RFC: Partitioning Options

[xVariable]

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?

[xVariable]

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.

[bluedragon1971]

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.