How do I format a USB drive in FAT32?

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Anna" <[email protected]>

||
|
| Kerry:
| The problem with earlier versions of the FDISK command was that it
| incorrectly reported the size of a hard disk partition that was larger than
| 64 GB. It incorrectly reported the full size of that disk MINUS 64 GB. It
| was simply a reporting error; it had NO effect on any ensuing formatting
| process. An updated version of FDISK correcting this anomaly was released by
| Microsoft about five or so years ago as I recall.
|
| The FORMAT.COM command had a similar problem in that when it was used to
| format a partition > 64 GB, the correct size of the drive would not be
| recognized at the BEGINNING of the format process. This was a cosmetic issue
| ONLY; the drive would be formatted to its full size. The discrepancy is
| purely cosmetic.
|
| It is true that it was unwise to use hard drives > 127 GB in a Win9x/Me
| environment because of the limitations of those OSs particularly as they
| affected their scandisk & defragmenting functions. There was a real chance
| of file corruption when disks > 127 GB were being used in those OSs. But
| that, of course, is not the issue in this case. The OP has no intention (at
| least he hasn't stated such!) of using his 250 GB drive in Win9x/Me OS. His
| objective is to format that disk FAT32 for use in XP. (The question of
| whether it's wise or desirable to format that large capacity disk FAT32 is
| not an issue we're concerned with).
|
| I believe he's made it clear, or at least inferred, that his 250 GB USBEHD
| cannot be removed from its enclosure and (temporarily) installed as an
| internal drive where he could use the FDISK/FORMAT commands to partition and
| format that disk to its full capacity. I pointed out to the OP (as well as
| others who might be similarly interested) that there IS a program that one
| can use WITHIN the XP environment which will allow the user to format the
| full capacity of a disk in FAT32 even if that disk is > 32 GB. I've covered
| the details of using that program a number of times in previous postings and
| will so again should anyone be interested.
| Anna
|

He just doesn't know how to remove it from its enclosure. It is a standard IDE drive with a
USB to IDE interface and the case is very doubtfully hermetically sealed.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Jorg" <[email protected]>

| I recently purchased a new external 250 GB USB drive that I wish to use as a
| network drive. The drive is to be connected to my wireless router.
|
| PROBLEM: The USB drive came formatted in NTFS but my router requires FAT32.
| Somehow I seem to be unable to format the drive with one primary FAT32
| partition under Windows XP.
|
| When I connect the drive to my PC it is properly recognised and functioning.
| In the format window there is even a "file system" pull down menu but the
| only option to select is NTFS.
|
| Is there a way to format the drive in FAT32 under Windows XP without
| purchasing extra software such as Partition Magic?

Based upon the way this thread has gone...

Jorg you need to supply COMPLETE information on this un-named wireless Router.

 

[Anna]

From: "Anna" <[email protected]>

|
|

|
| Kerry:
| The problem with earlier versions of the FDISK command was that it
| incorrectly reported the size of a hard disk partition that was larger
than
| 64 GB. It incorrectly reported the full size of that disk MINUS 64 GB.
It
| was simply a reporting error; it had NO effect on any ensuing formatting
| process. An updated version of FDISK correcting this anomaly was
released by
| Microsoft about five or so years ago as I recall.
|
| The FORMAT.COM command had a similar problem in that when it was used to
| format a partition > 64 GB, the correct size of the drive would not be
| recognized at the BEGINNING of the format process. This was a cosmetic
issue
| ONLY; the drive would be formatted to its full size. The discrepancy is
| purely cosmetic.
|
| It is true that it was unwise to use hard drives > 127 GB in a Win9x/Me
| environment because of the limitations of those OSs particularly as they
| affected their scandisk & defragmenting functions. There was a real
chance
| of file corruption when disks > 127 GB were being used in those OSs. But
| that, of course, is not the issue in this case. The OP has no intention
(at
| least he hasn't stated such!) of using his 250 GB drive in Win9x/Me OS.
His
| objective is to format that disk FAT32 for use in XP. (The question of
| whether it's wise or desirable to format that large capacity disk FAT32
is
| not an issue we're concerned with).
|
| I believe he's made it clear, or at least inferred, that his 250 GB
USBEHD
| cannot be removed from its enclosure and (temporarily) installed as an
| internal drive where he could use the FDISK/FORMAT commands to partition
and
| format that disk to its full capacity. I pointed out to the OP (as well
as
| others who might be similarly interested) that there IS a program that
one
| can use WITHIN the XP environment which will allow the user to format
the
| full capacity of a disk in FAT32 even if that disk is > 32 GB. I've
covered
| the details of using that program a number of times in previous postings
and
| will so again should anyone be interested.
| Anna
|

He just doesn't know how to remove it from its enclosure. It is a
standard IDE drive with a
USB to IDE interface and the case is very doubtfully hermetically sealed.

Dave:
Yes, it can be done in *many* (but not all) commercially-marketed
single-unit USB external hard drives, however, we have come across a number
of these units where it simply was not practically possible for a consumer
to remove the drive from its enclosure. Specialized tool(s) was required
which would be ordinarily available only from the manuf. or other
specialized source.

Then too, removing the drive from the enclosure by the consumer would, in
virtually every case, void the warranty.
Anna

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Anna" <[email protected]>

< snip>

| Then too, removing the drive from the enclosure by the consumer would, in
| virtually every case, void the warranty.
| Anna
|

That is so very true !

 

[Plato]

Your original reply of making the 250GB hard drive entirely NTFS was most
accurate. As an alternate advice, stick with hard drives 132GB or less for
sharing with ME/98 so as not to waste money on larger capacity and not be
able to use all of its capacity. FAT32 partition(s) are assumed in this
case.

98SE/ME can handle HDDs at least to 180 gig in a single partition. Some
built in MS HDD utils wont work tho on drives over 132.

 

[Lil' Dave]

WinME/98 cannot handle ***DATA*** in excess of 128GB on any physical hard
drive. No matter a hard drive's capacity in excess of that. This has
nothing to do with partitions, or the MS term "drives". That is the point.

No where did I infer that a partition could not be made in excess of that
number, or, a combination of partitions in excess of that number.

No issue was brought up about ME/98 disk utilities as that is understood for
most.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

WinME/98 cannot handle ***DATA*** in excess of 128GB on any
physical
hard drive. No matter a hard drive's capacity in excess of
that.

Not true. Read
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkc_fil_nmnx.asp,

or http://tinyurl.com/3tdfc

which says

"The 127.5-GB limit on FAT32 volumes imposed in Windows 98 no
longer applies to Windows Me. In Windows Me, using a cluster size
of 32 KB, a FAT32 volume can theoretically be about 8 terabytes.
However, the 32-bit fields in the partition table (and in the
FAT32 boot sector) limit the size of an individual volume
(regardless of file system) on a basic MBR disk using a sector
size of 512 bytes to approximately 2 terabytes."

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Ken Blake" <[email protected]>


|
| Not true. Read
|
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkc_fil_nmnx.asp,
|
| or http://tinyurl.com/3tdfc
|
| which says
|
| "The 127.5-GB limit on FAT32 volumes imposed in Windows 98 no
| longer applies to Windows Me. In Windows Me, using a cluster size
| of 32 KB, a FAT32 volume can theoretically be about 8 terabytes.
| However, the 32-bit fields in the partition table (and in the
| FAT32 boot sector) limit the size of an individual volume
| (regardless of file system) on a basic MBR disk using a sector
| size of 512 bytes to approximately 2 terabytes."
|
| --
| Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| Please reply to the newsgroup
|

Ken: Question

I doubt the Cluster size will stay constant at 32KB.
At what size will the cluster size double to 64KB and so on until you get to 2,000GB ?

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Ken: Question

I doubt the Cluster size will stay constant at 32KB.
At what size will the cluster size double to 64KB and so on
until you
get to 2,000GB ?

I have no experience with this, so take what I say with a grain
of salt. My *understanding* is that in Windows 9X (including Me),
FAT32 cluster sizes go up to 32KB with a 32GB partition and stay
there, never increasing above that. And in Windows NT (including
2000 and XP) FAT32 cluster sizes go up to 64KB with a 64GB
partition and stay there, never increasing above that.