De-initialize external drive
I accidentally initialised a USB drive via the option available under Storage->Hard Drive Backup. Instead my aim was to export files through selection, so I re-formatted it with my laptop.
But I get the following error when trying to export files:
"unable to export recordings to this device as it has been initialized to the internal hard drive format"
I have deleted the drive partition and re-formatted the drive multiple times in different types (NTFS, ex-FAT) from my windows laptop to no avail. The drive itself is fine with my various files on it.
How to I de-initialize or de-link my external drive from the NVR? I cannot find any such option. There seems to be a log file in the NVR that has stored the drive's serial number.
@Nathan-TP Screenshots attached as requested.
this is a brand new 64GB USB thumb drive. I accidentally clicked initialize whilst exploring options and now the drive seems to be permanently linked to the NVR even through I've formatted the drive many times since on my laptop and it's working fine for file storage on my laptop. I've tried other USB thumb drives in the NVR and they work fine to transfer files (not initialised via the NVR). But on this drive, I get an error saying that it's initialised to the internal hard drive. I can't find any way to undo this linkage. I'm thinking that the NVR has saved it's serial number. It's not a format issue as I've formatted it several times since and checked it's partitions for any kind of boot record etc (there is none).
Hi @P_S
Thank you very much for providing the information.
Based on the information and the second screenshot you provided, this interface allows you to convert the USB drive into an external storage device. Please try clicking “Initialize” on this interface:
@Nathan-TP clicking on initialize formatted the drive and its still unable to export files to. The problem is due to the initialize feature itself. I believe this feature is meant to prepare an external drive to be used for backups and once it is initialized in this way, the drive cannot be used for exporting files/regular file storage. I need to de-initialize/de-link the usb drive from the NVR. There is no such option available. Note: Clicking change just shows a list of available drives. See screenshots.
Hi @P_S
Thank you very much for providing the relevant information.
An external USB drive has two functions when connected to the NVR: File Export and Hard Drive Backup. The external USB drive can only be used for one of these two functions.
For Hard Drive Backup, you will need to initialize the external hard drive first as prompted on the NVR page. The purpose of initialization is for the NVR to format the external USB drive's file system in its proprietary format. After initialization is complete, click “Backup,” and the NVR will copy the video files from the internal hard drive to the external drive, completing the backup.
If you wish to use the USB drive for video export, please do not initialize the USB drive, as that is the step for using it as a backup drive. Instead, you will need to format the USB drive as NTFS or FAT32, and then refer to the following guide to export the relevant files: How to Search and Export Recordings from VIGI NVR GUI | TP-Link
You have mentioned that you have formatted the USB drive multiple times, but the NVR still recognizes it as an already-initialized drive. Therefore, we would like to confirm the following information with you once again:
- After formatting the USB drive, did you perform an initialization operation on the NVR?
- Could you describe the complete process of how you used the USB drive to export videos?
- Could you please provide a screenshot of the Storage > Hard Drive Management page? If you have added your external USB drive on this page, you will need to remove it first, then format the USB drive as NTFS or FAT32 before you can export files.
Thank you very much for your cooperation and patience.
@Nathan-TP In the Storage->Hard Drive Management page (screenshot attached) the external drive is listed but it cannot be added as it is too small (error says cannot add less than 128GB).
The problem is that I accidentally initialised my external USB drive and now there is no way to de-link it from the NVR. Even if I format the drive with FAT32/NTFS on my laptop, the NVR still recognises it as "initialised". I believe the NVR has stored the drive's serial number.
I just want to use my drive to export video recordings individually from the playback page. Unfortunately this drive is not available for exporting as the NVR believes it is initialized for backup.
I just need a way to de-initialize/de-link-link my external USB drive from the NVR.