PC cannot find hard drive formatted by Arlo Smarthub

[iSeeker]

I recently bought Arlo Pro 4 cam with Smarthub 4540.  I bought a WD 2TB hard drive for local storage and I formatted it on the Arlo Smarthub.  It worked fine.  

Then I unplugged the hard drive from the Smarthub and connected it to my PC.  However, the PC cannot find the hard drive at all, not to mention reading any files on the hard disc.

Can somebody tell me how to fix this issue?

[StephenB]

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@iSeeker wrote:

Then I unplugged the hard drive from the Smarthub and connected it to my PC.  However, the PC cannot find the hard drive at all, not to mention reading any files on the hard disc.

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It sounds like the hard drive might have failed.  If this is new, then maybe return or exchange it.

FWIW, I find that a 128 GB thumb drive/microsd card gives me lots of retention, and is much less cumbersome.  

[iSeeker]

Yes, this is a new drive.  Before I formatted it by Arlo, my PC can read the drive fine without any issue.

It is only after Arlo formatted it that the PC cannot find the drive anymore.  I suspect it has something to do with the FAT32 formatting by Arlo.  Also, the Arlo Smarthub took only 1 min to format the whole 2TB drive - is it to too quick?

[StephenB]

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@iSeeker wrote:

It is only after Arlo formatted it that the PC cannot find the drive anymore.  I suspect it has something to do with the FAT32 formatting by Arlo.  

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I understand the timing, but it is still more likely that the USB drive simply failed shortly after being installed.  

Go into the Windows disk manager ("create and format disk partitions"), and see if the drive shows up there at all.  If the disk electronics are working, then the drive will show up there (no matter how it is formatted).

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@iSeeker wrote:

Also, the Arlo Smarthub took only 1 min to format the whole 2TB drive - is it to too quick?

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Most of the time formatting uses a "quick format" approach - which completes very quickly.

[iSeeker]

Thanks! I did try that and the drive actually shows up in Window disc manager, but it shows no partition on the whole 2TB drive.  

Is this an issue?

[StephenB]

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@iSeeker wrote:

Thanks! I did try that and the drive actually shows up in Window disc manager, but it shows no partition on the whole 2TB drive.  

Is this an issue?

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Clearly it does need a partition.

I'd try formatting it in Windows next (not doing a quick format), and see if that works.  This is to test the drive - you won't be able to format it as FAT32 on the PC, so use a different format.  Exfat is fine for this test.

[iSeeker]

The problem is the PC cannot even find the hard drive now.

Do you mean I try to format it under Command Prompt?

[StephenB]

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@iSeeker wrote:

The problem is the PC cannot even find the hard drive now.

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If you are seeing it in the Windows Disk Manager, you should be able to initialize it and format it there.