How do I check if my external is Fat 32

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How do I check if my external is Fat 32

Hello all,

I have an external that I have had for some time. I thought it was fat32 since I knew at some point I would like to use it with a windows a mcahine and that time has come. I tried mounting it on my Dell and it didn't see it, so before I go looking for answers there I wanted to make sure I had it formatted correctly. When I click info this is what I get
Name : Misc.
Type : Volume

Disk Identifier : disk2s5
Mount Point : /Volumes/Misc.
File System : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Connection Bus : FireWire
Partition Type : Apple_HFS
Device Tree : fw/node@d04b680d04664f/sbp-2@c000/@0:5
Writable : Yes
Universal Unique Identifier : 9F3769C8-C82C-3B16-81BE-07E62B0E7D84
Capacity : 57.8 GB (62,020,272,128 Bytes)
Free Space : 25.4 GB (27,296,018,432 Bytes)
Used : 32.3 GB (34,724,253,696 Bytes)
Number of Files : 9,782
Number of Folders : 2,677
Owners Enabled : No
Can Turn Owners Off : Yes
Can Be Formatted : Yes
Bootable : Yes
Supports Journaling : Yes
Journaled : Yes
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 2
Partition Number : 5
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It doesn't mention Fat 32.

Any information would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

Imac G5 and macbook 2.0, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Nov 14, 2007 3:18 PM

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Answer 1

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Nov 14, 2007 3:32 PM in response to treo730

Launch Disk Utility. Select the external drive and then select Erase. The next window will tell you how it is formatted. You can then quit Disk Utility.

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Answer 2

Nov 14, 2007 3:50 PM in response to treo730

Third line down gives you the answer. It is HFS+ Journaled, not FAT32. Fire up Disk Utility, highlight the drive, click the Erase tab, choose MS-DOS File System. Knowing that you will now erase anything that is on there ⚠

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Answer 3

treo730 Author

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Nov 14, 2007 4:03 PM in response to Sherman Homan

So it looks like I have to reformat this drive. Actually what I have is a 250 gb which i had formatted into two drives. Can I reformat one of the drives without affecting the other. That way I can just copy my files over the reformatted drive so I can use it on my new Vista machine. Actually under Volume formatted I don't see the option for Fat32? Thanks again

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Answer 4

Nov 14, 2007 4:38 PM in response to treo730

You should be OK with just reformatting one of your two partitions. The other partition will not be affected. Disk Utility un-helpfully refers to FAT32 as MS-DOS.

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Answer 5

treo730 Author

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Nov 14, 2007 6:22 PM in response to Sherman Homan

Ok so I copied my beloved MP3 file onto my desktop, just in case. So then in Disk utility I select my partition I want to reformat. Do I then erase?? If I do I don't see the MS DOS option I see a Unix and the Mac OS stuff. How do I do this. Thanks alot guys for your help. The reason I need it BTW is I run a virtual DJ program which allows me to control mp3s via cd and vinyl. Both are timecoded. I use my macbook which has been flawless but I have this Dell which I may need to use. Thanks again

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Answer 6

treo730 Author

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Nov 14, 2007 6:32 PM in response to treo730

Update When I highlight one of the partitions it doesn't give me the MS dos option but when I highlight the actual drive- which I have two partions then it gives me the MS DOS option. So it seems like I am going to have to reformat the whole drive(both partitions) Does that make sense?

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