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Volume size too big

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by gmiller

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I've installed a new 120Gb HDD in a Win2K fileserver and tried to format it using FAT32. the format failed with "Volume size too big". The MSKB tells me that I can access FAT32 drives larger than 32Gb but I can't format them using Win2K.
Any ideas on how to format this drive using FAT32? I wish to format it as a single partition and chose FAT32 over NTFS because I have no need for security beyond share-level access on this drive and I'm led to believe that FAT32 will be faster than NTFS.

10 replies

by fred07

Hi

OOPS, some units will not accept over 60 gig and some not over 80 gig.

It is an MB BIOS shortcoming.

I never recomend flashing the bios unless the MB mfg has completely okayed it and it would actually help more than hurt.

Check the MB mfg web site on MB and see if flashing would increase the top end of the Drive gig's to your size.

fred

by gmiller

Thanks for the suggestion but the system sees the full size of the hard disk. Win2K server is the OS and I've used Disk Administrator to create a volume on the drive. The volume is 111Gb but at this stage is unformatted. If I try to acces the drive it tells it is unformatted and asks if I wish to format it. When I agree, the drive starts to format and gets almost done before I get the "Volume size to too big". The MS Knowledge Base told me that Win2K can see HDDs over 32Gb but it can't format anything more than 32Gb. I was hoping there maybe a simple third party fix.

by carlos.nino

You can try out Norton Utilities to partition and format large size drives. I used it with my 200GB external Maxtor and it worked great.

by chrisdent

Here's some information for you.

IMO NTFS should be used without question. FAT32 wasn't designed for filesystems that big, if you did manage to get it working it would be highly inefficient (slow, unreliable etc etc).

It is true that NTFS can be slower than FAT, however this only applies on small volumes (FAT32 has an ideal operating medium of ~2 Gb - 32 Gb).

For Windows 2000 / XP / 2003 we'd be interested in the NTFS5 type.

This table contains a comparison of the two file systems:

http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm

by gmiller

Alright, I'm convinced! I'll use NTFS. That web site comparison is very helpful. I see now where the idea that FAT32 is faster than NTFS comes from: it is true for small drives. It is interesting that they don't actually define what is small and what is large. All the same 120Gb would have to qualify as large! So NTFS it is. Thanks.

by saihib

NTFS is way faster than FAT32. FAT32 is heirarchical and has to filter down, kind of like going from the base of a tree over a bunch of branches to find the leaf you want. NTFS has a flat structure that operates much more quickly.

by curacao_dejavu

You cannot format a volume larger than 32 GB in size using the FAT32 file system in Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 FastFAT driver can mount and support volumes larger than 32 GB that use the FAT32 file system (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create one using the Format tool. This behavior is by design. If you need to create a volume larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system instead.
NOTE: When attempting to format a FAT32 partition larger than 32 GB, the format fails near the end of the process with the following error:

Logical Disk Manager: Volume size too big.

see:
http://tinyurl.com/u4i2

Leopold

and clustersize in ntfs are smaller, and works more efficiently in w2k

by fred07

Hi

You might try the mfg site of HD and download their HD tool. I have used WD's and Maxtors with great sucess to format their respective drives.

Then just use it as is and it will work.

fred

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