I finally found a Windows program that allows one to format very large hard drives. Windows has an artificial limitation of 32GB for the FAT32 file system. Any consumer knows this is not an actual limitation since new external hard drives, including 1TB drives, come as FAT32 for maximum compatibility. I have tried other applications, such as CompuApps SwissKnife, however they have a limitation of 500GB.
The program is h2format. The homepage is in German, as well as all the documentation, however it is fairly easy to use this program.
From TechLio:
Quote:
- Install the HD inside of the enclosure.
- Hook it up to your USB 2.0(preferably) or USB 1.1 port.
- If you are running Win2K or WinXP, the enclosure will be auto-detected and install the correct USB Mass Storage driver automatically. If you are using WinME or 98SE, you will have to install drivers off of the bundled install CD.
- Right click the "My Computer" icon and select "Manage.."
- Click on "Disk Management" in the left panel.
- (Sorry, I am going from memory here... so the actual terms may differ slightly) Find your new drive in the right window and right click on it's bar, then choose "Create Partition".
- Create one Primary Partition that is of the FAT32 flavor at it's maximum size. (DO NOT USE NTFS.. IT WILL NOT WORK)
- A window will pop up asking you if you want to format it... Choose "Do not format at this time". The reason for this is that Win2K and WinXP will not let you format a FAT32 drive any larger than 32GB. If you are using Win98, you can simply format a FAT32 drive without any problems. My 2K & XP workaround for this problem took a bit of research.
- Once the partition is created and it says "Healthy", Right click it and set it to be "Active".
- Close out of the Computer Management Control panel.
- Download H2Format (it is freeware).
- Unzip the file and copy the H2Format.exe file to the root of your C drive.
- From the Start menu select "Run..." and type in "cmd" then press Enter.
- Your DOS prompt should read "C:\>". If not, type in "c:" and Enter.
- Then type in "H2Format H:" (Substitute your drive letter for H if it is different).
- In a couple of seconds, it will format your drive to it's full capacity as a FAT32 drive.
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H2Format Homepage -
H2format 1.6 Deutsch, Download im heise Software-Verzeichnis
H2Format Translated (by Google) -
Google Translate
H2Format English Guide -
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