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  1. Member
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    What is the best software (free) to re-format a 2 TB Western digital external Hard drive from NTFS to FAT32? I don't need the entire HDD re-formatted, but about 500GB would be fine. The reason is because I am planning on using my PS3 to watch all my video off of, and a PS3 only recognizes FAT32 drives, not NTFS (which is currently what my HDD is). I will move the data currently on my HDD back to another HDD first of course so as not to lose anything.
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  2. Member p_l's Avatar
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    Any reason you wouldn't want to do it with Windows' built-in Computer Management?
    1. Partition
    2. Format
    A pretty good alternative I've used a few times is GParted. Fairly easy and reliable.
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  3. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    Windows 7 won't let you format high volume partitions with fat or fat32,just exfat,swissknife is the easiesy way to format to fat32 but it isn't free.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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    Partition manager 11 free edition ... fat32 max partition support is 8 terabytes
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    Western Digital has a tool to format external drives to the original format (which is fat32)
    http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=111&sid=34&lang=en

    I don't know if this works for all drives, search their site for the correct model.

    If that doesn't work for you there is this tool: fat32format http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm it's free and has a gui.

    Ps the playstation only recognize the first partion of the drive, all others are ignored.

    Good luck
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    Thanks guys I will try some of these ideas.
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  7. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @jbitakis - I thought I'd ask - do you also have a xbox 360? If you do you can format the drive to mac hfs with macdrive software. That is the mac equivalent of ntfs and the software will run on a pc and the xbox 360 will recognize the full drive.

    of course the xbox 360 won't play all the files that the ps3 does. But you can easily play wmvhd files on it. I know the ps3 has wmv support I believe but it is fully native on the 360 - with wmv video inside of course. I know wmv is also a container but is a codec as well.

    If you only have a ps3 please disregard my post.

    Oh and that macdrive plus software or whatever it is (I have it but haven't used in awhile) is not freeware. I think its 50.00 USD or so give or take.

    Edit - and also you might want to look into investing in a wdtv or a competitor model. That can read ntfs drives and has a wider range of file codec support than the ps3 and the xbox 360 as well. It would save most conversion needs you might run into if you are only using a ps3 for playback on the tv.
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    Thanks yoda313. I only have a PS3 for now. I HAD a WDTV but returned it. I HATED it. The audio kept going out after 10 seconds on almost every video file I played. I was very disappointed. I am returning it as we speak.
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    That's too bad about the WDTV. I've had my WDTV Live for at least a couple years now and absolutely love it. One of my most favorite eletronic purchases ever. I would give it another try and get replacement.

    I'd still recommend a media player over using any of the gaming consoles and having the disc and encoding issues that come with each. I'm not saying the WDTV is perfect and every media player has it's pro's and con's, but, it beats both PS3 and 360 for codecs and containers.
    Have a good one,

    neomaine

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  10. Just a reminder FAT32 will not allow files over 4GB. If you have any video files larger than 4GB, you can't store them on a FAT32 volume. Another easy way to reformat is to boot to a live Linux distro like Puppy and use Gparted.

    I agree, the limitations of a game console are too many. For this reason I built a media PC running Linux and Boxee. I can plug anything in and play any format, except Silverlight for which I have installed WinXP in a Virtualbox.
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  11. Banned
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    Originally Posted by jbitakis View Post
    Thanks yoda313. I only have a PS3 for now. I HAD a WDTV but returned it. I HATED it. The audio kept going out after 10 seconds on almost every video file I played. I was very disappointed. I am returning it as we speak.
    Of course every electronic device has the potential to simply be defective, but then again we don't know anything about what you are trying to play and if it's really supported or not. We also don't know anything about your connections. I bought a first generation WDTV 3 years ago I think and it is one of the very best purchases of an electronic device that I have made in my life. I have not upgraded to a new model because the 1st gen one still meets my needs.

    I know people don't like to hear this but the PS3 and Xbox were made obsolete as media players the minute the WDTV and similar players hit the market. That was THREE years ago. If you don't like Western Digital there are other similar players by other manufacturers that can meet your needs better than continuing to pound square pegs into round holes with the PS3.
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    All you guys keep singing the praises of the WDTV, but the bottom line is this. It stated that it plays m2ts files (like the ones I have from my hd camcorder), yet after 10 seconds of video, the audio goes out. I called them, was on the phone over 2hrs. with 2 different tech support people, and what was determined is that THIS AUDIO ISSUE IS NOT NEW. Others have called about it and their engineering dept. is working on fixing it. However, as of right now, they have NO IDEA when a new firmware fix will be out. Now, to all you guys who are blasting the ps3, all I know is that it played my m2ts files PERFECTLY. I just have to place all my video on FAT32 drives.
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    Ah, now we get some new information. Your .m2ts files are produced from a camara with video or a video camera with most likely a proprietary or very convoluted way of mixing whatever kinds of video and audio codecs it feels like using. Would have been much more helpful to know where your source came from and what it uses for codecs, bitrate, resolution...

    - Use Gspot and/or MediaInfo and show us what the video's specs are.

    - Try using something like TsMuxer to remux the video. There may be something slightly off with the way your camara is packaging the videl.

    Again, I and many others have had very good luck with the WDTV series of players. Most of us understand, even at just a basic level (like me) what its capabilities are and what its weaknesses are. I too have had camara based vidoes that needed a little help to play on the WDTV. Very common. Actually, it's not THAT common. Some cameras do some nast things that only their own software can work with.

    To expect a media player to play every possible container with every possible combination of video and audio codec is unreasonable. I still contend the the WDTV Live is much better at playing a wider variety of formats than the 360 and the PS3 combined. You've simply stumbled on to something outside the norm.

    If you keep at it, I'm sure something will come up. What've you've run into isn't new at all and is quite common. If there's someone to blame here, it's (low-end?) camera/video camera companies who take liberties with formats and look to make an extra buck by requiring use of propriety software and/or saving a buck by avoiding royalties to companies by changing the format, speeds or whatever else they can do.
    Have a good one,

    neomaine

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    Here is the mediainfo on my video files. They come from a Panasonic HD camcorder.


    General
    ID : 1 (0x1)
    Complete name : C:\Users\Daddys Sony\Videos\10-22-2011\10-22-2011_101950(1).m2ts
    Format : BDAV
    Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
    File size : 91.8 MiB
    Duration : 28s 508ms
    Overall bit rate mode : Variable
    Overall bit rate : 27.0 Mbps
    Maximum Overall bit rate : 28.0 Mbps

    Video
    ID : 4113 (0x1011)
    Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
    Format : AVC
    Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile : High@L4.2
    Format settings, CABAC : Yes
    Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
    Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=30
    Codec ID : 27
    Duration : 28s 495ms
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 25.7 Mbps
    Maximum bit rate : 26.0 Mbps
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9
    Frame rate : 59.940 fps
    Color space : YUV
    Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
    Bit depth : 8 bits
    Scan type : Progressive
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.206
    Stream size : 87.2 MiB (95%)

    Audio
    ID : 4352 (0x1100)
    Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
    Format : AC-3
    Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
    Mode extension : CM (complete main)
    Codec ID : 129
    Duration : 28s 544ms
    Bit rate mode : Constant
    Bit rate : 256 Kbps
    Channel(s) : 2 channels
    Channel positions : Front: L R
    Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
    Bit depth : 16 bits
    Compression mode : Lossy
    Delay relative to video : -34ms
    Stream size : 892 KiB (1%)

    Text
    ID : 4608 (0x1200)
    Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
    Format : PGS
    Codec ID : 144
    Duration : 27s 964ms
    Delay relative to video : -34ms

    Even when I, using tsmuxer, placed this video file into a different container, a ts container, the same problem happened; NO AUDIO after 10 seconds or so, even an avi file too.

    I returned that WD TV player. I don't have time for their excuses. THEY (WD TV Live) are the ones bragging about being able to play just about any video file. In fact, m2ts is listed as one video format that it plays. But alas, NO AUDIO AFTER 10 seconds. No thank you. I will wait until that issue is resolved.
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  15. Member
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    jbitaktis,

    From the What Is Bluray to the left:

    Video codecs MPEG2 - MP@HL and MP@ML
    AVC/H264 - MPEG-4 AVC: HP@4.1/4.0 and MP@4.1/4.0/3.2/3.1/3.0
    VC-1 - AP@L3 and AP@L2Video frame size High Definition Video
    1920x1080x59.94i(=29.97fps interlaced), 50i(=25fps interlaced) (16:9)
    1920x1080x24p, 23.976p (16:9)
    1440x1080x59.94i, 50i (16:9) AVC / VC-1 only
    1440x1080x24p, 23.976p (16:9) AVC / VC-1 only
    1280x720x59.94p, 50p (16:9)
    1280x720x24p, 23.976p (16:9)
    Standard Definition Video
    720x480x59.94i (4:3/16:9)
    720x576x50i (4:3/16:9)



    It appears that you have a 1080p 60fps with High@L4.2 profile video. I'm by no means an expert but from some other threads I've seen your capturing at above BluRay specs. Something a PC could handle fine but any set top player may/will have a hard time with. Since many media players share the same underlying chips, it's very likely that ALL media players will have an issue with this video.

    Your audio seems to be fine. Try to capture at (or convert any existing video to) 1080i or 720p if you insist on 60fps. If you insist on 1080p then you'll need to go to 24p.
    Have a good one,

    neomaine

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    In this day and age their SHOULD certainly be a media player or blu ray player that can play my video. Maybe I need to buy a panasonic to match the panasonic camcorder.
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    Pendrive apps has a free formatter which I used to format two drives I use with my Sony Blu-ray players. Works great. Just remember to keep files under 4g each. I prefer to store mine as .mp4 or .mkv (with subtitles) and about 2 gig sizes play well for movies. Easily smaller for TV episodes.

    http://www.pendriveapps.com/format-fat32-larger-than-32gb/
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    bbwizard, can I do this with an external NTFS hard drive? I have a 2TB WD external NTFS hard drive. It sounds great. None of my video files are over 4gb anyway.
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    @bbwizard
    I already mentioned this small utility earlier in this thread. It's portable on it's own


    @jbitakis
    With this utility you can format any drive, that has a drive letter under windows, to fat32
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    In all fairness to the PS3, the files it does play it plays them better than either my WD or Asus media player.
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  21. Originally Posted by jbitakis View Post
    Thanks yoda313. I only have a PS3 for now. I HAD a WDTV but returned it. I HATED it. The audio kept going out after 10 seconds on almost every video file I played. I was very disappointed. I am returning it as we speak.
    They release a new firmware couple of days back or so, maybe your problem was fixed? It states
    • Resolved content playback issues with MPEG2 and MPEG4 BluRay ISO, M2TS and .TS
    but I'm sure it is still buggy, just regards your playback issue
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    Thanks _AL_ maybe they fixed the audio issues with the new firmware. Why do you think that the WD is still buggy?
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  23. ok so i have a 2tb seagate external hard drive i want to use it in my xbox, how do i format it to fat32 so the xbox will read it, and will the xbox read all 2tb if not how do i do it so it will read all 2tb?
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  24. Lone soldier Cauptain's Avatar
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    Easy way?? Use Ridgecrop Fat32format




    Claudio
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  25. Originally Posted by jbitakis View Post
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9
    Frame rate : 59.940 fps
    Western Digital makes no claims of support for 1080p60.
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    @cauptain

    I don't think that you have read this (old) thread?
    I mentioned this software earlier in this thread, and someone else after me.
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  27. Lone soldier Cauptain's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jan5678 View Post
    @cauptain

    I don't think that you have read this (old) thread?
    I mentioned this software earlier in this thread, and someone else after me.
    Sorry, but you are correct.

    Only read title and send my post. I have PS3 and get some trouble about 1Tb using FAT32.



    Claudio
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