Question Panasonic DMR-HWT250 unable to read files from WD 2TB USB HDD

gedrhind

Novice Member
Joined
May 23, 2020
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Points
4
Age
65
Location
UK
Hi all,

Can anybody help me please? I have a Panasonic DMR-HWT250 through which I want to play mp4 files from a new USB WD 2TB HDD. The operating instructions say this should be possible and I have proved it does work using an older WD 80GB HDD and an 8GB flash drive!

But it will not work with the new WD 2TB HDD! The DMR-HWT250 confirms that “USB device is inserted” but when I select Play/Copy Video it claims that “There are no files in this folder”, whereas the older WD 80GB HDD and the 8GB flash drive display a list of files at this point. All of the USB devices mentioned about are formatted in FAT32.

There is obviously something different about the new WD 2T HDD but I can’t figure out what it is. Can anybody tell me what the difference is and whether I can fix it? Thanks.
 
As well as the file system format (FAT32) the device needs to understand the disk partition map format (MBR or GPT). A GPT formatted disk may appear empty to a device that only understands MBR.
 
The manual says "USB device over 2TB is not usable" so I'm assuming 2TB is OK.
Is the disk partition map format (MBR or GPT) something that can be changed?
 
Is the disk partition map format (MBR or GPT) something that can be changed?

It's something you can set when you format a disk. Did you format it yourself before using it?
 
It's something you can set when you format a disk. Did you format it yourself before using it?
Yes I did but I didn't notice that option. I've reformatted the 2TB HDD several times using different formats but not MBR or GPT. I'll take a closer look! Thanks.
 
As well as the file system format (FAT32) the device needs to understand the disk partition map format (MBR or GPT). A GPT formatted disk may appear empty to a device that only understands MBR.
Thank you Ebcdic, you were right! My 2TB HDD was GPT, the older devices were MBR. It was a bit of a mission to change the map format, I couldn't use the Disk Management Tool, had to use the Diskpart command (see How to Check if a Disk Uses GPT or MBR, and Convert Between the Two) but now work fine! Many thanks again.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom