Can't Mount 80gb Fat-32 Volume W/ Windows

[vlastone]

This volume was cloned on a PC using Symantech gost, and it mounts fine in WinXP service pack1

Im running 10.3.8 here and it shows up as a drive that needs formatting.

I'm converting a user from Windows - please help the Mac cause

Michael

 

[Viro]

Firstly, are you sure it is a FAT 32 volume? AFAIK, there is a volume size limit of 32 GB with FAT 32 on Windows XP and Win2K where they can't format a drive that is larger than 32 GB using FAT 32.

 

[sinclair_tm]

it would not surprise me if it is a 80gig on fat32. somehow my dad has done it too ( but i never could). i have never been able to figure it out. but normally fat32 is limited to 32gig partitions, so the mac problly will not see a fat32 over 32gig, so there is not much that can be done for ya.

 

[nixgeek]

It is possible to do this sometimes on older systems with a software workaround that is provided by the hard drive manufacturer. Maxtor has their EZ-BIOS software that allows hard drives that wouldn't normally work with something like FAT32 to be fully operational and have no limits. Of course, once that software is taken out of the picture, the limitation appears once again, and make the drive unmountable or unreadable unless said software is in place.

If it is FAT32, I recommend that you check the machine that it was installed in. Start it up and see if the EZ-BIOS is installed in the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the drive. It will show up on boot. If so, then this could be the reason and you will probably have to move the data from that drive to another computer, reformat it under the Mac, and then bring back your files.