Got a friend who is having a problem formatting his firewire drive (he added a hd to a firewire enclosure.) I know there is something in the computer management console that he has to do in order to format a foreign hard disk.
Assuming you are using windows XP (you didn;t say) you use the Computer Management tool that is found in Control Panel/ Administrative Tools
Select the Storage section and you should find the Disk Management (local) "snap-in".
That is where you will find the new hard drive waiting to be formatted.
Although... it sounds like this is not something that your friend (or you) has ever done before... so make sure you have checked what you are doing several times before you hit that "format" button!
Ok, got more information. He says he bought a 200GB WD drive and he has windows media center from HP. I managed to walk him through the install but now he says he only shows 131GB. Wierd. Any advice?
Sounds like the enclosure he is using does not support larger drives. On many newer HD enclosures you will find a specific label or some graphic that says it supports drives larger than 131GB.
So... the answer (I think) is he needs a new HD enclosure.
I think youre right. If he switches hard drives and puts the 200GB in his media center pc, will he get the extra space that isnt being used or is there a work around for the firewire limitation he has now (like creating a second partition to ge the remaining space)?
His enclosure is probably just fine.
But it may not allow the computer to format the full capacity.
He should take the drive out of the enclosure and install it internally for formatting purposes. WinXP will then see the full capicity. Once formatted, he can remove it and return it to the enclosure.
If, after installing it in the computer, XP still doesn't see its full size, then, WD provides a floppy disc with a utility that needs to run in order for that computer to see the whole drive. Use that utility to prepare the drive, then you can move it back to the external firewrire enclosure.