using flash drive/portable hard drive on BOTH Linux and Windows
 

Hello! I am new and not at all a techie, so I hope your answers will be clear...and with little computer lingo!

I have a PC (fixed, not laptop) and a small ASUS 900eeePC that runs on Linux. I use it for the Net, saving docs (do so as Word doc so I can transfer), and for saving/uploading photos.

Problem: I have several flash drives that I have saved documents or photos on from my Linux laptop. When I plug it in to my Windows PC, the flash drive is not recognized; my PC even jams.


Is this a problem with my PC, or must flash drives (or portable drives) be formatted ONLY for one system, i.e. Linux or Windows, or is there some way they can be switched easily from one to another? Someone told me they should be formatted in FAT32. When I check properties on my drives, I see FAT, but not FAT32. Is this the same....duh. Told you I was not a techie!

Would it be easier if I had my Linux removed on my ASUS and put Windows in its place???

Please, someone help.
Thank you.

Hi, and welcome to LQ! :)
Flash drives / portable drives needs not be formatted ONLY for one system. They are formatted fat32 when you buy them (at least all I've seen) and that works in both Windows and Linux.
However, if you reformat the drive - do that in Windows! Linux can format fat32 as well, but I have experienced problems sometimes using the drive in Windows when fat-formatted in Linux.

If you have not reformatted it's really very strange. Are other usb-drives automatically discovered?
If so, I suggest you reformat the drive in Windows then it should work.

No - since it's Windows that doesn't recognize it not Linux..

yankeegirl @ LinuxQuestions.org wrote (by email):

Pingu:
Best is to answer in the forum instead of by email (or both - nothing wrong with mailing but others might want to follow the discussion).

It's not necessarily anything really wrong with your ports, sometimes Windows has problems recognizing devices. Try googling for eg "Windows doesn't recognize usb" and you'll see you are not the only one with that problem...

Here's a link to Microsofts supportsite with some tips: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871233
(Hmmm hope you don't get it in Swedish...) If you don't understand it just come back here!