HDD is not recognized/initialized via USB, only via SATA - is a reformat through USB a bad idea?

Posted by Wuschelbeutel Kartoffelhuhn on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Wuschelbeutel Kartoffelhuhn
Published on 2013-11-05T01:39:33Z Indexed on 2013/11/05 4:01 UTC
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Filed under:

windows-7

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hard-drive

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usb

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external-hard-drive

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sata

I have a 4TB Hitachi HDD that I purchased in Europe (I use it as a backup disk); I use Windows 7. When I connect it to a SATA port, it is recognized in Windows Explorer and gives no problems, even after transferring 3TB at a time or after being on for days.

When I connect it via a SATA-to-USB2.0 adapter, it is also recognized, but when I transfer a large amount of data, it will intermittently stop being recognized by Windows Explorer and cancel the transfer.

When I connect it via an external enclosure (which is technically a SATA-to-USB3.0 adapter), it does not display at all in Windows Explorer, but Disk Management will show the drive, albeit uninitialized (prompts for format).

I only got the external enclosure because I want to backup my files more conveniently (instead of having to open the computer case each time).

Do you advise against reformat/initialization via the external enclosure? Can it screw up things in an irrevocable way (Master Boot Record etc.)?

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