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4TB External HD with TV - ChrisM - 2013-07-13 23:41

Hi,

So after buying a 4TB external hard drive, I'm having issues connecting it to my TV. The TV is a LG55ls5700, and the HD is a Seagate 4TB.

I've read online, that tv's will only pick up a maximum of 2TB, as seen here:
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/433963/all_external_hard_drives_will_work_properly_when_connected_tv_usb_port/

Just wondering if anyone has heard of a workaround? My 1st idea is to partition the drive into 2, but wanted to here if anyone had any other ideas/theories?

Thanks in advance Smile

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Stephen - 2013-07-14 01:02

Probably a limitation of the tv, it was only made to see 2tb because that's all that was out when the tv was being developed. So you may have to partition it. Though I suspect that it won't see both partitions. 4TB is a lot of recording though...

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Elmo - 2013-07-14 02:13

Well, the page you link answers the question pretty well in the most part:

Quote:The solution is a harsh one: you'll have to re-partition the drive so that it uses an MBR (Master Boot Record) partition instead. This is not an ideal solution because it means that only up to 2TB of space will be usable on a 3TB or 4TB hard drive. This space will be wasted, but at least now there will be a chance that your new drive will be detected and read by your TV.

All data on the disk will be erased if you attempt to change the drive's partition type from GPT to MBR, so you should make sure that you have a copy of all your data on another drive prior to changing it.

However, there *might* be a solution that works (depending on the actual reason for the 2TB limit):
Again, you will need to format the drive (backup/data loss etc), but if you choose MBR and 4KB sectors, that should allow MBR to fully address the disk and *might* allow the TV to see it as well.

That is of course if you need to directly connect that HDD to the TV.
If your TV is anything like mine, you could plug it in to the LAN instead and serve files to it over the network from a PC/media server using DLNA. No formatting required, you just need to have the PC switched on when you want to watch something off it.


For anyone interested in why the specific limit is 2TB (a number which shows up in a lot of places, some HDD caddies included):
Spoiler (Click to View)


RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Chuck - 2013-07-14 05:41

I had similar problems when trying to make use of a 3TB harddisk.
Unfortunately, 99.9999% of all web-based information on that matter is just misleading rubbish. Some say its possible, some say its not and some say possible under this and that circumstance. But bottom line is, I haven't found a single person who could actually achieve this.
So, I formatted with GPT and connected it to a Linux system which serves the files to any thing in my home (and even outside, via internet), not just the TV. That's was in the end the better choice.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - ChrisM - 2013-07-15 05:32

Alright, well 1st off, I appreciate all replies.

C00kie - Not for recording, just for watching my forever expanding movie collection, music etc.

Elmo- I will try this when I find some spare time this week hopefully, providing I can find a way to shuffle around all the data onto other HD's etc. I will report back Smile

Chuck - That may be similar to another option I had in mind, just making a mini network in the house, I just need to check the stats of my router if it's capable of streaming/sending data. Honestly not to sure how it all works, but I will do my research and see if it works if the 1st option doesn't work.

Talked to a mate in work, and he reckons the easiest option is to just hook the HD to my laptop, play movies/music etc off the laptop, and connect via HDMI? Bit of a pain in the ass to do that all the time though.

Anyways, thanks again, and I will reply once I get time to do the above.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Elmo - 2013-07-15 11:42

The LAN suggestion that Chuck and I made would be most likely to work, whether its Linux based or Windows Media Player/Centre.

As for your router, its capabilities don't really matter for streaming to the TV, because it's inside the network.
Whether you can stream to places other than your house will depend mostly on your internet connection rather than the router itself.


It's probably worth noting that some routers can act as a streaming/media server on their own (no need for a PC) if you plug a USB drive in. You're fairly likely to hit the 2TB issue again though.


The MBR/4k suggestion was just a hunch that should make the drive work with MBR, assuming the reason the TV can't read the disk atm is because of GPT. If the limit is for some other reason, then it won't work and your only option is LAN.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Chuck - 2013-07-15 12:30

(2013-07-15 11:42)Elmo Wrote:  It's probably worth noting that some routers can act as a streaming/media server on their own (no need for a PC) if you plug a USB drive in. You're fairly likely to hit the 2TB issue again though.

That has been my first option and problem. I'm using a Fritzbox Cable 6320 which is supposed to be a state of the art but even that couldn't handle GPT partitions.

A simple NAS could be achieved with a Raspberry Pi Smile

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - ChrisM - 2013-07-20 07:59

Well, I followed some instructions online, and now:

I deleted the volume, now it doesn't show as a drive in my computer. It only shows as Disk 2 in "Disk Management" of "Computer Management" under Administrative tools. Partition style is MBR, but it seems to be in 2 partitions and unallocated. I assume I need to go right click and click on "New simple volume", format with NTFS and use an allocation size of 4096 yes? (4096 I guess is in bytes, = 4kb) Am I right?

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Chuck - 2013-07-20 13:48

The question is what are you actually trying to achieve?

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Elmo - 2013-07-20 17:57

Remove the partitions first, then yes.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - ChrisM - 2013-07-21 01:46

Once converted to MBR, the drive splits itself into 2 partitions of 2048GB and 1678.02GB automatically. Not sure how to remove the partitions, because it doesn't give me that option. Usually for a reformat, I would be in My Computer, right click etc. But, because the drive hasn't been assigned a letter, it's not in My Computer. The other issue is, I can only right click on the 1st partition and create a "New Simple Volume". The 2nd partition, when right clicked, all the options are grayed-out. All this is from inside the Computer management console.

(2013-07-20 13:48)Chuck Wrote:  The question is what are you actually trying to achieve?
Well, this:
(2013-07-14 02:13)Elmo Wrote:  However, there *might* be a solution that works (depending on the actual reason for the 2TB limit):
Again, you will need to format the drive (backup/data loss etc), but if you choose MBR and 4KB sectors, that should allow MBR to fully address the disk and *might* allow the TV to see it as well.

Will try plugging the HD straight into the router when I get round to buying 1 of those dongle things for the tv, hopefully next week. From what I've read, the Xbox 360 won't pick up externals of that size either, so sadly that's not an option.

If everything above doesn't work, I guess I'll have to get back on here, find out what I need to set up the mini network thing you's both mentioned above. Thanks again for the replies Smile

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Chuck - 2013-07-21 06:16

Well, that simply wont work. If it lets you format with NTFS (or something else) , it's already too late. The NTFS allocation size has nothing to do with the sector size. That happens one step before. That's what I meant before with "I couldn't find anyone who could actually achieve that".
Do you really think there were so many questions on this issue in the internet if the problem can just be solved that quickly by clicking two buttons in the Windows partitioning tool? Certainly not.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - ChrisM - 2013-07-22 04:58

Hmm, true. Well, I'll get my hands on a dongle for the tv, and connect through the router that way, which should work.

RE: 4TB External HD with TV - Chuck - 2013-07-22 05:34

Just don't forget that every device will have problems accessing the disk, may it be the TV itself, a router, a linux system or a NAS server.