On 01/04/2019 12:16, Eion MacDonald wrote:
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> For data storage small USB keys, I tend to alter file system on USB keys
> from ExFAT or FAT as they come to NTFS, as this retains the ability to
> use in both Linux and MS Dos/Windows systems and store larger files.
>
As a further follow up ....
If I look at the stick in gparted, I can choose Device from the menu,
and then Create partition table. It warns me that I will lose all the
date, and defaults to msdos. There are other choices, but NTFS is not
one of them. Most of the other choices I do not recognise.
Neil
Hi Neil,
I apologise if any of the following is a case of teaching granny to suck eggs...
Way back when floppy disks ruled, it was common to write the FILESYSTEM directly to the disk with no partitions. This is not typically used with "larger" storage devices, but it is still possible to do it.
FAT/FAT32, EXT2/3/4, NTFS, HFS/HFS+ are examples of filesystems.
If you are dealing with larger devices - and let's be honest here you're unlikely to be dealing with floppy disks these days - then you are almost certainly going to need some form of partitioning.
Partitioning is simply a way to divide up the disk into smaller chunks (partitions) that can be treated in some way as if they are separate disks. When doing this there needs to be a way to keep track of where each partition starts, ends, and the expected filesystems stored on them.
There are several ways to achieve this. Common ones you will find are "MSDOS" and "GPT". The differences between then are not important at this stage, but be aware that MSDOS is a partitioning scheme and that the filesystems typically used by the Microsoft operating systems are FAT, FAT32, and NTFS.
What it sounds like you have done is to accidentally put an EXT4 filesystem on your USB stick without partitioning it... essentially treating it like a giant floppy disk.
This does work, but can cause problems. It is, however, not irrecoverable.
I'm more than happy to talk you through it on the phone, or via something like Skype, if you're interested. Maybe even setup a remote desktop session so I can see what you see when discussing it.
Drop me a line off-list if you fancy a call:
Grant. :)
