WD Elements media HDD

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

I have an old WD Elements Play Media player. Works good, but the 1TB HDD is making scratching sounds, so it’s time to replace! Would l simply be able to put in and use a 2TB or any issues with software doing that?

2

In theory, a 2TB should work … can’t guarantee it though

But i am 100% certain that if you replace the HDD with a 1TB or 2TB it must be Partitioned MBR (Master Boot Record) which has a maximum capacity limit of 2TB

GPT (GUID Partition Table) which supports drives larger than 2TB i’m 99.99% certain is not supported and wont work.

3

Thanks. I’ve not had much experience with new discs. If l put the new 2TB disk into a docking pad or actually into the player and connect to my pc would l need, and be able to partition it to GPT?

4

Thanks for the reply, it looks like I should take the risk. No one else has done this maybe!

5

you misunderstood … GPT will not work.

You must partition it MBR

1 Like
6

Ok thanks! MBR. I just hope the 2TB works…

7

MBR and format it NTFS

And then insert it into the WD Element Play and through the Menu’s select Format Internal Storage as an extra measure to make sure it’s properly formatted for use.

Page 44

8

I pretty confident a 2TB will work … and anything larger won’t.

From the User Manual

You may not be able to reformat a 3 TB drive and access the full capacity
due to a 2.19 TB capacity barrier encountered with some operating
systems

Anyways, good luck and report back how it goes :slight_smile:

9

JoeySmyth

I went trough all the formatting process’s as advised. Seemed ok, drive recognised and I loaded some movie files. swapped drive into media player, went in ok. But as soon as I connect to TV by HDMI, it doesn’t load. Disc is spinning and WD emblem only, not going into volume. On front, blue light flashes 4 times then 2 slow flash. I thought I’d ask before reversing what I’ve done.

10

I haven’t had and feedback on this. The HDD I’ve now put in an enclosure and use it for backups… I’m thinking of trying again but maybe I’m going to waste money. Maybe a different brand of HDD. ? Would that work in a WD media player or be a futile exercise?