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<p class=MsoPlainText>Hi Claude,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Thanks for the help.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>You can find the fdisk output you asked for at the end of
this post, but seeing that this is a USB drive it probably won't be a lot of
help. ;)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I did format it DOS on Linux, then take it back to
Windoze, it failed format again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I tried to see the drive with the low level utilities,
but as it is in a USB case it was not recognized.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I guess the next thing to do is to remove it from the
case and hook it up direct to the DOS utilities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Great question about comparable Linux utilities to
Partition Magic, anyone have thoughts? Some day Linux will catch up with
DOS... ;)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Matt<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>P.S. I'm still confused after 20odd years of email about
etiquette and top posting vs. the other options. What is the consensus on this
group?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>-----Original Message-----<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>From: sgvlug-bounces@sgvlug.net
[mailto:sgvlug-bounces@sgvlug.net] On Behalf Of Claude Felizardo<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 11:50 AM<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>To: SGVLUG Discussion List.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Subject: Re: [SGVLUG] FW: Hard drive question<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 11:03 AM, Matt Campbell <<a
href="mailto:dvdmatt@gmail.com">dvdmatt@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> This was sent a couple of weeks ago, but was
rejected by the server, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> anyone have any suggestions?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Matt<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> From: Matthew Campbell<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 1:02 AM<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> To: 'SGVLUG Discussion List.'<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Subject: Hard drive question<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I have an interesting problem I have been struggling
with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I have a 260G LaCie USB drive that I have been using
under Windows for <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> some time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I had a data error on it, so I tried to format the
drive. I get the <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> message "Format didn't complete
successfully". When I try and copy <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> data to the drive I get a "write failed"
error around 11% of the way through the copy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I can fdisk, mkfs.exxt3 and copy 100Gig to it fine
under Linux.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I can delete that partition under windows, but when
I try and create a <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> new partition it fails immediately.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I would like to transfer some video files to a
Windows user with this drive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I could DOS format the drive, but then it couldn't
handle the large <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> video files.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> I don't think I can format the drive NTFS under
Linux.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> As far as I know there is no longer such a thing as
a low level hard <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> drive format.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> So, what are my options?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Is there a file system I can create under Linux
which can handle large <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> files that the DOS user can read?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Is there a way to recover this drive so that it can
be partitioned or <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> formatted under Windoze? Would wiping the partition
table allow <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Windows to start fresh?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Is there a utility under Linux that can rescan the
drive and mark any <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> new bad sectors? Is this what could be tripping up
the Windows format?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>> Matt<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I really don't like external USB drives because you can't
check the status of the drive. It could be getting soft errors until it runs
out of spare sectors then it's toast.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>First guess, I'd say windows doesn't like the partition
table. What does fdisk -l /dev/sd? report?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Using Linux, you could delete all the partitions and then
create one big partition and format it and have it check for bad sectors. Use
FAT32. On my desktop here at work, I use partition id 0x0b which fdisk reports
as "W95 FAT32". Largest file size for FAT32 is 4 GB I think.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Otherwise, you could use Linux to wipe out the partition
table or possibly create the NTFS partition but let windows do the formatting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>However its sounds like the drive may have issues. If
possible, I'd put it into a desktop and try and use spinrite to perform a low
level format. Catch is it requires DOS/windoze and you must have a valid
partition table. I've used it to bring a marginal disk back to life but the
drive would usually fail within a few years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I also used to use partition magic 8 (yet another
dos/windoze tool) and it works fine for FAT32 and ext2/3 partitions but it has
issues with NFTS. I really wish they'd update that tool but there's been no
updates since symantec/norton bought them out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>If anyone has used comparable Linux tools, I'd like to
hear about it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>claude<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>No virus found in this incoming message.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Checked by AVG. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1332 -
Release Date: 3/17/2008 10:48 AM<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>root@scar:9# fdisk -l /dev/sd?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sda: 251.0 GB, 251000193024 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30515 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00070acf<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sda1 * 1 25 200781 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sda2 26 1937 15358140 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sda3 1938 2574 5116702+ 82
Linux swap / Solaris<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sda4 2575 30515 224436082+ 5
Extended<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sda5 2575 30515 224436051 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdb: 750.1 GB, 750156374016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00093692<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdb1 * 1 91201 732572001 fd
Linux raid autodetect<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdc: 750.1 GB, 750156374016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x0005e2ca<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdc1 * 1 91201 732572001 fd
Linux raid autodetect<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdd: 750.1 GB, 750156374016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x0000329e<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdd1 * 1 91201 732572001 fd
Linux raid autodetect<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sde: 750.1 GB, 750156374016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x0008f5b0<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sde1 * 1 91201 732572001 fd
Linux raid autodetect<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdf: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x35f75ecd<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdf1 1 121601 976760001 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdg: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x933dd9ec<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdg1 1 121601 976760001 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdh: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0x692b8694<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdh1 1 121601 976760001 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Disk /dev/sdi: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders Units =
cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes Disk identifier: 0xd16d742e<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id
System<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>/dev/sdi1 1 121601 976760001 83
Linux<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>root@scar:10# <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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