Vista - GPT partition not recognized

I've installed Windows Vista Ultimate x64 with almost no problems, except for
one.

I dual boot with another operating system, and created a RAID array with a
different filesystem (i.e. not NTFS.) It uses the GPT partitioning scheme.

Vista does recognize the big RAID drive, but it thinks it is a RAW
partition. There is another filesystem on it, and I found out selecting it
asks me if I want to format the partition. I obviously don't, as there is
data on it.

Is there a way to just hide this device so it doesn't get a drive letter? Or
better yet, have it detect properly so the ext2/3 driver can access it? The
ext2/3 driver documentation will support GPT if Vista can access the drive
correctly, and currently it isn't able to do so.

I have a 32 Gb SDHC card and was using it with XP a few weeks ago... XP could
format the card in a few seconds and write 30Gb of data to it in several
minutes.

I installed Vista 64 and formatting the card now takes about 30 minutes...
to copy 30 Gb of data will take about 1 or 2 days.... Vista does read the
card about the same as XP though.

Something is seriously wrong with Vista and I think it may be best to move
back to XP... I am finding one thing after another that Vista will not do but
XP does just fine and a lot faster...

One example: I use "Lost Coast" to get an idea of performance.. in XP I got
almost 200 frames per second... In Vista I get about 65 FPS.... 3 times
slower so that's improvement?

Lots of other "can't do in Vista crap" too... no display of WMF files, no
display of contacts in Windows Mail and the list keeps getting bigger....

I have wondered about these things since IBM / MSDOS & Win 3.1 and think
just maybe these new OS releases are nothing more than a way to keep the
sales up of faster chips.. which the "new" OS will always run slower on....
maybe XP is so good Microsoft wants to dump it....

Dan wrote:1) XP has reached end of life, which is why Microsoft is stopping
support for it. Let it sink in, take over you thinking processes, and
accept it. XP IS GONE!!!! Stop fighting against it. ACCEPT IT.
2) Why WMFs wont display on YOUR installation of Vista, I have no idea.
Maybe Microsoft dropped support for WMFs with Vista. Again, accept
it, dont fight it.

3) GPT partitions are usually MacOS partitions.
4) I have XP 64bit, so your blanket statement is incorrect.
5) Since GPT partitions are unreadable under Windows, why worry about it
anyway. NOTHING you do, try to do, and think you can do will WORK to
give you access to them from Windows.
6) A sure sign of maturity is the ability to accept things one can't
change. The sooner you grab hold of this, the sooner you will grow up.
It will also give you great peace to learn to accept things you cant
change.
7) Till then, keep trying to fix things you know nothing about. Keep
hitting your head on a brick wall. Maybe all that head pounding will
open your eyes to the truth, and you will start to grow up.

Find another way, one which works, for a change.

Donald McDaniel

I'm quite appalled at the community here.

Firstly, I don't use XP. I'm not considering going back. I use linux with
the exception for games - I use Vista x64 for that.

My problem is specifically that Vista wants to format a drive that it think
is a RAW partition. It's not, it's formatted as another file system, and I
don't want Vista to format it.

As for your response:
1) Don't care, I don't use XP. All I said was the problem would likely
affect XP as well.
2) I don't have any problems. (I think this was in response to the other
poster.)
3) Wrong. GPT partitions are used when you need a partition >2TB in size.
They aren't always Mac partitions. They can also be used to get around the 4
partition limit.
4) One person responded with XP 64-bit in a few months. Most cases you are a
developer or a power user if you have it. (99.9% of computers don't have it.)
5) GPT partitions ARE readable under Windows. It will format it and use it
as NTFS, which I don't want. There's an existing filesystem on that partition.
6) So you are saying we should just bend over and take everything up the
butt? No wonder the US is turning out the way it is... I like to have choices.
7) I have found a solution - I don't use Windows as my Primary OS.

I don't think I'm the one that needs to grow up here.

Dan

"Donald McDaniel" wrote: