Thoughtful partitioning, and the use of a third-party partitioning app, like
BootIt NG, gets rid of most those pesky problems you refer to. It's not that
you CAN'T create huge partitions formatted FAT32 and using 4KB clusters,
it's that when you do so the FATs themselves get to be larger than MS thinks
they ought to be, the concern being how long it takes to read the FATs
(FAT32 systems have two copies of the File Allocation Table.) But, what with
today's CPU speeds and RAM allotments, I don't think there's much lag time
to speak of when reading large FATs.

Most external drives are used for larger files, not little 10 or 20 KB files
(such as typically exist in the system files) If, for example, the intent is
to store multimedia or image files or other large files, slack space is
literally negligible. Biggest problem with FAT32, other than the obvious
ones involving security and durability is that it only permits a maximum
file size of 4GB.

I'd divide the drive into quarters (~150GB each), partition and format using
BootIt NG, and leave it at 4KB clusters. Or even divide the drive into
eighths. Much more manageable than one huge 750GB drive.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"philo" wrote in message
...

"SlickRCBD" wrote in message
...
I just recieved a 750gb Maxtor OneTouch 4Plus hard drive for Xmas.
However, all the specs I can find say it only works with Windows XP. I
need a detatchable external drive that can also be hooked up to a
Windows 98SE computer and a Windows 98 first edition laptop. The 98Se
computer is far more important than the laptop, as I can use ethernet
for the laptop's needs. Will this product work, or do I need to exchange
it for something else? I haven't opened it because I'm afraid the store
won't let me exchange it if I try it and it doesn't work.

If I need to exange it, what would I want to look for that is commonly
found in stores in the Chicagoland area? I do need a USB interface. Most
stores these days won't give me cash, so ordering on-line is out.


Read the specs and see if win98 is listed.

Note...since win98 cannot recognize NTFS you'd need to use fat32
which will have very poor cluster size.

Also USB2 would be in order as you would find USB1 *way* too slow