FAT32 in xp home

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave H
  • Start date Start date
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Dave H

So xp wont let me format a new drive FAT32. Seeing numerous threads
and FAQ's this must be a common problem. The format pulldown menu has
only the ntfs option. This despite all the help files saying I can
choose FAT, FAT32 or ntfs! Tempted to say - what a pos os.
If I understand correctly, an ntfs volume will not be accessible to
any of my homenet non-xp computers. If that is not true, then ntfs
would be fine by me I think. The sole purpose of the new drive is
data share between computers. Please advise if I understand this
correctly or not.

So I see thread and run FORMAT D/FS:FAT32 from command prompt. Dos
window gives standard warning about losing all data (fine) and when I
concur it goes off creating, what is says, is a fat32 volume. half
hour later, the process completes and i reboot. XP tells me i still
have an unformatted raw volume! Same as i had a half hour earlier.

wtf am i doing wrong? please!

I saw something about being able to format from the xp install cd.
Not clear to me where that option is on cd boot. If this is
solution. please elaborate.

BTW - my sys C drive is fat32 created by 98 fdisk and initial xp
install.
 
Boot with the XP CD in the drive. When you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.

This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
 
Boot with the XP CD in the drive. When you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.

After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:

To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

In your case, press ENTER.

Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.

You will then be taken to a screen with two options.

To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.
Click to expand...

So do i do the repair R or fresh install ESC?
This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
Click to expand...

I understand that xp has a 3 install limit? Every new drive is a new
os install? S'pose every new PCI card is an OS new install too. How
bout case fans, new ps, ide cables? Gawd, I hope not. Else, Bill
going to be getting bucu please renew emails from me as I reconfigure
my comps daily.

Barring the sarcasm, thanx for the response.
 
Greetings --

How large is the hard drive/partition in question? By design,
WinXP cannot create and format a new partition greater than 32 Gb.
This is because NTFS is the superior file system, and not nearly as
wasteful of drive space. (If you make a FAT32 partition larger than 8
Gb, you're "throwing away" significant amounts of storage capacity.
However, the OS has no problems being installed upon or otherwise
using FAT32 a partition larger than 32 Gb, as long as that partition
has been created/formatted by another OS, such as Win98.

The file systems on the various computers communicating over a
network are completely irrelevant, as none of the individual
computers' operating systems ever directly access the other computers'
hard drives. Instead, a computer sends a "request," if you will, for
the desired data, and the operating system of the host ("receiving")
computer accesses its own hard drive (whose file system it obviously
can read) and then sends that data back to the requesting computer as
neutral packets of information that are completely independent of the
file systems on the respective computers. After all, don't you use a
Windows-based PC (whether it's FAT32 or NTFS) to access data stored on
the Internet's mostly Unix servers, which use a completely different
file system?

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, and a lot of wasted hard drive space
on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size. But your computing needs may
vary, and there is no hard and fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is
difficult, but has been handled quite well by Alex Nichol in the
article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463


Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Greetings --

There's no limit to the number of times you can reinstall and
activate the same WinXP license on the same PC. If it's been more
than 120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key,
you'll most likely be able to activate via the Internet without
problem. If it's been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone
call.

Here are the facts pertaining to activation:

Piracy Basics - Microsoft Product Activation
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/

Windows Product Activation (WPA)
http://www.aumha.org/a/wpa.htm


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
I don't know where this comes from or why it keeps coming up because we have
posted repeatedly on these boards there is no limit to the number of times
you can install XP on the same system.

If you change enough hardware to breach the activation threshold, then when
you attempt to activate, instead of activation over the Internet you will be
presented with a phone number to call. When they've ascertained that this
is the same computer, regardless of hardware changes, they will give you a
new activation number over the phone. I find it highly unlikely that you
will breach the threshold daily though you could certainly find yourself
forced to activate daily assuming nothing more than a clean install every
day. Still, that would only trigger the necessity to activate not the
necessity for a phone call.
 
-----Original Message-----
So xp wont let me format a new drive FAT32. Seeing numerous threads
and FAQ's this must be a common problem. The format pulldown menu has
only the ntfs option. This despite all the help files saying I can
choose FAT, FAT32 or ntfs! Tempted to say - what a pos os.
If I understand correctly, an ntfs volume will not be accessible to
any of my homenet non-xp computers. If that is not true, then ntfs
would be fine by me I think. The sole purpose of the new drive is
data share between computers. Please advise if I understand this
correctly or not.

So I see thread and run FORMAT D/FS:FAT32 from command prompt. Dos
window gives standard warning about losing all data (fine) and when I
concur it goes off creating, what is says, is a fat32 volume. half
hour later, the process completes and i reboot. XP tells me i still
have an unformatted raw volume! Same as i had a half hour earlier.

wtf am i doing wrong? please!

I saw something about being able to format from the xp install cd.
Not clear to me where that option is on cd boot. If this is
solution. please elaborate.

BTW - my sys C drive is fat32 created by 98 fdisk and initial xp
install.
.
I can't help you, but seem as frustrated as you are.
Click to expand...
Instaled (or trying to) a clean 80 gig hd, with xp
upgrade for the first time. I've formatted and re-
formatted, f-disked, and finally gave in to the fact that
Xp was only going to recognize and format the drive to 32
gig... then it blew up and said I had disk errors. that
was after formating using Western Dig's format/copy, f-
disk, and xp (once I got to even load). Tomorrow I'm
going to try a bios upgrade then maybe a western didge
ultra card... whew, this has been a three week ordeal..
so far.
 
to both Bruce and Michael. As all i wanted to do was be able to share
the newlyt added drive, NTFS on that drive seems to be ok as one or
both of you pointed out would be the case.

I go away happy, at least until some conflict with having a FAT32
system drive and NTFS data drive (shortly to be driveS) arises.
If/when that happens, back to 98/ME for me:).

To nhale - good luck with the WD drive. My lessons learned there date
many years back - W95 on a P2 and those wonderful WD utilites (EZBIOS
- or FUBIOS as I prefer) that hosed up the bios catastrophically doing
the 6GB drive to 2GB partitions. Probably all cockpit errors on my
part but I've been a Maxtor guy ever since.

Again, thanx for all your responses.
 
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