Getting windows to recognize partitions on external

[un4v41l48l3]

Hello!

I have an external drive that I've been using for Time Machine backups and file storage. I had two partitions to do this (one for TM and another for files). That was pleasing until I bootcamped Windows 7 to my Mac. Now I would like to use another partition for Windows Backup and yet another for files since I gave Windows only 15 gb to work with (my internal HDD isn't very big). No problem, I thought.

My external HDD is 1TB so I just split the ridiculously large Time Machine partition in half and split the half in half. Voila! Four partitions on the drive! However, Windows would not recognize it. After searching around on the netz, I opened Disk Management (somewhere in the Control Panel's administrative tools). It asked me to initialize the disc. Wary, I searched the netz once again to find that this will likely erase my data. So I haven't done it.


My questions:
1. Will "initializing" the disc actually erase the data that is already on it?
2. Is there another way to get Windows 7 to recognize the drive (and the two pertaining partitions)?



--- Other Info ---

External drive partition map: Apple Partition Map
Connection type: Firewire
Windows OS: Windows 7 (64 bit)
Mac OS: Leopard

More info upon request! 😀




Thanks a lot! 😀
-Nick

 

[LtRammstein]

Does Windows recognize all 4 partitions in Disk Management? Also, make sure you're up to date on BootCamp drivers.

 

[un4v41l48l3]

Does Windows recognize all 4 partitions in Disk Management? Also, make sure you're up to date on BootCamp drivers.

No. That's the issue I'm having. Apparently, it's not recognizing the disc as having anything on it. I'm coming to the conclusion that windows does not understand the Apple Partition Map as anything, so it wants me to setup a partition scheme.

I wouldn't think that bootcamp drivers would have anything with this, but yes. I do have the latest installed.


Any ideas out there?

 

[balamw]

I'm coming to the conclusion that windows does not understand the Apple Partition Map as anything, so it wants me to setup a partition scheme.

Why would it understand APM?

if you want this to work, you'll need to switch the drive over to either MBR or GPT with protective MBR... Which will mean moving the data somewhere else at least temporarily.

B

 

[un4v41l48l3]

Why would it understand APM?

if you want this to work, you'll need to switch the drive over to either MBR or GPT with protective MBR... Which will mean moving the data somewhere else at least temporarily.

B

Why would it? Can't say. Why should it? Well that's different I suppose. 😉

I've been using ProTools on this drive. I originally had the default scheme (GPT?), but I couldn't record to the drive. I found out (after an hour of searching of course) that the scheme I was using was the issue. So I'm now assuming that APM was the one I ended up needing to use.

I'm going ahead with just changing the scheme. If anyone would like to help out, I could use a link to a good explanation of the three partition schemes. Preferably one that doesn't take forever to read yet offers little useful information.

Thanks for your help! 😀