Thanks for the reply.
I have tried the GParted Live, but it bricks my keyboard every time .
As for the format ill be using exFAT if availale as it does not have a file limit of 4gb like FAT32 have on external drives.
I think your correct on the assign thing.
I am not able to backup anything from the drive, if you know of a program that clones the drive for free let me know.