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ahoustondj

ahoustondj

Mac Daddy DJ
Aug 13, 2007
20,235
3,465
Texas
My Pioneer MEP 7000 has two USB inputs for use with External or Flash Drives. I can make playlists or just access the library of music files to play music from the Pioneer.
Here is the problem.The Pioneer is not recognizing a new Drive that I bought Seagate 1TB Expansion USB Portable. It does recognize my other Flash drives and a Western digital that I have. My Laptop however, reads the Seagate with no problem.
I contacted Pioneer and this is their answer:

"Thank you for contacting Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.

If the unit works with a flash drive, the unit is working. Make sure to plug the HDD to its own power connector. Make sure the drive is formatted in FAT 16 or FAT 32.


Thank You,

My question is how do I know what the existing format is on the Seagate? How do I change it to FAT 16 or FAT 32.
 
ahoustondj said:
My question is how do I know what the existing format is on the Seagate? How do I change it to FAT 16 or FAT 32.
Click to expand...

Plug it in to your computer, right-click on the drive, and choose Properties. It will tell you what file system it is using.

Then, you can reformat it if you like through Windows, or use software like EASEUS, to partition it the way you like. :)
 
SoftJock Rick said:
Plug it in to your computer, right-click on the drive, and choose Properties. It will tell you what file system it is using.

Then, you can reformat it if you like through Windows, or use software like EASEUS, to partition it the way you like. :)
Click to expand...
I have already loaded some music files on the Seagate. Will I loose it all?

Update: I just checked. It is NTFS.
Note: I did not install anything when I got this HD, should I have done so? There was some kind of software setup on there.
 
ahoustondj said:
I have already loaded some music files on the Seagate. Will I loose it all?
Click to expand...

Depends...

If you format it using Windows, yes. If you use partition management software, it should be able to convert it. I would recommend you back it up either way, unless you have those files elsewhere already.

It's easy enough -- just copy the files off to a temp folder on your computer, format and/or partition the drive, then copy them back on.
 
ahoustondj said:
Update: I just checked. It is NTFS.
Note: I did not install anything when I got this HD, should I have done so? There was some kind of software setup on there.
Click to expand...

I format external drives as soon as I get them, to remove whatever junk they came with.
 
ahoustondj said:
Is Windows easier to do it (I Use XP Pro) or this? http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/formatting-external-hard-drive-to-fat-32/
Click to expand...

No -- you have to know what yer doing in Windows, to format a large drive. You're probably better off using a third party utility like I mentioned, or another one, unless yer familiar with using low level DOS commands.

They sometimes fail anyway on drives that large, and I had to use a 3rd party to format a 500 GB to FAT32 -- DOS kept failing for some reason, and I had already wasted too much time, because it fails at the end, not the beginning.
 
SoftJock Rick said:
No -- you have to know what yer doing in Windows, to format a large drive. You're probably better off using a third party utility like I mentioned, or another one, unless yer familiar with using low level DOS commands.

They sometimes fail anyway on drives that large, and I had to use a 3rd party to format a 500 GB to FAT32 -- DOS kept failing for some reason, and I had already wasted too much time, because it fails at the end, not the beginning.
Click to expand...

You have to know what you're doing?

Disk management, Format.

You could also do it through Windows Exploder. Right click on drive, select Format.
 
ittigger said:
You have to know what you're doing?

Disk management, Format.

You could also do it through Windows Exploder. Right click on drive, select Format.
Click to expand...


That doesn't work with 1 TB drives, trying to do FAT32.
 
You are correct:

When you try to format a drive that is larger than 32 GB, Windows XP and Vista will force you to use the NTFS format, even though it can read and write FAT32 drives of any size. The FAT32 option will not show up under "File system" in the "Format Local Drive" dialog as shown in the screen shot below.

According to Microsoft, many tasks on a very large FAT32 file system become slow and inefficient.

Unknown to almost everyone, the command-line FORMAT.EXE utility, installed with every copy of Windows operating system, will be more than happy to help you format your drive to FAT32. All you have to do is open up the command prompt and issue the following command:

format drive: /fs:fat32

Substitute drive parameter with the drive letter of the drive you want to format into a FAT32 volume. After answering a few confirmation questions, Windows will start to format your large disk to FAT32; no special program needed.

FAT32 has a maximum volume size of 2 TB
 
ittigger said:
You are correct:

When you try to format a drive that is larger than 32 GB, Windows XP and Vista will force you to use the NTFS format, even though it can read and write FAT32 drives of any size. The FAT32 option will not show up under "File system" in the "Format Local Drive" dialog as shown in the screen shot below.

According to Microsoft, many tasks on a very large FAT32 file system become slow and inefficient.

Unknown to almost everyone, the command-line FORMAT.EXE utility, installed with every copy of Windows operating system, will be more than happy to help you format your drive to FAT32. All you have to do is open up the command prompt and issue the following command:

format drive: /fs:fat32

Substitute drive parameter with the drive letter of the drive you want to format into a FAT32 volume. After answering a few confirmation questions, Windows will start to format your large disk to FAT32; no special program needed.
Click to expand...


I already mentioned that above. It doesn't always work, and will only fail at the end -- so you may waste 3 hours.


Just download a free partition manager, and zippedy do da, for those that are not command line friendly... ;)
 
SoftJock Rick said:
I already mentioned that above. It doesn't always work, and will only fail at the end -- so you may waste 3 hours.


Just download a free partition manager, and zippedy do da, for those that are not command line friendly... ;)
Click to expand...

Hank Davidson said:
Houston, it's probably a powered external drive. It gets its power from the computer's USB port. Try using a powered hub on the Pioneer.
Click to expand...

I just want to plug the External HD into the Pioneer and use it like you would a Flash/Thumb Drive.

ittigger said:
Hanky, maybe. Pioneer said it must be a FAT drive and Canute says it's listing as NTFS.
Click to expand...

Yes, Pioneer says that it HAS to be either Fat16 or Fat32 to be able to work. The Ext HD that I just bought is a NTFS according to Windows when I plugged it into the Laptop and checked properties.

Question: How long will it take in Windows, to convert a 1TB ext HD from NTFS to Fat32? Should I delete the files first (About 100Gig)?
 
If you use the tool swissknife or other, it shouldn't take as long as a MS CMD format. These tools would also alert you of any issues before nearing completion of the format. The drive doesn't have to be 'clean' prior to format but you will lose all data on the drive - so you should heed all warnings to backup whatever is on it. If you're looking for an exact time, I'm not sure. I use the Seagate drives too and never had one that was NTFS right outta the box. The external drives are usually setup to be vendor neutral, same as usb sticks.
 
ittigger said:
If you use the tool swissknife or other, it shouldn't take as long as a MS CMD format. These tools would also alert you of any issues before nearing completion of the format. The drive doesn't have to be 'clean' prior to format but you will lose all data on the drive - so you should heed all warnings to backup whatever is on it. If you're looking for an exact time, I'm not sure. I use the Seagate drives too and never had one that was NTFS right outta the box. The external drives are usually setup to be vendor neutral, same as usb sticks.
Click to expand...
Give me an approx with Windows and an approx with the third party software. I don't really like D/L Freebie Software as they sometimes come loaded with spyware. I don't know if I should D/L Swissknife or not.
 
cmd format, looks like 6 - 12 hours. quick format, 2 hours.

Saw somewhere that it said a user - 'I ended up getting the WD utility and it converted the drive type in no time to FAT.'
 
ittigger said:
cmd format, looks like 6 - 12 hours. quick format, 2 hours.

Saw somewhere that it said a user - 'I ended up getting the WD utility and it converted the drive type in no time to FAT.'
Click to expand...
I am beginning to think I don't want to fool with it. I will use it on my notebook and buy a small WD Passport to use on the Pioneer. The Pioneer "reads" all my 4 WD Hard Drives and none of my Seagates including this new one. Strange!
 
Like I said, all my Seagates have been fat. Not sure why yours was not. Consult the manual for specs. It may tell you.

Some food for thought: it sounds like this drive is specifically for Windows machines and therefore may (did) come shipped with NTFS.

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/expansion/expansion_portable#tTabContentReviews

Response from SeagateCSOJuly 25, 2011
Dear Valued Seagate Customer,

This reply is from Seagate Support. We noticed your review and wanted to comment on your experience with our Expansion drive. The Expansion drive is supported for Windows systems (XP, Vista and Windows 7) and does not require any extra software to be detected. There can be a variety of reasons why the external drive is not detected properly on your system. If your Expansion drive is on a supported computer, I would try our online troubleshooting utility to help resolve why the drive is not detected (see web address below):

http://ow.ly/5MUHz

If the drive is found to be nonfunctional by the troubleshooter, here is a web address where you may replace the drive provided it is under warranty:

http://ow.ly/4XstK

If you have any other questions or concerns, we would be happy to help using any of the support services we provide. Here is a web address with contact information should you wish to speak with a support representative directly. Our support is free of charge.

http://ow.ly/4NgEf

Best Regards,
Seagate Support
 
ittigger said:
Like I said, all my Seagates have been fat. Not sure why yours was not.
Click to expand...
Maybe because I did not install the software that came with it. Thoughts?
 
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