Less than 1GB of photos took 1h30 to move to a hard drive, now connecting it causes file explorer to not respond


Troubleshooting Hard Drive Connection Issues: A User’s Dilemma

Have you ever encountered frustrating technical issues that seem to arise out of nowhere? One user recently shared their struggles with transferring photos from a Mac to an external hard drive, and the subsequent complications when attempting to access it on a Windows laptop.

After a weekend of capturing precious memories, the user embarked on the task of moving less than 1GB of JPEG images from an SD card to their hard drive. Surprisingly, the transfer process took an extensive one hour and thirty minutes, during which the Finder application struggled to buffer and display the files.

Fast forward to the present, the user is now facing another hurdle. Whenever they connect the hard drive to their Windows laptop, Windows Explorer fails to respond. In fact, it eventually shows a message indicating that the process must be terminated. Attempting to close the unresponsive application leads to an alarming scenario— the desktop turns black, and the taskbar vanishes.

This situation has raised concerns about the safety of the files stored on the hard drive. If you or anyone you know has experienced similar issues, your insight and advice could be invaluable. How can this user not only access their files but also ensure that no data is at risk?

If you’re familiar with troubleshooting methods or have tips for managing external hard drive connections effectively, your contributions would be greatly appreciated. Let’s help each other navigate these common tech challenges!


Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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One Comment

  1. Hello,

    It sounds like your external hard drive may have encountered issues during the lengthy transfer, which can sometimes lead to filesystem corruption or hardware recognition problems. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

    • Disconnect and Reconnect: Safely eject the hard drive, then disconnect it. Wait a few moments and reconnect it to see if Windows recognizes it properly.
    • Check Disk Management: On Windows, press Win + R, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter. See if the drive appears there. If it shows as uninitialized or has other issues, you might need to initialize or repair the filesystem.
    • Run CHKDSK: Open Command Prompt as administrator and run chkdsk /f /r X: (replace X with your drive letter). This can help identify and fix filesystem errors.
    • Test on Another System or Adapter: If possible, connect the drive via a different USB port or adapter. Also, try connecting it to another computer to determine if the issue is hardware or software related.
    • Use Data Recovery Software: If the drive is recognized but files are inaccessible or the drive appears corrupted, consider using trusted data recovery tools like Recuva or

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