is a must-have for picture storage, but, sometimes, users experience problems with portable hard drives.
One user posted the following issue on the Microsoft forum:
> I bought a portable hard drive and when I try to copy my pictures it > says “the disk in drive a: is not formatted”
In this article, we will explore the likely troubleshooting steps for portable hard drive for picture storage issues.

  • The Portable Hard Drive for Picture Storage app is an easy-to-use tool, but it can sometimes freeze.
  • You can fix this issue by deleting the folder temporarily or restarting your computer.

Change Folder and Search Options

  1. Go to Search, type Folder Options, and open the Folder Options window
  2. Under View tab, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and click OK
  3. Under View tab, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and click OK

Change drive letter

  1. Change the drive letter that is assigned to your portable hard drive.
    Change the drive letter that is assigned to your portable hard drive.
  2. Many users may experience this issue if the drive letter assigned to the portable hard drive is already in use by something else.
  3. Users who are experiencing this issue should change the drive letter of the portable hard drive.
  4. Use a different USB port
    Many users have reported that switching the USB port of the portable hard drive has fixed their issue.
  5. Users should try using a different USB port of the portable hard drive.
  6. Also, users should try plugging the portable hard drive in a different port on the PC.

Unplug and reconnect the hard drive

  1. Plug the hard drive back in.
  2. Try accessing your external hard drive to back up your pictures.
  3. Check the cable connections
    Check the cable connections
  4. Make sure your WD external hard drive is on

Check the drive letter

  1. Try renaming the external hard drive by changing it to a letter that is available on your machine.
    Try renaming the external hard drive by changing it to a letter that is available on your machine.
  2. Check if the portable hard drive is formatted
    Some external hard drives need to be formatted before being used.
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