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RFC: Partitioning Options


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I have a 250 GB HD (that formats to ~233 GB). The partitioning is as follows:

 

disk0s1: 005.5 GB (Windows XP)

disk0s2: 005.0 GB (OS X, Active)

disk0s3: 223.0 GB (ext2)

 

I'm trying to format the 3rd to be the partition that's shared between Windows and the Mac OS (and Linux if I ever install it). Of course, there are problems:

 

1) FAT 32 is out since there's a 196 GB limit. I don't want to split the volume in two, as I'd rather have a single contained volume. I've tried creating a 223 GB FAT 32 with a Knoppix Live CD, but neither Windows nor Mac OS recognizes it.

 

2) ext* is out since the Mac OS driver seems to be broken, despite the fact that it's developer says it's working. When I try to mount the volume, I get a 0xfffffff error saying it's damaged.

 

3) NTFS is no good since I can't write to the volume from Mac OS.

 

4) Mac OS' file system is out, since the Mac Drive driver for Windows doesn't appear to work for me. The problem isn't a corrupted XP install, either, since it's new and unmodified. I think the problem is that it may be conflicting with Daemon Tools, which is also installed on my system. I haven't looked into that yet, but need Daemon Tools for other stuff, so removing it would be a last resort.

 

So, any ideas?

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OK, yeah, so Daemon Tools was the problem. Specifically, the sptd.sys driver thing.

 

I uninstalled DT, rebooted, deleted C:\Windows\System32\drivers\sptd.sys, rebooted, and the Mac volumes appeared in Explorer. Daemon Tools can, apparently, coexist with MacDrive, so long as that driver is not present and loaded at Windows boottime (though I haven't tried it yet).

 

So, I'll be using HFS+ for the larger, shared volume, but am concerned as to how reliable Mac Drive will be. We'll see crosses fingers. :)

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OK, yeah, so Daemon Tools was the problem. Specifically, the sptd.sys driver thing.

 

I uninstalled DT, rebooted, deleted C:\Windows\System32\drivers\sptd.sys, rebooted, and the Mac volumes appeared in Explorer. Daemon Tools can, apparently, coexist with MacDrive, so long as that driver is not present and loaded at Windows boottime (though I haven't tried it yet).

 

So, I'll be using HFS+ for the larger, shared volume, but am concerned as to how reliable Mac Drive will be. We'll see crosses fingers. ;)

 

I've been using MacDrive for ages (off and on since MacDrive 98 came out) and have generally found it to be reliable. Just be sure you stay on top of updates.

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