• Smart TV does not recognize external hard drive. Why doesn't the TV see the hard drive?

    The development of modern technologies allows users to enjoy high quality photos, excellent sound of audio files and great emotions from watching movies right at home. Thanks to modernity, all these delights have already entered our lives. Realistic special effects, rich multi-channel sound and high resolution Videos are just some of the options available to fans of movies and watching concerts of their favorite bands on a comfortable sofa. For such an impressive picture you have to pay for space on an external drive. Not every TV model can boast of a large amount of built-in memory. Advanced users know that for 4K Ultra HD quality, regular flash drives are not a great choice. After all, today’s highest capacity options of 1 and 2 TB will cost consumers the price of an excellent TV. More available solutions 256 GB, in turn, will be able to fit no more than 4-6 films in 4K Ultra HD resolution with 10-bit encoding and HDR. This means that the viewer is forced to turn to an external hard drive, which is not so expensive and can accommodate a huge amount of memory. Most common problem such a connection is that the TV simply does not see the hard drive through USB port. We propose to analyze the main problems and find out why this happens.

    Relevance of the problem and its causes

    As we have already decided, external hard drives will be an attractive option for film buffs. Depending on the form factor, such devices can be offered in volumes of up to 10 TB, which will be plenty for the TV. Moreover, even for such an impressive capacity you will have to pay significantly less than for the flash drives mentioned above, and 1-2 TB hard drives can be bought for only 80-100 dollars. However, all the advantages external SSD will simply be lost if the device with big screen. If you connect a brand new disk to your TV, onto which your favorite movies have just been loaded without problems, then there is no problem with the performance of the hard drive. In this case, the reason lies in the following three factors:

    1. The disk does not have enough power;
    2. The software on the device has not been updated for a long time;
    3. The file systems of TV and hard drive are incompatible with each other.

    Insufficient nutrition

    This is a very common cause of the problem in question. If you own old model TV, the voltage supplied to its USB ports may be too low to support normal operation Winchester. Depending on the class of the external hard drive, it may require different quantities energy:

    • USB 1: 5V/500mA;
    • USB 2: 5V/500-1000mA;
    • USB 3: 5V/1500-2000mA.

    Most in a simple way The solution to this problem is to use a Y-split cable. But this is only possible if your TV is equipped with two or a large number USB connectors. With this option for connecting an external drive, a couple of ports will be enough, which will provide the voltage necessary to power the drive.

    In the case when the TV is equipped with only one USB, you need to connect the second cord of the splitter to the charger(from a tablet, phone, camera, etc.). Thus, the hard drive will receive the required energy from external unit power supply, and information will simply be transmitted through the TV port.

    Advice! If, even if there are one or two USB ports on the TV, the disc cannot be read with any connection option, try connecting a regular flash drive to the connectors. If it is impossible to read files on the drive, we can conclude that the port(s) of the TV is not working and the problem does not lie in a lack of power.

    Outdated software

    If your TV model is equipped with its own operating system and Wi-Fi module, and is also constantly connected to home network, then the reason is definitely not related to this item. Why then doesn’t he see the TV? hard drive via USB? Regular devices cannot always work with modern drives, especially when it comes to older TV models and large HDDs of 2 terabytes or more. Decide this problem possible by updating the firmware, for which you need:

    1. Go to the TV manufacturer's website;
    2. Go to the “Support” section;
    3. Find the category “Software Update”;
    4. Select from list the desired model and download the firmware file;
    5. Load the software onto the flash drive and update the TV.

    If even after installation latest version firmware external drive the device still cannot recognize, then the problem may lie in the maximum supported storage capacity. For example, if a TV is designed for a maximum capacity of 1 TB, then it does not recognize a HDD of 2 terabytes or more. You can learn about this characteristic from the manual that comes with the model.

    Incompatible file systems

    Some, even relatively new TV models, cannot work with drives whose file system differs from FAT32. This nuance may be the reason that . This is due to the fact that initially the system and hardware platform of the devices were prepared to work with flash drives, the capacity of which for the average user rarely exceeds 64 GB. It is for this reason that the FAT32 file system is used, because it has relatively little large size cluster, which allows for maximum efficiency in using limited storage memory.

    Advice! If you are planning to update your TV or are thinking about purchasing such equipment for the first time, then you should read the operating instructions for the model you have chosen. In it, the manufacturer indicates a lot useful information, including compatibility with various devices and file systems.

    In turn, TVs that can work with NTFS are much more interesting for users. The fact is that the designated file system provides more high speed reading and better security when transferring data to a PC or other device. In addition, NTFS is suitable for you when it comes to working with large amounts of data, because FAT32 supports files no larger than 4 GB.

    The drive is no longer visible

    IN in this case We are talking about a situation where the TV refuses to see a drive that was previously connected to it without problems. There may be three reasons for this situation:

    • the drive has failed;
    • connection via a non-working cable;
    • problem with the USB port.

    Failure of an external hard drive can be caused by the drive's resource exhaustion, its fall, or improper use. To check whether the problem is the failure of the HDD, you should connect it to the computer or try using a different drive. It is also worth checking the TV socket with a flash drive or smartphone. Additionally, you should check the cable through which the device is connected. It can be damaged during use from the inside, so it is impossible to notice a break in one of the wires through the protective shell.

    The TV does not recognize all sections

    This problem may arise if you are using a hard drive from a PC or laptop, connecting it through a separately purchased pocket. Some TV models can only read a certain number of partitions and only supporting file formats, so some local disks can be hidden even with trouble-free HDD connection. It is also worth considering that when working with such a drive on a computer, you may not see several system partitions, which are required for booting, operation and recovery operating system.

    Conclusion

    Every modern TV user wants to achieve maximum quality from their device. As you know, movies are always large in size (about 60 GB) and do not always have time to download from the Internet. The solution to this problem is to connect an external hard drive, which, in turn, is very convenient option. Carrying out this procedure, the user often asks the question: Why doesn’t the TV see the hard drive via USB? This could be due to insufficient power, file system incompatibility, or due to the excessively large volume of the connected drive. Experts reviewed the most better ways solutions to this problem.

    Doesn't work with LG TV external hard disk. Everything is fine with the computer. No problem with TV. I have the impression that he is not getting enough nutrition. There is no additional power socket in the HDD box. Tell the blonde what to do in this situation. How to overcome this?


    Igor | July 11, 2016, 11:48 pm
    Sergey, your question and answer helped me. Indeed, it was worth converting to MBR and everything worked. I've scoured so many websites and forums and only got one piece of useful advice.
    I have WD. Although it was a Toshiba before, it immediately started working. although both are 1TB USB 3.0.

    Sergey | June 2, 2016, 00:02
    Good day.
    In my case, everything turned out to be quite simple.
    I bought a WD external hard drive and my PHILPS 42PFL6877 refused to see it. although the simple Samsung identified it without any questions.
    "New" hard drives As I understand it, they are “tailored” to the GUID, and my filipok did not want to “grab” it.
    It was worth converting to MBR and everything worked.
    And everything cycles on power supply and file systems... I also waited two weeks for a double USB cable from China, but everything turned out to be simpler. I was too lazy to read the forums in more detail.
    Something like this.

    bitch | 15 May 2016, 14:50
    I have USB 2.0 on my ski and all three ports read, but on the Panas there is USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0, and so it reads only in 3.0 (hard drive)

    Mason | February 18, 2016, 11:12 pm
    The problem is in the screw, the TV is simply not able to unwind it. Advice: change the screw if under warranty and buy from 2 USB and up to 1 terabyte

    Alexander | 13 December 2014, 17:20
    Take USB cable For hard drive- on one side there is a mini USB, and on the other there are two regular ones. Micro-USB - in the hard drive box. One normal USB plug goes into the TV, the second plug into the phone charger.

    Sergey Maksimov | 25 July 2014, 15:46
    Format on your computer in exFat. After that, my LG TV and recorder began to play movies downloaded online. Panasonic does not see TV.

    Alexander | 11 June 2014, 18:10
    A couple of tips. The TV perceives the HDD as a disk on which the TV itself can record a program/movie. To do this, the HDD is formatted into a special format when connected to a TV. TVs also usually have several USBs. Try connecting to a different USB socket.

    Igor | 10 June 2014, 20:52
    Then buy an external box with power for your HDD.

    hanna | 10 June 2014, 17:30
    You won’t believe it, even though I’m blonde, I looked at the instructions. I even noticed that only FAT32 is supported (the disk is formatted this way). In addition, the volume limitation (320 gigabytes) external HDD fits. I don’t know where to look next. But thanks for the answer.

    Nyura Madagaskarova| 10 June 2014, 14:56
    First, you need to look at the instructions from the TV. It may indicate some restrictions on the connected hard drive and compare this with the characteristics of your drive. Secondly, at least modern televisions- these are not KVN with a water lens at all, but still not computers. In other words, not everything that a computer can do, a TV can do. If the hard drive does not provide a separate power connection, then don’t even think about power supply; in such cases, power is supplied to the hard drive via the USB connector.

    This is a question from the archives. Adding replies is disabled.

    Let's start by discussing the performance of the USB interface. The old version 1.1 transfers 5 GB... 9 hours. Do you want to wait half a day for a movie to load and watch it on your plasma panel in the evening? It was not for nothing that USB 2 was introduced, with the help of the new protocol the task was completed in 12 minutes, it is possible to watch high-definition resolution in real time. Class! Introduced in 2009 USB standard 3 does the job in 70 seconds, ten times faster than the previous version, suitable for watching movies and TV. Bad luck... to this day, many devices do not support the new product. Why doesn’t the TV see the hard drive, what should I do?

    Attempts at digital interfaces: modern television

    Today you can play games on TV, watch movies, photographs, talk with friends on Skype. Manufacturers realized: the only chance is to push the product, increase the diagonal to the maximum, reducing the price. Stuff as many products as possible useful options. The TV hard drive has become another feature. The developers have implemented a hub with several ports inside; now they connect to the stream decoder external memory, decrypted on the fly, display the media data stream on the screen. The hard drive will allow you to record programs in high quality, in fact - in any supported TV.

    The complexity of coding is solved; the current level of technology development provides software and hardware support for the option. The context makes it clear that there are people willing to take advantage of the opportunity. Reasons:

    1. A large hard drive that is inaccessible to a flash drive, although removable media Available in sizes of 32 GB or more.
    2. The hard drive is portable, easy to copy pirated and favorite Soviet films from friends to watch in peace.
    3. A good movie weighs 10 GB or more, it takes a long time to download, and the connection speed will not allow real-time viewing from the server.
    4. Modern hard drives artificially bypass capacity limitations set by the file system type and have long surpassed the capacity of 1 TB.
    5. Speed ​​of modern hard drives amazing (y) external models), allowing you to watch video in real time.

    There are many reasons to wonder why the TV does not see the hard drive. In July 2013, USB 3.1 was released, which has a higher speed - 10 Gbit/s. The standard protocol connector has changed. There are no typical USB signs using four tires:

    • power positive contact;
    • packages negative contact;
    • packages positive contact;
    • power supply negative contact.

    Four strips of copper are left to ensure mechanical compatibility. On the opposite side, 5 counterparts appeared, entirely related to USB3. Are you surprised that formatting your hard drive doesn't help? We are beginning to be surprised that the USB3 protocol works with some TVs (for example, Samsung LE-40 C550)! 80% of the five newly introduced contacts (four) act as gates of the transmitter, receiver, using twisted pairs on increased speed. Respect for the legacy of the difficult past is ensured, new speed in two directions at the same time.

    The USB3 protocol type Powered-B introduces an additional power quota. The connectors are easy to distinguish. Typical resembles an ordinary USB, Powered-B looks similar to type B (square, two beveled corners, protecting against incorrect connection), to which printers and peripheral office equipment are connected.

    There is not enough power for the hard drive connected to the TV

    A much more trivial reason why the hard drive does not want to work. Most external hard drives take power via the USB bus. The TV is old - the picture turns out to be unfavorable. New hard The disk contains a bunch of chips that require power. Only school physicists believe: contact voltage is present - the equipment is working. The electronic power supply must provide an acceptable current; engineers use the term load capacity. TV with old USB unable to issue the required correct operation hard drive power. Approximate standards for three generations of the standard:

    1. USB1 – 500 mA, 5 volts.
    2. USB2 – 500 mA, 5 volts.
    3. USB3 – 2000 mA (according to some sources, 900 mA), 5 volts.

    A possible reason has been discovered why it is recommended to connect non-working hard drives to the TV via Y-splitters, in which one plug goes to the hard drive and two to the plasma panel ports. The interfaces on the TV are different (second, third generation), there is nothing wrong with that. The internal hub will sit parallel to the power bus and provide the required amount of mA.

    It is planned to add two additional power buses to the USB3 interface: 20 and 12 volts. Total power transmitted peripheral device cable, will be 110 W. Of course, the power supply personal computer or a TV is capable of digesting such an amount of power. Otherwise, the hub will have nowhere to get the nominal watts.

    Does the TV only have one port? An arbitrary power supply will do, which often comes with players and other gadgets. The main thing is that the adapter delivers the required current. The hard drive from the TV will take the rest. Of course, it is possible to power the computer, but in this light the purpose separate device it becomes incomprehensible to watch a movie. An incredible vegetable garden in the room, providing work hard disk. It’s easier to take a device with a USB2 interface that will work – not just consume!

    Before purchasing, it is useful to know how many watts the TV port puts out. The value is then compared to the hard drive consumption. The stock is at least 30%. The power of modern USB3 is tiny (about 5 W), but sometimes it turns out to be a lot for microelectronics.

    The file system of the hard drive is incomprehensible to the TV

    Some televisions are capable of receiving only file system FAT32. There is a volume size limit, create a single partition with a capacity of 32 GB. Of course, the state of affairs does not suit movie fans. modern devices recognize NTFS, the size of volumes of which is not limited (within reasonable limits).

    Most TVs are designed to recognize flash drives. The media is formatted FAT32 (excellent formats are designed to provide storage of media content digital cameras, movie cameras). Limitations arise. The TV is designed to reproduce small fragments of video stored on the media; the devices will allow you to watch movies from a network server. The file system of the hard drive is incomprehensible to the TV. Try creating a FAT32 partition of GB size, preferably 4 GB. The difficulties disappeared - it was a matter of storage organization limitations.

    Latest models adapted to recognize NTFS. Allows you to record broadcasts and play multimedia information, including encoded information.

    Before buying a TV, you should check the details and look in the instructions. We often find file system information, entire lists of hard drives that the TV will obviously refuse to work with. Surprising incidents are possible. We recorded a movie on one computer, watched it, recorded it on another, but the TV doesn’t show it. The hard drive is not visible.

    Why the hard drive is no longer perceived by the TV

    It happens that the TV no longer sees the hard drive, although previously the equipment worked flawlessly. The repair method is ordinary. You will need to take another hard drive - fortunately, digital technology is widespread today - try it with it. It works - the equipment is simply old. Be aware of viruses. Recently (December 2013), hackers managed to hit the network... household appliances. True, the attack turned out to be a joke; the future scenario with TV is unknown. The virus infects Master Boot Record and refuses to search for Kaspersky. Some infection changes the attributes of files; the operations performed are invisible from under Explorer.

    Minor changes to the MBR structure completely destroy the file system. Although theoretically known, the element is required to start loading the operating system. The process has nothing to do with watching movies. We recommend checking using chkdsk utilities, gives amazing results.

    For the rest, know this: equipment gets old, TVs remain capricious. I've heard something like: the hard drive is recognized by the computer, but I can't watch movies. To this we can say, and laser discs Not all drives are read the same. It's a matter of laser power, receiver sensitivity, and many other things. CDs become unreadable over time, especially those that are rewritable. Don't you think the situation is similar?

    If you are an avid movie fan and have purchased an external hard drive for recording any movie masterpieces, you have made your life much easier, since now you don’t have to bother with numerous flash drives and disks.

    The modern technology market offers a huge number of external drives. They differ in memory capacity, dimensions and power sources.

    If you have connected a new unit, but the TV does not see the hard drive, do not rush to get upset. First of all, study the characteristics of both devices. Pay special attention to what file systems they support. Most TVs accept the Fat32 file system.

    Your TV may not support required USB interface. Then you will need to additionally purchase a media player that plays files from external storage devices.

    If the hard drive is drawing power through the USB port, make sure that the TV is supplying one-third the amount of current requested.

    Some models do not support drives with large amounts of memory, which may be why your TV does not see the hard drive. It is also recommended that instead of long cords, use a shorter “active” cable. This will improve the signal quality and provide better data transfer.

    If you have previously successfully used external storage, but this time there are problems, check the USB port. It may be loose and not making contact with the device. Check if your TV supports the file format you want to play.

    The master must be well versed in modern technologies and have the appropriate level of qualifications. He will study the problem in detail and determine the reason why the TV does not see the hard drive. The specialist will also offer rational ways to solve it.

    Professional consultation will not cost you too much, but you will confidently know why such a problem arose and how to eliminate it!

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