Formatting a HFS+ external drive as FAT32 onin2K box a W

October 19, 2007 10:03 AM

How do I perform a FAT32 format of a 2.5" laptop drive that's in an external case connected to a Win2K box via USB? Complication: drive was originally formatted as HFS+ on a Mac.

When I plugged it into this Win2K box, I see the drive being accessed; but when I go to format it through Control Panel->Computer Management->Storage->Disk Management, the drive doesn't appear.

When I go to the System Tray->Unplug or Eject Hardware, the drive *does* appear in the list of USB mass storage devices that can be stopped.

I suppose I can plug this back into a Mac and format it as FAT32 there, but I'd like to do it on the Win2K box now.

I don't have access to the original Win2K install CD, but I have the capability to burn a boot CD if that is what it takes. Recommendations for a boot-cd iso with formatting capability are appreciated.

posted by jaimev to computers & internet (7 comments total)

pmagic livecd.
posted by dorian at 10:17 AM on October 19, 2007

...or gparted live cd
posted by quarterframer at 10:36 AM on October 19, 2007

You can format any partitions (with the exception of the boot or system partition) using the Disk Management tool in Windows 2000 Server. To format or reformat any drives, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, Computer Management. The console window opens.
2. Expand the Storage tree, and double-click Disk Management. The Disk Management utility appears in the right pane.
3. Right-click the partition you want to format or reformat, and choose Format.
4. A window appears, as shown in Figure 1 (i lifted this from a tech support site), asking you to choose a file system, an allocation unit size, and a volume label. For the file system, you can choose FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. Make your selections, and click OK.

5. A dialog box appears, telling you that formatting will erase all data on the partition. Click OK to continue or Cancel to quit.
posted by kickback at 11:10 AM on October 19, 2007

I tried both live CDs and ran GParted. That tool saw the external USB drive, but when I do either a create new partition or set disklabel on the unallocated partition, nothing happens; it remains unallocated, and does not mount under Win2K. Also tried running fdisk from a terminal window to delete and create a new partition and it too does nothing.

kickback - you solution was my first thought, but as I explained in my question, the drive never appears under the Disk Management tool.

I guess I'll wait until I can plug this drive back into a Mac.
posted by jaimev at 12:36 PM on October 19, 2007

shit. sorry I can't read. It's just that I had done this earlier today and had totally forgotten the windows disk management tool.
posted by kickback at 12:56 PM on October 19, 2007

you want to set the msdos disklabel on the whole drive, not on a partition. although fdisk usually offers to do that for you.

don't forget that in gparted you have to press apply/commit or else nothing happens (I forget this all the time...) -- also in fdisk you have to w before you q.

you could also try diskpart in windows, if you're still feeling adventurous.

if nothing else works, using dd to zero out the disk first will probably work.
posted by dorian at 10:45 PM on October 19, 2007

just to clarify: diskpart performs mainly the same functions as the management gui, but usually allows actions that the gui may block. this is my experience regarding disks that came from non-windows environments. no idea why this is, but it is.

anyway, my first recommendation is always one of the gparted type livecds because they are easy to use and work well; diskpart is irritating and also it scares me.
posted by dorian at 10:52 PM on October 19, 2007