Windows 10: Drive space problems on external HDD

Discus and support Drive space problems on external HDD in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; Hey I was wondering if anybody here knows why when I try to copy a large 107GB file to a NTFS external hard drive, it immediately occupies that size... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/ImpMadness, Nov 12, 2020.

  1. Drive space problems on external HDD


    Hey I was wondering if anybody here knows why when I try to copy a large 107GB file to a NTFS external hard drive, it immediately occupies that size and then explorer starts copying it, obviously leaving me with a couple of GB and then it gives an error saying that there isn’t enough space.

    Where did those 107GB that I had free on my HDD go? Why does it need double that space just to copy 1 file?? Is there a software I can use to avoid this? Thanks.

    submitted by /u/ImpMadness
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    :)
     
    /u/ImpMadness, Nov 12, 2020
    #1
  2. rleal Win User

    Windows 10 Anniversary update problems, not recognizing external hdd


    Since this post is active I'll add my HDD issues on here.

    Prior to the Anniversary update I had created a HDD Pool using the built in Microsoft Storage Spaces and had 5 WD Black 1TB HDDs plugged in. The storage pool worked fine but once I upgraded to the Anniversary update the Storage Pools started acting up. It started showing 1 drive as "Reduced resiliency; check the Physical drives section" and it suggested replacing the HDD. But the thing is the drive is only one month old and was working fine prior.

    In the end I did as Storage Spaces suggest and removed the drive (physically removed it from PC as well). I then checked the HDD for issues and nothing was wrong with it so I simply formatted the drive and plugged it back in. At this point all the HDDs in the Storage pool were listed as OK, including the one that was previously showing as consider replacing.

    Everything was going well but then the next day I started getting another notification from Storage Spaces that showed more errors on the Storage Pool. It then showed that 2 HDDs had "Reduced resiliency" and then it eventually went to show "Inaccessible" for another drive which added up to 3 HDDs. At this point it was just ridiculous since all the drives were bought at the same time and were new. What was even more ridiculous was that once I shutdown the computer and unplugged all the HDDs, booted Windows on its own HDD, shutdown and reconnected the 5 HDDs and booted Windows again they all showed as OK on the Storage Space.

    That fix was short-lived for the problem returned and it then listed one of the drives in a red "error" icon and then the entire Pool just vanished, to which I had to disconnect and reconnect all the drives to fix the issue. And as before it then listed all the drives as OK which is just insane and drives me crazy.

    What I am currently doing is backing up all my data onto my external drives and will try to recreate the pool from scratch. But I am considering doing a fresh install of the Anniversary update to see if it will fix any of the issues by creating the storage space after the fresh install. If it will work I have no idea but I do hope it does fix the issue.

    Overall the HDDs were randomly going into low power mode I believe and so the Storage Manager couldn't detect the drives which is why it was listed as either Reduced Resiliency or Inaccessible. I could be wrong of course but it is a case for the disappearing Hard Drives.

    If anyone has suggestions I would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks.
     
    rleal, Nov 12, 2020
    #2
  3. What type of setup for external HDD?

    What type of setup for external HDD? [Helped, thanks]

    I'm in need of some mobile and / or reserve disk space. I was considering using a 250gb or so standard external usb drive.

    Or should I go with a cheaper internal drive, that's hooked into a usb HDD dock(below)?


    Drive space problems on external HDD [​IMG]


    I don't have a ton of experience with either, particularly the latter.

    Suggestions? Pitfalls of either or?


    Thanks
     
    newconroer, Nov 12, 2020
    #3
  4. Robfusc8 Win User

    Drive space problems on external HDD

    Quirky behaviour with external HDD

    Hi,

    In response to your questions

    • Are all of the external drives from the same manufacturer?
    Yes, they are all Seagate SRDO0F1 of 500GB

    • Have you attempted to restart the computer that could not read the external drive and also try to connect the external drive to a different port on the computer after testing the external drive on another computer?
    Yes to both, neither worked.

    • Were there any recent changes made or updates installed prior to the issue occurring?
    No. PC-B is not permanently connected to the 'net.

    I have used to 'Device manager' to check if there is an identified driver problem - nothing is flagged - and I would not expect one HDD to work, and the other not to, if there was a driver problem
     
    Robfusc8, Nov 12, 2020
    #4
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Drive space problems on external HDD

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