WD External USB drive loses shares after reboot and is not in Windows 10 Storage

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TheAccountant

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Oct 6, 2016
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Hi,

I am not even sure how to research this issue.

I had a Windows 7 machine with a 2tb WD MyBook 1230. I use this drive to store data.

I moved it to a new machine that has Windows 10. This drive is USB 3.0 and is the new computer.

Two issues:

If I create a network share using folders on this drive, they disappear after the computer is rebooted.

The USB drive does not show up in Windows 10 "Storage" in Settings so that I can put pictures and documents on it.


Now, this has been an issue that I just contend with. But I bought a new Seagate drive to use as a back up since the WD drive is getting old.

The Seagate drive shows up in Windows 10 storage.

It also preserves the shares that are created on it.


The difference I see, is in "Properties", the WD drive shows up with a location of "on USB Mass Storage Device". The Seagate drive shows up with a location of "Bus Number 0, Target Id 0, LUN 0"


Question 1: How do I get the Western Digital drive to preserve the network shares that I create on it?

Question 2: How do I get the Western Digital drive to show up in Windows 10 Storage options?

Question 3: What is the difference in the locations above and how do I find out more about this? I've researched USB drive connections and can't find anything.


 
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JaredDM

JaredDM

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Jul 8, 2015
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You really shouldn't be creating shares on an external hard drive. External drives are for portability, whereas network storage is intended to be fixed and always accessable. Perhaps you should consider buying a NAS instead of a USB drive, as that will actually be designed for what you're trying to do.

Also, I'd avoid Seagate like the plague right now. If your drive hasn't failed yet, just wait a few more months.
 
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T

TheAccountant

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Oct 6, 2016
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I can't necessarily disagree with what you said.

This is not my environment, it's my employer's. It's also preferred (corporate) to expand personal storage because for whatever reason, network storage is really not obtainable in the 2-4tb range. The max they dole out is 50gb. I have the USB drive to keep it portable for when I swap out physical machines as oppose to cracking boxes or transferring data on every upgrade.

This is not for an enterprise grade application that requires 99.9% up time. I am a programmer and I work on anywhere between 6-10 virtual servers that are in a constant state of flux. I map back to this share so that I can have access to the same data across these virtual servers. I deal with data, so that's why the need for 2-4tb.

The crux of my question is... I program software. Hardware is not my specialty, above the norm. I am curious as to the two different ways these drives seem to be connecting to the same computer and why I can't get my share to persist through a reboot of the physical PC. I can't seem to find any information about how the Seagate drive appears to be connecting as if it were eSata and the Western Digital drive, all be it three years old, is still USB 3.0, but appears as USB Mass storage. In addition, I didn't know if my lack of ability to keep my shares active after a reboot had something to do with this?

I just don't know where to look for this information.
 
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JaredDM

JaredDM

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Jul 8, 2015
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I have no idea what you are talking about the max network storage being 50Gb. Most NAS boxes on the market today start at 1Tb and the sky is the limit on the size. In my office, I've got a 24TB NAS along with another 8Tb one. They are a bit more expensive than a USB drive obviously, but that's the price of proper storage.

The problem with USB storage is it's portable by nature of the connection type. It's not to say that it can't be done, but you'll always have problems with is (as you already are) in any network usage.

If you need the drives to be locally connected to the machine, then I'd recommend you eSATA or internally install the necessary storage. USB is your problem here.
 
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JaredDM

JaredDM

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Jul 8, 2015
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Also, as to the difference in how the drives appear. Seagate external hard drives use very simple USB - SATA bridge boards which will generally appear as simple storage. WD gets a lot fancier with their bridge boards as these drives usually have built-in hardware encryption handled by the bridge. So they will tend to appear differently just by nature of the device. Your issue is not driver related, and there's really no reason to even look into that.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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I have a 1TB WD Elements external, attached USB to my Win 10 HTPC.
Multiple folders on it, shared to other PC's on the LAN. Mainly holds movies and music.

The shares persist through a reboot no problem.
It also appears in Settings/Storage, as a location to save to.

The difference I see, is in "Properties", the WD drive shows up with a location of "on USB Mass Storage Device". The Seagate drive shows up with a location of "Bus Number 0, Target Id 0, LUN 0"
Click to expand...
I also have a 8TB Seagate connected USB via a 4 bay enclosure.
Each of these drives show up exactly as you describe.

But they both retain settings and shares no problem.
 
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T

TheAccountant

Commendable
Oct 6, 2016
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1,510
For what it's worth:

Figured this one out. SYSTEM access had been somehow removed from \System Volume Information I had to claim ownership of the directory and once I did, SYSTEM was added automatically.
 
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