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    How to reformat external hdd in Ubuntu???

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by aerowinged, Jul 12, 2009.

  1. aerowinged

    aerowinged Notebook Consultant

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    Just got a WD My Book. It is pre formatted in FAT32.
    I heard that you cant put files larger than a few gigs on that file system.
    I want to reformat, but not sure in which file system, NTFS or something else? i would like to be compatible with windows to, although i use Ubuntu primarily.
    When i right click on the drive and go to properties i get some options, but i cant seem to find where to reformat it???
    Thanks
     
    aerowinged, Jul 12, 2009
    #1
  2. chlaw

    chlaw Notebook Guru

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    sudo gparted. It will show all your partitions and disks.
     
    chlaw, Jul 12, 2009
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  3. aerowinged

    aerowinged Notebook Consultant

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    it says that command isnt found... ?
     
    aerowinged, Jul 12, 2009
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  4. archer7

    archer7 Notebook Evangelist

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    First off, install gparted through Add/Remove Programs or Synaptic.

    Then run
    Code: 
    sudo gparted
    as chlaw suggests.

    I hope this helps :). Linux support for NTFS is excellent, so NTFS would be the best choice for cross storage between linux and windows. FAT32 doesn't deal with files larger than 4 GiB, which is a no-go for movie fanatics (and maybe the most elite audiophiles?)
     
    archer7, Jul 12, 2009
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  5. aerowinged

    aerowinged Notebook Consultant

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    ok ive got it installed and the drive selected in the program. but the "format to" selection is not expandable, along with just about every other option... except for "unmount" "manage flags" and "create partition table". when i click on the last one, it tells me to choose a Partition Table Type. msdos is defaulted. ntfs is not an option... ?
     
    aerowinged, Jul 12, 2009
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  6. chlaw

    chlaw Notebook Guru

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    I don't know if ubuntu now installs ntfs drivers by default. Search for ntfs in Synaptic.
     
    chlaw, Jul 12, 2009
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  7. archer7

    archer7 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah, you have to unmount it first before you can mess with it, same as you would with any other disk utility in Windows.
     
    archer7, Jul 12, 2009
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  8. theZoid

    theZoid Notebook Savant

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    Concur...I leave all my externals NTFS
     
    theZoid, Jul 13, 2009
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