Hard drive docking problems

[Alchemeister]

I have a a dual docker that I've used for the past two years. I switch out my hdds a lot, but I've always been careful when doing so.

However, I spent 3 days transferring files around, from my pc to the drives, from the drives to the pc, from one drive to another. Probably 10 tb worth of transfer overall. I was pretty impatient about it, usually had 4+ transfers running at once. A couple hundred gb each.

And now I find myself unable to access the docker drives [on the laptop I used for transferring.] I've recieved a couple errors every now and again whenever I plug them in, but for the most part they just won't be detected at all. And the errors are never the same. I don't remember what they were.

So, errors or nothing appears. Not even within diskmanagement. Unless... I delete the drivers. In that case, they'll flicker in and out of detection, and after a minute or two I'll be able to access them. But it's still terribly slow if I try to run anything off of them, and they always go back to being completely inaccessible within half an hour.

I can still use the docker on other devices. No issues at all.

My primary laptop is still able to use other devices perfectly fine in all usb ports. Including my external WD.

I'm confused and not sure how to get these two working together again. Any help would be very appreciated. I'm not very experienced with the technical side of things.

 

[mtoddvan]

I am going to need a little more information to help. OS? name of duel dock to start would help.

 

[drtweak]

Do you have a desktop to try connecting them directly to the SATA controller?

Also transferring 4 sets at once honestly doesn't make it go any faster. Only reason i would do that is if I had a lot to transfer but I was to walk away from a long time but that was before i met Unstoppable copier. You can make a batch file in the program and have it copy one set of folders right after the other. In the end this would actually be faster because the HDD has to work 4 times as hard to write 4 different things at once.

 

[Alchemeister]

I'm running 64 bit Windows 10

Dock:
Thermaltake BlacX Duet eSATA USB Dual Hard Drives Docking Station ST0014U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MUYOLW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GKcDzbR1N8X2Q

To the 2nd poster. I'm currently far from home and only have access to my laptops.

Can't say I know how to directly connect them to SATA driver. I'm going to do a websearch after I send this. If you have a good reference for doing so, I'd owe you another one.

I was actually afraid that running multiple transfers might have been slowing down the overall process rather than helping, but after doing it for hours on end I got really tired of starting transfers. I'll make note of your suggestion in case there's another transfer marathon in my future.

[I'm on my phone, not used to the site and don't see an option to reply directly. Hopefully this notifies!]

 

[mtoddvan]

I'm running 64 bit Windows 10

Dock:
Thermaltake BlacX Duet eSATA USB Dual Hard Drives Docking Station ST0014U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MUYOLW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GKcDzbR1N8X2Q

To the 2nd poster. I'm currently far from home and only have access to my laptops.

Can't say I know how to directly connect them to SATA driver. I'm going to do a websearch after I send this. If you have a good reference for doing so, I'd owe you another one.

I was actually afraid that running multiple transfers might have been slowing down the overall process rather than helping, but after doing it for hours on end I got really tired of starting transfers. I'll make note of your suggestion in case there's another transfer marathon in my future.

[I'm on my phone, not used to the site and don't see an option to reply directly. Hopefully this notifies!]

Thanks for replying back. Ok Windows10 64 likes to setup gbt file format on hdd it does conflict with mbr drives.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272738-32-formatting-drive

So it could be your issue, & no conflicts on other computers. If you know what your file formats are on your drives?
All that being said & reading your other comments about your dock & time consumption transferring files.
Also not to just suggest you throw money at it. You are using the esata/usb2.0 with a max of about 450mbs +-
the same company has a 3.0usb duel drive that transfers up to 5gbs & the price is small (under$60.00) & could save you a lot of time & is plug & play.

Thermaltake BlacX Duet 2.5”/3.5” SATA I/II/III USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure Docking Station ST0014U-D

Hope this helped? If not please let me now.

 

[Alchemeister]

I'm running 64 bit Windows 10

Dock:
Thermaltake BlacX Duet eSATA USB Dual Hard Drives Docking Station ST0014U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MUYOLW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GKcDzbR1N8X2Q

To the 2nd poster. I'm currently far from home and only have access to my laptops.

Can't say I know how to directly connect them to SATA driver. I'm going to do a websearch after I send this. If you have a good reference for doing so, I'd owe you another one.

I was actually afraid that running multiple transfers might have been slowing down the overall process rather than helping, but after doing it for hours on end I got really tired of starting transfers. I'll make note of your suggestion in case there's another transfer marathon in my future.

[I'm on my phone, not used to the site and don't see an option to reply directly. Hopefully this notifies!]

Thanks for replying back. Ok Windows10 64 likes to setup gbt file format on hdd it does conflict with mbr drives.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272738-32-formatting-drive

So it could be your issue, & no conflicts on other computers. If you know what your file formats are on your drives?
All that being said & reading your other comments about your dock & time consumption transferring files.
Also not to just suggest you throw money at it. You are using the esata/usb2.0 with a max of about 450mbs +-
the same company has a 3.0usb duel drive that transfers up to 5gbs & the price is small (under$60.00) & could save you a lot of time & is plug & play.

Thermaltake BlacX Duet 2.5”/3.5” SATA I/II/III USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure Docking Station ST0014U-D

Hope this helped? If not please let me now.

My drives were formatted as NTFS, I believe. I'd like to avoid reformatting anything.

Think I could just "throw money at it", buy a high end drive and eliminate the issue altogether? I received this Docker as a gift and have been thinking about upgrading anyways.

Side note: Disk Manager is now refusing to load up whenever I have the docking station connected. It says "Connecting to virtual disk service." But it never does. I can close it without delay, and if I disconnect the Docking station it immediately connects.

 

[mtoddvan]

I'm running 64 bit Windows 10

Dock:
Thermaltake BlacX Duet eSATA USB Dual Hard Drives Docking Station ST0014U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MUYOLW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GKcDzbR1N8X2Q

To the 2nd poster. I'm currently far from home and only have access to my laptops.

Can't say I know how to directly connect them to SATA driver. I'm going to do a websearch after I send this. If you have a good reference for doing so, I'd owe you another one.

I was actually afraid that running multiple transfers might have been slowing down the overall process rather than helping, but after doing it for hours on end I got really tired of starting transfers. I'll make note of your suggestion in case there's another transfer marathon in my future.

[I'm on my phone, not used to the site and don't see an option to reply directly. Hopefully this notifies!]

Thanks for replying back. Ok Windows10 64 likes to setup gbt file format on hdd it does conflict with mbr drives.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272738-32-formatting-drive

So it could be your issue, & no conflicts on other computers. If you know what your file formats are on your drives?
All that being said & reading your other comments about your dock & time consumption transferring files.
Also not to just suggest you throw money at it. You are using the esata/usb2.0 with a max of about 450mbs +-
the same company has a 3.0usb duel drive that transfers up to 5gbs & the price is small (under$60.00) & could save you a lot of time & is plug & play.

Thermaltake BlacX Duet 2.5”/3.5” SATA I/II/III USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure Docking Station ST0014U-D

Hope this helped? If not please let me now.

My drives were formatted as NTFS, I believe. I'd like to avoid reformatting anything.

Think I could just "throw money at it", buy a high end drive and eliminate the issue altogether? I received this Docker as a gift and have been thinking about upgrading anyways.

Side note: Disk Manager is now refusing to load up whenever I have the docking station connected. It says "Connecting to virtual disk service." But it never does. I can close it without delay, and if I disconnect the Docking station it immediately connects.

Yes see that sounds like the gpt & mbr fighting & my apologizes I said file format & should have said file partion both can be ntfs file format it is how the partion structure is different that causes a lot of issues. GPT is used in large drives it is the new standard with better boot recovery & less crashing while MBR is limited to max size of drive it can use with out setting up a virtual drive & tricking the system to think it is more than one hard drive. Which leads me to believe that is why it is looking for a virtual drive. My concern though is even the new dock might still have a conflict & same issue.
What kind of files are you moving?

You can repartion from mbr to gpt, but not back from gpt to mbr.

 

[Alchemeister]

Yes see that sounds like the gpt & mbr fighting & my apologizes I said file format & should have said file partion both can be ntfs file format it is how the partion structure is different that causes a lot of issues. GPT is used in large drives it is the new standard with better boot recovery & less crashing while MBR is limited to max size of drive it can use with out setting up a virtual drive & tricking the system to think it is more than one hard drive. Which leads me to believe that is why it is looking for a virtual drive. My concern though is even the new dock might still have a conflict & same issue.
What kind of files are you moving?

You can repartion from mbr to gpt, but not back from gpt to mbr.

How can I tell whether it's GPT or MBR? Can I even repartion them without being able to access them? I'd be a bit paranoid of them disconnecting mid process, I imagine that could make things worse.

See, what really baffles me is why I'm suddenly running into these issues after this long if it's incompatible. I've been accessing these harddrives daily on this laptop for the past 7 months or so. No issues until now.

My worst nightmare is losing these files. I did backup the most important bits, but I still have plenty to lose since I didn't finish my backups. As per the question of what type of files, it's just a bit of everything. Will a repartion cause me to wipe my files? I just tried connecting them to the other laptop, and while I swear it worked fine earlier, I'm now having the same issue there. it's definitely an issue with either the docking station or the drives, rather than the laptop itself. I'm beginning to panic over my files. I'd kill to be able to transfer them over to my external.

Best case scenario would be buying a new docking station and having no more issues. Considering I got away with it for months; would it be a stretch to assume it's not the harddrives themselves? I have a good 300gb+ of language resources on one of these drives and it's my only copy. As a linguistics student, I need access to it. Sorry if my tone is becoming worse. I'm grateful for any and all help, but beginning to feel like there's a massive pit in my stomache.

 

[mtoddvan]

Yes see that sounds like the gpt & mbr fighting & my apologizes I said file format & should have said file partion both can be ntfs file format it is how the partion structure is different that causes a lot of issues. GPT is used in large drives it is the new standard with better boot recovery & less crashing while MBR is limited to max size of drive it can use with out setting up a virtual drive & tricking the system to think it is more than one hard drive. Which leads me to believe that is why it is looking for a virtual drive. My concern though is even the new dock might still have a conflict & same issue.
What kind of files are you moving?

You can repartion from mbr to gpt, but not back from gpt to mbr.

How can I tell whether it's GPT or MBR? Can I even repartion them without being able to access them? I'd be a bit paranoid of them disconnecting mid process, I imagine that could make things worse.

See, what really baffles me is why I'm suddenly running into these issues after this long if it's incompatible. I've been accessing these harddrives daily on this laptop for the past 7 months or so. No issues until now.

My worst nightmare is losing these files. I did backup the most important bits, but I still have plenty to lose since I didn't finish my backups. As per the question of what type of files, it's just a bit of everything. Will a repartion cause me to wipe my files? I just tried connecting them to the other laptop, and while I swear it worked fine earlier, I'm now having the same issue there. it's definitely an issue with either the docking station or the drives, rather than the laptop itself. I'm beginning to panic over my files. I'd kill to be able to transfer them over to my external.

Best case scenario would be buying a new docking station and having no more issues. Considering I got away with it for months; would it be a stretch to assume it's not the harddrives themselves? I have a good 300gb+ of language resources on one of these drives and it's my only copy. As a linguistics student, I need access to it. Sorry if my tone is becoming worse. I'm grateful for any and all help, but beginning to feel like there's a massive pit in my stomache.

Yes I understand completely about losing data! Worst nightmare!
If you are having problems on other systems it could vary well be the dock or HDD failing, I would say since you have been running it that hard drive mismatching is not the issue, I have had HDDS that just would not work together. HDDs do fail!
Have you tried just a single drive at a time in dock?
To check the drives partion if you get it to mount, disk manager will tell you if it is GPT or MBR.
I would not consider or recommend reformatting ever unless it absolutely necessary.

Ok putting myself in your position, this is what I would do.
1. I would get a single hard drive large enough to cover all the drives you have & use it as a mass drive storage not as a backup but a actual mirror of the other hard drives.
2. I would run Mini Tool Partition. https://www.partitionwizard.com/?pw there is a free version.
Note I have had drives I could not access anyway other than through pre os boot. This software can be used pre os.
It works with the dock & I have been able to mount drives here that would not any other way.
3. I would partition the new drive in segments with MBR the partitions would be the same number of my drives in NTFS.
4. I would then mirror the HDDs into there respective partition on the new HDD. The software above will copy everything on the hdd not just what windows wants you to. This making a hdd with all my data as a mirrored copy in case of failure.
I would use the new faster dock to save time ugh lol... I fell your pain! :-(

 

[ArtPog]

1. First of all your "docking station" is a pretty old model having only USB 2.0 capability. (I'm assuming you have no need for its eSATA capability, a technology that's pretty dead-in-the-water.)

2. I really think you would be best served by simply purchasing a new docking station with USB 3.0 capability. Even dual-bay models (since you apparently desire that capability) can be had in the $35 range and Newegg frequently has them on sale for $20 and even less).

3. You don't have a "driver" problem. There are no MBR-GPT issues involved here. By & large you're just dealing with a device that has served its time and up to now has provided you with the service you need. But now it's just time to say "adios, vaya con Dios" to it. Capiche?

 

[mtoddvan]

1. First of all your "docking station" is a pretty old model having only USB 2.0 capability. (I'm assuming you have no need for its eSATA capability, a technology that's pretty dead-in-the-water.)

2. I really think you would be best served by simply purchasing a new docking station with USB 3.0 capability. Even dual-bay models (since you apparently desire that capability) can be had in the $35 range and Newegg frequently has them on sale for $20 and even less).

3. You don't have a "driver" problem. There are no MBR-GPT issues involved here. By & large you're just dealing with a device that has served its time and up to now has provided you with the service you need. But now it's just time to say "adios, vaya con Dios" to it. Capiche?

https://www.howtogeek.com/193669/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive/

 

[mtoddvan]

Happy to respond! First clear up we never really determined if in fact the gpt & mbr conflict is a cause since not knowing his partition was never discovered.
Secondly original post stated that the dock worked on his other computers it was just the one that he was having a problem on.
Third I've had a very similar experience with a dock when running gpt & mbr it gets flakey & sometimes will not mount the drive. Fourth a complete best & worse case example should be given to inform that just throwing $$ regardless of how trivial the amount may not always be useful.

To close & reevaluate it's also possible that the party is seeing the duel dock as to many partitions of running mbr since it max out at 4 unless you setup virtual partitions. Would be correct if you assume I'm doing a little guess work not knowing his partition format nor was it ever determined.
Hope that explains my reasoning.

 

[ArtPog]

I assume your last post is directed to me.

Obviously what I've stated is my opinion which I still believe is the relevant solution to the problem(s) the OP is facing. Could I be wrong? Of course; I've been wrong before in my analysis of a problem and proposed solution and no doubt will again.

But it just seems to me virtually incredible that MBR - GPT partitioning issues are a factor in this situation.

In any event the OP has apparently chosen your previous post as the "Best solution" so if what you have suggested in your post has resolved his/her problems, so be it.

 

[mtoddvan]

I assume your last post is directed to me.

Obviously what I've stated is my opinion which I still believe is the relevant solution to the problem(s) the OP is facing. Could I be wrong? Of course; I've been wrong before in my analysis of a problem and proposed solution and no doubt will again.

But it just seems to me virtually incredible that MBR - GPT partitioning issues are a factor in this situation.

In any event the OP has apparently chosen your previous post as the "Best solution" so if what you have suggested in your post has resolved his/her problems, so be it.

Ikr! I have my share of errors as well & I'm always trying to improve as well. Thank you for sharing & contributing keep up the good work!