2TB Extreme Problem

USB Flash Drives Extreme Drives
1

Long time listener first time caller here…

So I plugged my Extreme hd to my phone to see if I could play some music then when I plugged it back to my PC NADA. I’ve tried formatting (NTFS) it using 3rd party programs on my phone but still nothing.

Gracias in advanced…

2

@bezarker Android or iOS? Format the drive as exFAT with Allocation unit size to 1024. Portable SSD can only be used with Apple Files app on iPhones.

Have you checked our knowledge base articles?
( Get Support for Your SSDs and Flash Products | Sandisk )

Try these.

Have you opened a Support Case?
If not, contact SanDisk Technical Support for assistance.
( Contact Support | Sandisk )

3

Sorry about that, yes Android. I can read it on my phone all day long but not on my windows PC. I tried doing a search for my particular problem but didn’t see anything. I’ll keep searching and or open a case.

4

Hey, try checking Disk Management on your PC to see if the drive is detected there. Also, avoid using NTFS as it can cause issues with some devices. Re-format it to exFAT on your computer for better compatibility with both phone and PC. Hope this helps

5

Your SanDisk Extreme likely got its file system scrambled when connected to your phone, phones can write to drives in ways Windows can’t read, especially with third-party formatting apps. Stop formatting it again, or you risk losing data permanently. Plug it directly into your PC and check Disk Management (Win + X → Disk Management) to see if it appears, even as RAW or unallocated. If it does, use recovery software like Stellar, Recuva, or Photorec to recover your files, saving them to another drive first.

6

First, try a different USB port and cable on your PC, sometimes the phone can mess with the drive’s partition table. If it shows up in Disk Management but without a drive letter, just assign one. If it doesn’t appear there at all, open Command Prompt as admin and run diskpart, then list disk to see if Windows can detect it at a lower level. Phones can sometimes create a funky partition that Windows hates, so if it shows there, you might need to clean it using diskpart (clean command) and then reformat in NTFS. Don’t format on the phone, Windows needs to handle it directly. That usually fixes this kind of “invisible” drive issue.

https://www.stellarinfo.com/blog/usb-drive-not-showing-up-windows/

7

Your Extreme drive may be corrupted. Try using a different USB port on your PC or a different cable, and connect it to another PC to see if it gets recognized.

Next, open Disk Management (Right-click on Start and select ‘Disk Management’ from the menu that appears) and check the status of the external hard drive. If you can see the drive’s correct size and file system type (NTFS), use Windows’ built-in repair tool, CHKDSK, to see if it can fix the drive.

However, if the drive is not displaying complete information—for example, if the file system is labeled as ‘Unknown,’ ‘RAW,’ or shows an incorrect capacity, or if the drive letter is missing and the drive is marked as ‘Unallocated’—then additional steps are required to resolve the issue.

The solutions in this how-to guide should help you fix the problem: Quickly Fix WD External Hard Drive Not Recognized in Windows

8

Unfortunately nothing seems to work, I am able to open the HD on two different phones but I cannot see it on my desktop or laptop.

9

OK so out of the blue my SSD is now working, I used the same cables that I used on both PCs and somehow it seems to be good now. I used a free program and formatted it to exFAT like suggested. Thank you all for your help (see attached image):

THIS ONE RIGHT HERE
THIS ONE RIGHT HERE1150×1040 42.7 KB

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