How to: Format storage in EXT3 and enable SWAP partition

[jsmiddleton4]

There is also one that aasoror directed me to and I just used to make EXT3 and Swap file via usb port. Partition Mini Tool.

http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Parti ... tag=button


I am using Windows 7. I don't remember how it worked with XP. With EXT3 and Swap partitions Mini Tool and EaseUS are not using Windows.

[vanguardknight]

After doing some searching, I suspect FDISK cannot format a hard drive that has a capacity greater than 2TB. If this is the case, looks like I'm stuck with the AIOS formatting tool in the GUI.

Have you actually tried reformating the drive via telnet ? if the AIOS GUI can formate a 3TB drive in NTFS don't see why it can't do it in EXT3, when you formate the drive using the GUI its really interpreted as a series of fdisk and mkfs commands

That is exactly how I tried to reformat the drive. It is strange that I can get all 3TB by formatting with the GUI, but not with FDISK via telnet. The problem is FDISK tells me I have to set cylinders:

~ # fdisk /dev/sda
You must set cylinders.
You can do this from the extra functions menu.

When I set the cylinders to 16383 (fdisk -C 16383 /dev/sda), and then run the script you provided, it tells me that the last cylinder is out of range. I always end up with a primary partition 1 size less than what I'm aiming for when I provide the +******MB value for the last cylinder.

Should I run the full script and provide the output to you for analysis? Thanks for the guidance on this.

[vanguardknight]

There is also one that aasoror directed me to and I just used to make EXT3 and Swap file via usb port. Partition Mini Tool.

http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Parti ... tag=button


I am using Windows 7. I don't remember how it worked with XP. With EXT3 and Swap partitions Mini Tool and EaseUS are not using Windows.

And I think that's the rub. I have a Dell Inspiron 700m (built in 2005), and running XP SP3. I believe I am limited to 2.2TB by both the BIOS of this old computer, and XP itself. Whatever software you choose to reformat the drive in EXT3 will be limited by your OS and/or BIOS capability.

Thanks for helping me sort this out.

[jsmiddleton4]

Given that Windows does not support EXT3, or any Linux format, unlikely Windows will have any say in the matter.

All I can offer you is the standard advice. Try it and see.

[vanguardknight]

Given that Windows does not support EXT3, or any Linux format, unlikely Windows will have any say in the matter.

All I can offer you is the standard advice. Try it and see.

I don't think it's really about Window being able to read or support EXT3, it's more about it's ability to build a partition on a drive > 2.2TB. But I will give it a shot, and report the results soon after that. Thank you.

[vanguardknight]

Given that Windows does not support EXT3, or any Linux format, unlikely Windows will have any say in the matter.

All I can offer you is the standard advice. Try it and see.

As expected, when I plug the AIOS into my PC via the USB 3.0, the software only recognizes the drive as a 2TB, not 3TB. Therefore, any partitioning or formatting actions I take will be restricted to the 2TB barrier, enforced by either my PC or WinXP (or both).

[jsmiddleton4]

Did you delete the existing partition and refresh the view?

What's with the GPT partition?

http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/04/how-to ... indows-xp/

http://tp.mymedconnection.com/tech/ghac ... indows-xp/

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/para ... p-2010113/

And there is no limit internally in the AIOS if you use telnet and the commands as aasoror has provided in several threads. I'd delete the existing partition and use telnet and clean drive.

[vanguardknight]

Did you delete the existing partition and refresh the view?

What's with the GPT partition?

The tool won't even let me do anything with the partition at all. Every task/option I would need to delete the existing partition, and build another one is blanked out. I did however remove/create a partition, and format it with EXT3 using EASEUS before. The result was an EXT3 partition of 2TB.

The GPT partition is what was built when I formatted the hard drive using the AIOS GUI.

Here is the pretty official word on using WinXP with drive greater than 2TB. I need a 64-bit OS.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/det ... ng-systems

By the way, using Telnet with the AIOS is exactly how I was trying to format the drive with EXT3, and create a SWAP partition. I'm having issues with FDISK not recognizing how many cylinders are set (I have to set it manually). When I set the cylinders based on the official Seagate specs (16383), and then try to specify the end point for partition 1 using +XXXXXXMB, it tells me it's out of range. Please view my post in this thread at 2:22pm today.

Thanks,

VK

[vanguardknight]

Did you delete the existing partition and refresh the view?

What's with the GPT partition?

http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/04/how-to ... indows-xp/

http://tp.mymedconnection.com/tech/ghac ... indows-xp/

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/para ... p-2010113/

And there is no limit internally in the AIOS if you use telnet and the commands as aasoror has provided in several threads. I'd delete the existing partition and use telnet and clean drive.

Hey jsmiddleton4, I just noticed the links you provided on this post. I'm going to download the software from Paragon, give it a try, and report my results later tonight. Thanks for providing those links.

-VK

[vanguardknight]

Did you delete the existing partition and refresh the view?

What's with the GPT partition?

http://www.ghacks.net/2010/11/04/how-to ... indows-xp/

http://tp.mymedconnection.com/tech/ghac ... indows-xp/

http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/para ... p-2010113/

And there is no limit internally in the AIOS if you use telnet and the commands as aasoror has provided in several threads. I'd delete the existing partition and use telnet and clean drive.

jsmiddleton4,

I went to the Paragon Early Adopter Program site, and they don't offer the GPT Loader as part of that program anymore. So I purchased it. Turns out, the driver doesn't work with 3TB drives connected via USB. Now I have to figure out how to get a refund...

It was promising, but didn't pan out. Thanks for the lead, though.