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not finding my external drive disks as source

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I had 2 backups running on my windows 11 PC, one for me C drive and one for an external disk with 5 drive letters configured on it.  My destination drive failed so I obtained a new one.  The existing backups would not work to that drive because it could not find the previously backed up files, so I deleted the backup tasks and tried to set up new ones.  I was able to set up a new backup of my C drive without any problem.  However, when I try to set up a backup of the partitions on my other external drive, those drives do not show up in the list of potential sources.  The only drives which show up as available sources are the C drive and the I drive (which is my backup destination).  The other drive letters show up fine in File Explorer.

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Hello Craig!

Welcome to the forum!

Please check the following solutions: 

- Ensure again that the external drive with the partitions you want to back up is properly connected ( this is important, please also check the cables ) and recognized by Windows. It should be visible in File Explorer.

- Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve software-related issues. Reboot your computer and try setting up the backup task again.

- Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to access and back up the partitions on the external drive. Sometimes, a lack of permissions can prevent a drive from being listed as a source.

- Please check if the file system of that disk is supported: https://kb.acronis.com/content/1538

- You can also try to run the installation file of the agent and try to fix the installation.

Thanks in advance!

I figured it out.  I had to use 'files and folders' as the source instead of 'disks and partitions'.  Not quite sure why 'disks and partitions' did not see the disks/drives which 'files and folders' did see, but I'm not going to worry about it.

I have had some odd experiences with Windows 11 and USB drives recently. Windows was not mounting partitions on USB HDDs, went into disk management and manually assigned drive letters. I know I had the problem with my Win 11 Pro (Insider) and possibly a Win 11 Pro PC. But this does not seem to be the case here. It could be that the drive has gone to sleep; sometimes they do not wake up when they should - check the USB power settings.

Ian 

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Posts: 2
Comments: 1727

craig zabell wrote:

I figured it out.  I had to use 'files and folders' as the source instead of 'disks and partitions'.  Not quite sure why 'disks and partitions' did not see the disks/drives which 'files and folders' did see, but I'm not going to worry about it.

Hello!

Thanks for sharing what helped to solve the issue.

Best regards.