Member Avatar for Bomba

I just got a Seagate 250GB FreeAgent Desktop USB External HD. The problem is that I don't know what to do with it now. Someone told me that I need to format and make partitions on it before I can use and start moving files out of my overload C drive. But the person who told me didn't have a clue. I've spent the last 6 hours searching the internet for instructions. I see them for everything but external HD and don't really understand what I am seeing anyway. Can someone please walk me through this?

  • 2 Contributors
  • 9 Replies
  • 140 Views
  • 22 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by DenisOxon

Dani AI

Generated

Good to see helped get the disk visible. A few practical follow‑ups that weren’t covered in the thread and are useful for a Seagate FreeAgent on Windows XP SP2.

Choose the right filesystem and format type. For a Windows XP host, NTFS is the sensible default for a 250 GB drive — it supports large files and permissions. FAT32 imposes a ~4 GB single‑file limit, and exFAT is not supported by XP without updates/drivers. A quick format is fast but skips a surface scan; a full format takes longer and checks for bad sectors, which is worth doing once on a brand‑new drive if there is any concern about hardware health.

Partition strategy and limits. For simple backups or large media collections a single NTFS volume keeps management straightforward. Multiple partitions can help separate data by use, but add complexity to backups and letter management. Windows XP (MBR) supports the usual four‑primary / extended partition layout and is fine for a 250 GB disk; GPT/2 TB limits aren’t relevant here but matter on larger disks and newer OSes.

Troubleshooting tips not shown earlier. Tiny unexpected partitions can be removed and re‑created using Disk Management; if Windows’ wizard behaves oddly, booting a standalone partition tool (for example a GParted live USB) or using Seagate’s diagnostic/utility tools to zero the drive and reinitialize the partition table will clear stubborn cases. Run a vendor tool (SeaTools) to do a quick SMART check and surface test before putting important data on the drive. Always unmount/eject before unplugging to avoid corruption, and label volumes for easy identification.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Hi,

Have you plugged it in USB port and switched it on ?

Does you computer recognise it and install drivers ?

If so nothing else to do, except use it.

To use it, go to windows explorer and you should find it under My Computer, probably drive E or so.

Come back if you need more help

Denis

Member Avatar for Bomba

I appreciate your reply. HD is connected but useless to me without partitions.

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

The disk has a partition, so how many do you want and why ?

What operating system are you running ?

Denis

Member Avatar for Bomba

NM. I asked what I thought was a simple enough question. I will do without or buy smaller externals. I don't want to spend 8 hours defragging a huge hd. I am sincerely sorry to have wasted your time. I asked at the time of my last post for the thread to be deleted and for myself to be banned.

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Hi

You are not wasting our time - tell us what operating system you are using and I should be able to tell you how to partition it.

Denis

Member Avatar for Bomba

I am using windows xp sp2 on a dell dimension
Here is a screenshot of my problem.

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Please try this

1) right click in unallocated piece. You should find an option to create a partition. Decide how big, say 80Gb, click ok etc

2) you will then be left with about 150Gb unallocated , repeat 1)

3) ditto 2 or until you have used up all space.

Then go to each partition and format it. (Right click on partition then format)

Denis

Member Avatar for Bomba

Ok it's working now I think. When I kept trying to use the wizard and have it partition and format at the same time, I got these 8mb partions with a huge amount of unallocated left over. Now I have 4 partitions that are all about 58g and they are being formatted one at a time.

Thank you so much for your help.

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Thanks for letting us know - glad to hear it is working..

Denis

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.