LinuxQuestions.org
Latest LQ Deal: Latest LQ Deals
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 12-07-2003, 08:51 PM   #1
KyngNothing
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Posts: 11

Rep: Reputation: 0
Problems formatting partition w/ FAT32!!


Hi, I'm trying to use the Linux Answer here... here
I found the discussion here... here

which explains I need to use mkdosfs , but I still have problems trying to do that...


Now I get

pcp02620325pcs:/home/dave # mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/hdd3
mkdosfs 2.8 (28 Feb 2001)
mkdosfs: unable to allocate space for FAT image in memory
pcp02620325pcs:/home/dave #

What does that mean?

(This is fdisk for that drive:
Disk /dev/hdd: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdd1 1 96 771088+ 82 Linux swap
/dev/hdd2 * 97 5773 45600502+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdd3 5774 14592 70838617+ f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)

Command (m for help): q
)
I'm trying to format the hdd3 part, so i can share between linux and windows...

If i try and just use the defaults, it gives me:

pcp02620325pcs:/home/dave # mkdosfs /dev/hdd3
mkdosfs 2.8 (28 Feb 2001)
mkdosfs: Attempting to create a too large file system

shouldn't a 70 gig partition be ok? Should I break it down even more?


edit: sorry, i was going to delete that post, but found i couldn't... figured this might get more traffic...

Last edited by KyngNothing; 12-07-2003 at 09:05 PM.
 
Old 12-07-2003, 09:40 PM   #2
ac1980
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Trento, Italy
Distribution: Debian testing
Posts: 394

Rep: Reputation: 30
fat does not has an inode per file: instead it has a int32 per cluster, which may be 1kb to 32kb
I think the error means exacly what it says: can't manage such a huge table (280Mb).

you can try specifying the -s option, like -s 32 (16k clusters) or -s 64

note that some systems have a 64gb limit on a single fs, i suggest not to exceed this size.

imho once you have the partition, the safest thing is to format it with native os (i.e. win)


ps: on fat16 (i.e. not specifying -F 32) the size limit is 2 GB !

Last edited by ac1980; 12-07-2003 at 09:42 PM.
 
Old 12-07-2003, 10:26 PM   #3
KyngNothing
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Posts: 11

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
ALright, formatting in windows is working, but i couldn't get mkdosfs to work for a 30 gig partition either...

thanks for the help
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
formatting very big fat32 partition with Linux Xavius Linux - General 6 10-08-2005 07:53 PM
Formatting failed, now my fat32 windows partition is non-existent. zimzam Mandriva 12 12-28-2004 06:51 PM
Problems formatting NTFS partition ElPuello Linux - Hardware 3 11-01-2004 10:45 AM
FAT32 partition problems Daliz Linux - Software 2 02-15-2004 03:57 AM
Formatting a FAT32 partition... SamH Linux - General 3 12-23-2003 10:51 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:29 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration