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Forum Discussion
Converting EXT3 to NTFS Under Windows 7 ?
I am pretty sure I asked this question a few years back and got a solution here.... but I have lost all of my saved subscriptions in the change to the new forum format.... so here goes again.... ...
How old is the PC?
The drive needs to use GPT partitions, not MBR. It looks like Windows isn't doing that for some reason. One possibility is that the PC hardware is too old and doesn't support 3 TB drives. Another is that the OS is just confused on the partitions for some reason.
You can download WDC Lifeguard, and use its "advanced" test options to actually zero the drive - then try again.
I get a lot of hits on "WD Lifeguard", but none on "WDC....".
Any chance it should be "WD" ?
Not sure how old the PC is, but it's an I-7.
Lifeguard is a Western Digital drive diagnostic, and is found on wdc.com. A direct link is http://download.wdc.com/windlg/WinDlg_v1_28.zip
A guide to windows disk formatting is here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/formatting-disks-and-drives-frequently-asked-questions
For the benefit of anybody else on this little journey: It turned out to be a USB limitation..... When I was trying to reformat the drive it was in a USB housing and there's something about USB that gets between Window and a 3-TB drive's full capacity.
.
Put the drive in the SATA sled I use for backups, and the problem went away.
Likewise, with the drive in an external housing connected via eSATA, no problems either.
The Takeaway: Beware of USB connections to 3-TB drives.
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