Post-linux fixing of the disk

[W1GUH]

Took the disk that I had installed linux on & wanted to format it for windows. It's a nice, physically small disk & it makes a great medium for transferring files between machines.

So I hooked it up & Windows refused to see it. So I tried from the command line & I could find the disk & it's partiontion with list disk and list partition, but, still, couldn't format it. Had no volume label.

(This is about an hour's worth of time and counting.)

Finally found on the web about "manage computer", and the way to find and manipulate a disk in this state is the manage computer screen (think it was a right click somewhere...don't remember exactly.)

So...if you, too, want to revive a unix system disk, don't waste your time with windows explorer or a command window....find "Manage Computer" in your machine.

The whole process was about 2 hours spread over 2 sessions.

(Wonder how many replies I'm going to get telling me I'm stupid for 86-ing linux? :stirpot::stickpoke: )

[PA5COR]

(Wonder how many replies I'm going to get telling me I'm stupid for 86-ing linux? :stirpot::stickpoke: )

I've been known to have my very stupid moments too, you are in good company ;)

[KC2UGV]

Nothing to do with Linux :) This is just basic Windows admin stuff :)

[ad4mg]

Took the disk that I had installed linux on & wanted to format it for windows. It's a nice, physically small disk & it makes a great medium for transferring files between machines.

So I hooked it up & Windows refused to see it. So I tried from the command line & I could find the disk & it's partiontion with list disk and list partition, but, still, couldn't format it. Had no volume label.

(This is about an hour's worth of time and counting.)

Finally found on the web about "manage computer", and the way to find and manipulate a disk in this state is the manage computer screen (think it was a right click somewhere...don't remember exactly.)

So...if you, too, want to revive a unix system disk, don't waste your time with windows explorer or a command window....find "Manage Computer" in your machine.

The whole process was about 2 hours spread over 2 sessions.

(Wonder how many replies I'm going to get telling me I'm stupid for 86-ing linux? :stirpot::stickpoke: )
Right-click My Computer, then "Manage". Choose Disk Management, blow away the partitions you don't want, create your new partition(s), and quick format them. Should only take 10-15 minutes. Better yet, use the manufacturer's disk utilities. Most have the utilities ready for free download, and most will install and run under Windows. For stubborn cases, most of the utility iso files make a bootable CD. Max-Blast IV immediately comes to mind, and the SeaTools set from Seagate is also in my arsenal. They can both prep a disk in a couple of minutes.

You can read the ext3 file system from Windows with the right utility. I use Ext2-Explore. Although I trust Linux with my NTFS partitions, I'm not quite ready to trust Windows with write access to my ext4 partitions.

[WØTKX]

I use Partition Commander, and it has rarely let me down. If it does, there is a utility called Ranish, it's ugly but it always works... I had to use it to put Beos on the drive in an old Power Mac clone I have, as killing the Appple 8.x OS was a bit of a PITA for some reason.

[W1GUH]

Right-click My Computer, then "Manage". Choose Disk Management, blow away the partitions you don't want, create your new partition(s), and quick format them. Should only take 10-15 minutes. Better yet, use the manufacturer's disk utilities. Most have the utilities ready for free download, and most will install and run under Windows. For stubborn cases, most of the utility iso files make a bootable CD. Max-Blast IV immediately comes to mind, and the SeaTools set from Seagate is also in my arsenal. They can both prep a disk in a couple of minutes.

You can read the ext3 file system from Windows with the right utility. I use Ext2-Explore. Although I trust Linux with my NTFS partitions, I'm not quite ready to trust Windows with write access to my ext4 partitions.



"Right-click My Computer, then "Manage". Choose Disk Management..."

Exactly...but the route to that is different with XP, Vista, and Windows 7. That's left as an excercise for the interested student!

Mostly just trying to save someone else from the journey from here to there.

The disk didn't have any utilities. What it is is a hard disk from my old laptop that's installed in a portable case. Works very good.

[ad4mg]

"Right-click My Computer, then "Manage". Choose Disk Management..."

Exactly...but the route to that is different with XP, Vista, and Windows 7. That's left as an excercise for the interested student!

Mostly just trying to save someone else from the journey from here to there.

The disk didn't have any utilities. What it is is a hard disk from my old laptop that's installed in a portable case. Works very good.
Yeah, I switched to Linux when Vista emerged, so I'm weak on Windows beyond XP. I wasn't strong enough to fight Vista.

The laptop HDD, is it an IDE or SATA interface? The 2-1/2" IDE drives are relics of the past. My 5 year old Acer laptop has a 60 GB IDE in it. I'll probably have to trash the machine when the hard disk dies, as a replacement will be hard to find, and expensive.

That's been a darn good machine, Aspire 5003 with the AMD Turion 64 processor, 17.1" screen. It runs Ubuntu 10.04-LTS 64 bit real fine with 2 GB of RAM!

[W1GUH]

The laptop HDD, is it an IDE or SATA interface?

Don't really know. Came out of a vintage 2002 Dell.

[WB0LSR]

Nothing to do with Linux :) This is just basic Windows admin stuff :)

I agree..

Disk management is a tool that every even slightly advanced Windows user should become familiar with.. manipulating partitions and changing file systems is a basic part of building a system from scratch, and it's not unheard of for the system to reassign drive letters for external media (like USB sticks, external HDDs, and card readers) thereby ruining links to those drives and even rendering the drives themselves invisible to the OS.

Also, Linux file systems such as ext are not compatible with Windows.