Can't backup

MT269 said:

I have purchased 3 separate USB drives in the last 3 months. For some reason, they either don't show, or the files seem to disappear. The latest one I've purchased is a Toshiba Canvio V10 with 2TB of space. It doesn't appear in any form on this OS. There is no beep/noise to indicate it's been connected. It doesn't show in the 'This PC' tab.

It is very frustrating, because I am running out of space on handheld gadgets I use at times, which rely on being emptied. I have taken it to a techie, to no avail. That one reckons it's due to the type of drive. IE not being 'solid state'.

Something is very amiss. I have recently removed Bitdefender, which enabled Win 10 to update for the first time in a little while. But I honestly thought that USBs weren't just static items that have no use to anybody. I seriously thought you could transfer items to them until recently. If not, then what can I use for immediate backup? I don't prefer DVDs or mini USB drives with a few GB of space. The previous USB drives died due to an overload of current.

That Toshiba has it's own backup and security software ON the external drive... that could be causing the problems.



I'd suggest something like this...
Western Digital WD_BLACK P10 2 TB External Hard Drive (WDBA2W0020BBK-WESN) - PCPartPicker


Or even better...
Crucial X6 2 TB External SSD (CT2000X6SSD9) - PCPartPicker


And real backup software....

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES | Windows 11 Forum

The previous USB drives died due to an overload of current.

If you are sure that's what happened - how do you know? - sounds like a hardware issue on your PC.

Perhaps you should ensure your USB ports are not putting devices at risk (I don't personally know how you'd do that other than at least checking the supply voltage).

Are the USB devices that don't work on this PC recognised by a different PC?
If you can, get one that doesn't matter that works on a different PC, try it on this problem PC, then retry it on the original PC.

If it no longer works- it's most likely been damaged.

MT269 said:

I have purchased 3 separate USB drives in the last 3 months. For some reason, they either don't show, or the files seem to disappear.

MT269 said:

It doesn't appear in any form on this OS. There is no beep/noise to indicate it's been connected. It doesn't show in the 'This PC' tab.

If it was just one of them, I'd suspect the USB disk.
Since they've all been like that, I suspect your computer.
What does Device manager have to say about connected disks? [Set it to show Hidden devices so you can see devices that have been connected in the past aswell - they appear dimmed]
Test them on another computer.
Test one on this problem computer that has worked correctly on another computer. {I've just noticed that dalchina warned about using a USB device that does not matter for this test. I heartily agree. Since it sounds like it's your computer causing the problems, there's no point destroying a device that contains valuable data or that costs a lot. Perhaps you should only do this test with one of your existing problem devices after it has been tested on another computer. That would achieve the objective.}
When was the last time you were able to use USB-connected disks or USB sticks?

MT269 said:

I seriously thought you could transfer items to them until recently.

You should be able to store files on them.
People do that all the time.
That's what they are for.
And you made a wise decision getting that Toshiba. External USB-connected disks are much more reliable than USB sticks.

MT269 said:

The previous USB drives died due to an overload of current.

Please explain. It does not sound right to me.
Have you been able to use USB-connected disks or USB sticks since these incidents?


All the best,
Denis

I ditched Bitdefender years ago when it blocked access to my new network adapter without even bothering to tell me.
I think I found a reference somewhere in its preferences that revealed what it had been doing.
Perhaps you might try disabling or removing Bitdefender then seeing how things behave.


All the best,
Denis

MT269 said:

Will taking the desktop to a techie do anything? Or will I just be likely to be donating money?

I'd say that taking the disks to other computers would be a most revealing test.
But, given the problems you've had, friends might reasonably be reluctant to let you connect the disks to their computers.
So you might want to go to a techie to test connecting the disks and then decide what your next action should be.

I assume you tested behaviour with Bitdefender disabled. I'm not quite sure from the words you used.

MT269 said:

Thinking of taking it to another repair shop

I've only just noticed "another".
What has previously been checked by a professional?


Best of luck,
Denis