Disk Management Utility?

I purchased a Western Digital external hard drive. In the instructions it addresses the fact that the FAT 32 file system has a max file transfer limitation of 4 GB and cannot create partitions larger than 32 GB. To overcome this the drive must be reformatted to the NTFS file system using the Disk Management Utility.

1. I don't know where to find the Disk Management Utility. Is it part of WXP?

2. What is meant by the 4GB and 32GB limitations mentioned? Since this is a 120 GB drive, it must mean that one cannot, without NTFS, create partitions larger than 32 GB. But I am not at all sure what the limitations mean, and if it is very important. Evidently it comes formatted for the FAT 32 file system so that W 98SE and ME can use it.

I hate to start this until I have some idea of what is going on.

Thanks,
Jerry

 

click on start, them control panel, then performance and maintenance, then administrative tools, then computer managenent then on the left side click on disc management.

bigc

 

Thanks for the help. I am confused by the 4 and 32 GB limitations.
Any ideas?

Thanks, Jerry

 

once you have it formatted to ntfs you should be able to partition it any size you want. I am partitioning my Hdd all of the time trying different types of linux and I can create a partition any size I need or want. Fat 32 just doesn't support large partitions

bigc

I do use partition magic 8.0.

 

Jerry, Fat32 supports partitions up to 2 terabytes. Windows, on setup can only partition up to 32gb. Many people (including me) have very large fat32 partitions. There are good security reasons for using Fat32. Google and read all about it. Any partitioning tool will allow you to make huge Fat32 partitions. For example, Partition Magic 8.0 (from Powerquest NOT Symantec!) fixed me up with 3 60gb partitions, 1 100gb partition and a 20gb partition on my new Seagate 300GB drive. It's no problem. You just can't do it at Windows setup. See Large Fat32 Partitions here.
Hope this helps!

 

Follow up: I better explain about the security for readers that look elsewhere and see people say the opposite. I should have said that Fat32 is more secure if you use third-party security tools for encryption. Otherwise, Fat32 has no security at all as far as that goes. But, many here wouldn't advise using Microsoft's encryption anyway. With Fat32 you eliminate the concerns of MDS (Multiple Data Streams) and ADS (Alternate Data Streams) which are a huge data leak risk with the NTFS file system. NTFS was not progress for those concerned with data security and use strong encryption not ported from Redmond, Washington.

 

Gerard,


Thanks for the very helpful information. I will have to get the feel for much of this. I can see the usefulness of partitions, but do not know what I will need. Probably not too much.
On my old computer I had 12.1 GB. That was in 1999. Now I still have 6 GB left. I guess photographs and games take a lot of space, and so far I have not been interested in those.

I had thought that I would get some program to back-up my computer. However, after reading on this and other forums the problems some have with both Ghost and Acronis, I have concluded that I do not want the frustration of working with them at this point in my knowledge.

Thanks again,
Jerry