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how to make fat32 partition in mac?

B

Baadshah

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2008
283
0
Copenhagen
Hi All
I have the new macbook, and i have installed vista on it from bootcamp aswell.

Now i wanna make a extra partition so i can keep all my private files on it. And can access it from both mac and windows.

How do i make it???
pls help meeee
 
sorr y i may be worng but i dont think you can do it on amac, you ll have to either use windows to do it or do it thru a pc machne... i maybe worng tho,, just wait and see what otehr say
 
Baadshah said:
Hi All
I have the new macbook, and i have installed vista on it from bootcamp aswell.

Now i wanna make a extra partition so i can keep all my private files on it. And can access it from both mac and windows.

How do i make it???
pls help meeee
Click to expand...

You cannot do that. I thought you can access Vista files from Leopard no problem and vise versa.
 
I haven't done repartitioning on the fly, but Disk Utility has no problem making FAT partitions -- it could do that long before the Intel transition. You should be able to just create some free space and then make it into a DOS/Windows partition.
 
what do u mean by make into dos/windows??

I just need a drive for my private stuff, and be able to access to from windows and mac.

How to do it?? in disk utility how?? and dont i need to format it or something?? And can disk utitlity create a fat32??

some one pls help who is good in mac.
 
mkrishnan said:
I haven't done repartitioning on the fly, but Disk Utility has no problem making FAT partitions -- it could do that long before the Intel transition. You should be able to just create some free space and then make it into a DOS/Windows partition.
Click to expand...

im not sure but i think when you do that it does a ntsf partition not fat32,, unless there is an option I'm forgetting..
 
The MSDOS option in Disk Utility is actually a FAT32 format, so you can use that one. That means you should first reduce the size of of one of the OS X partition, then create a new MSDOS (aka FAT32) partition in the free spot. A full backup is a must of course.

Another option may be to use a third party utility like Macfuse, NTFS-3g or Macdrive to be able to read the windows partition from OS X (or the OSX from windows).
 
Baadshah said:
im still not getting an answer hmm...

there should be an easy way to create a partition of fat32????
:confused:
Click to expand...
people have answered you. if you don't understand the answers, time to break out the googler. there are tutorials all over the web.
 
misterredman said:
Did you miss my answer? Or was something not clear?
Click to expand...

u said i can do it in disk utitlity, i can make a fat32. But u said i need to reduce some of my disk spaces.

How to do it??

I have 2 partition.

My HDD is 160 gb, used 45 for bootcamp/vista and rest is for mac. I want to make a 30 gb for my private stuff.

Can u give me some steps to do it. Im scared if i dont mess it up.

Else i will have to call apple support. I really need a newbie steps. Im very new to mac.
 
LOl... poor thing.. i will try to help.. i havent been to the mac scene for a very long time, so don't hold high hopes.

steps:
-go to utilities
-then click on disc utility
-you should see your harddisc/external harddisc in the right sidebar
-click on the harddisc that you want to put your "p0rn(private)" stuff. :p
-then click on partition(try finding it, somewhere in the center!!)
-then change the size of your mac HDD
-after you have created a new space for your "p0rn" :p change the format to whatever you..


hopefully this helps.. :)

Joking about that "p0rn", dont take it serious.. :)
 
didnt get it, in disk utitlity, then i have to click on the machintosh hd, and then click partition right??

Didnt get make space thing....

But in format, i cannot choose fat32. It makes it Mac os x???

any solution. And u sure doing a partition wont format my mac os x or my windows??
 
Baadshah said:
any solution. And u sure doing a partition wont format my mac os x or my windows??
Click to expand...

It shouldn't. But partitioning a drive is something you should do only after a backup, or without if you are ready to reinstall everything.

Anyway, when you see the partition diagram in Disk Utility, click on the partition you want to resize (that is the partition you want to make smaller to free a space for the new partition). Once the partition is selected click on the plus button at the bottom of the window. A new partition will be created below the selected one. Now you can resize the new partition by dragging the separation line just above it. You can then select the new partition and change the format to MS-DOS.

Once you are satisfied click on the Apply button to finalize. You will get a confirmation dialog, explaining exactly what will happen. Or click revert to delete any pending change.
 
is there someone who might have done this before?? making a fat32 partition so u can use it in both windows and mac??

I am very protective for my new macbook, dont wanna take any risk hehe.

Any other guide or tip will be nice....
 
just had a thought in mind, is it posible to make partition from windows??

like use magic partition and make a fat32 drive in windows??

then will that drive work in mac aswell?? will it give problem in mac??
 
you will have to do trial and error method!! :D good luck..nothing bad could possibly happen.. :) finger's cross..
 
You should read the primer "the beginner's guide to running windows on the mac" in the windows on the mac section. Just a few basics, windows vista requires ntfs partitions which are readable but not writeable on macs without other software (like macfuse). Read the article and you'll see what the differences are.
 
all that i have read, i just need to know that how do i make that partition.

NTFS or FAT32 any of these 2 in a secure way.
 
Baadshah said:
all that i have read, i just need to know that how do i make that partition.

NTFS or FAT32 any of these 2 in a secure way.
Click to expand...

You have to reinstall EVERYTHING and reformat your computer with 2 partitions. One for FAT32 (for your private files), and one for HFS (for mac os x). This setup is accessible once you load up your install dvd and click utilities>disk utility. In other words, back up all necessary files, stick in your install dvd, format your whole hd (via erase function), create the two partitions, and install leopard afresh.

Once this is done, run bootcamp from Leopard and install vista to create that third (note: THIRD) partition.

Voilla, a bunch of wasted space for an imaginary extra drive.
 
tongteh said:
steps:
-go to utilities
-then click on disc utility
-you should see your harddisc/external harddisc in the right sidebar
-click on the harddisc that you want to put your stuff.
-then click on partition(try finding it, somewhere in the center!!)
-then change the size of your mac HDD (there is a slider - slide it upwards to make it smaller and create an empty space - thats where your FAT32 partition goes
-after you have created a new space - click it, change format in the right collumn to MS-DOS..
- Apply

You should have made an Backup before, just in case you loose power while re-partioning. The partitioning as such is safe to your data, provided you don't loose power while doing it...
Click to expand...


Sorry, tongteh, I edited up your post a bit. I think it confused the OP.

mrrish said:
You have to reinstall EVERYTHING and reformat your computer with 2 partitions. One for FAT32 (for your private files), and one for HFS (for mac os x). This setup is accessible once you load up your install dvd and click utilities>disk utility. In other words, back up all necessary files, stick in your install dvd, format your whole hd (via erase function), create the two partitions, and install leopard afresh.

Once this is done, run bootcamp from Leopard and install vista to create that third (note: THIRD) partition.

Voilla, a bunch of wasted space for an imaginary extra drive.
Click to expand...

Nooooo, please don't do it this way!
Look at the description from tongteh, I updated it a little, but generally this is the way to do it!
 
tongteh said:
LOl... poor thing.. i will try to help.. i havent been to the mac scene for a very long time, so don't hold high hopes.

steps:
-go to utilities
-then click on disc utility
-you should see your harddisc/external harddisc in the right sidebar
-click on the harddisc that you want to put your "p0rn(private)" stuff. :p
-then click on partition(try finding it, somewhere in the center!!)
-then change the size of your mac HDD
-after you have created a new space for your "p0rn" :p change the format to whatever you..


hopefully this helps.. :)

Joking about that "p0rn", dont take it serious.. :)
Click to expand...

Alright, but my mac os x or my windows wont be effected by doing this will it?? Im just very nervous for my mac.

anyone here who have tried doing what i wanna do??

@Detektiv-Pinky
What did u mean by this is the way to do it??

Is this guide good, or that other one with reinstalling everything??
 
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