USB Partition Not Usable in XP
Forum: USB booting
Topic: USB Partition Not Usable in XP
started by: Max
Posted by Max on Dec. 11 2004,02:12
Ok, I've got a 512MB Kingston Datatraveler.The first partition is 120MB, FAT32 (type b), marked bootable and I can use it to boot perfectly fine into DSL. (Used the standard Install to Pendrive from the menus with that "check=1" modification)
I created a second partition of FAT32 (type b) to hold the DSL backup files and whatever other stuff I wanted. Downloaded dosfstools and formatted with -F 32 /dev/sda2 with no errors reported.
I can see this second partition fine in DSL and read and write to it from DSL. But when I boot XP it won't access the partition (e.g. won't assign a drive letter to it). Ok I thought, maybe I need to format it under Windows. But when I use the XP Disk Management utility displays the partition and reports that it is "healthy" but does not show a format type (e.g. FAT, FAT32, NTFS). When I try to format it, XP says that the "partition is not active" and to reboot the machine. Needless to say, rebooting does nothing.
I've tried changing the partition to regular FAT16, but the results are the same.
Any ideas out there how to make this partition "active" so WinXP can talk to it??? (I searched the forums but didn't find anything on this particular issue)
Note that I'm using a IBM Thinkpad T42 and the USB is booting as a USB HDD from the BIOS.
Posted by SaidinUnleashed on Dec. 11 2004,04:17
Try it on something other than the Stinkpad and get back to us.That will tell us if it is just the Stinkpad being stinky or a real problem.
You also might try booting from usb-zip.
-J.P.
Posted by Max on Dec. 11 2004,05:04
I think you might have misunderstood me. The problem is not booting DSL off the USB stick, the problem is that for some reason a Windows XP or 2000 system can't use the second partition on the USB stick that I want to store the DSL backup and other program on.OK, switched to a Dell Latitude running Win2000 Pro. Same result though, here is a pic of the error when I try to format the partition on the Win2000 program.
Posted by ke4nt1 on Dec. 11 2004,06:41
Max:I can verify your issue, as my 512MB key is also setup into 2 partitions.
And, XP cannot access the second one.. DSL has no problem at all..
No clue as to why XP won't goto it..
I've tried having both use fat32 and fat16 with no change..
73
ke4nt
Posted by Leslie on Dec. 12 2004,06:47
I too have just been tackling the same problem with Windows XP on a standard desktop with an Apacer HandySteno 128mb.Using Linux I tried making the second partition first a primary then a logical one in the hopes that one may work.
I have searched google but not managed to find anything on this, it doesn't help that the wording of the seaches is pretty ambiguos.
My current belief is that a partitioned USB drive is not a feature supported in WinXP* so I am about to reformat my USB disk back to one partition and live with it which sucks as having the partitions would make upgrading DSL on the USB disk easy as.
*If you run diskmgmt.msc it shows E: (the Heathly Active) partition as being 128Mb (the full disk) and the partition with out a drive letter allocation as being 70Mb for the inaccessabile partition. Also going to the disks properties shows the drive as being 128mb, so it seems windows does not see the partition and kind of smears them together.
Posted by Max on Dec. 12 2004,18:38
I think it's strange too. I've also got one of those 80GB notebook drives in a slim case that I connect via USB. I've got 4 partitions on that drive and both DSL and XP see them fine.Somehow, either the driver or the "memory drive" itself is not fully emulating a real hard drive, and XP doesn't pick it up.
I do remember about 20 years ago (geez..it's a long time ago when I think about in that way....) when I was running DOS on the first Compaq (you know...the trans-portable suitcase) that you had to "activate" the disk. This isn't the same as marking which partition to boot from. The rest is fuzzy.....
I did read in a post that on the MS forums, there are loads of posts about USB drive incompatabilities. (and of course, MS has been having to direct their energies to other problems of late....)