Hard drive format for Linux?

[Legend]

Can Linux read any drive format? Or can it only read a certain type? FAT32, NTFS or something else? I have a Western Digital 250GB portable USB drive that I need to plug into a Linux system and put some files on it. Will it work or do i need to format the drive in a specific way?

 

[Legend]

So if i want to copy a whole bunch of files off the Linux system on to my drive, but with the option to access those files in Windows, then EXT3 would be best? How do i format the drive as EXT3 in the first place, and where can i get the driver that will let me access it in Windows?

 

[Legend]

What exactly is your situation?
Making a new Linux install and wanting a shared drive that windows can see? Defo fat32.

Only limitation is 2GB (or is it 4GB) filesize limit.

I basically need to get a whole load of files from my Uni computer (which is Linux) which i will be using on my my home one. I will be installing Linux on that anyway, and will likely just dump those files straight on to desktop drive for use in Linux on my home setup. But I want the ability to switch between Windows if necessary, as it's possible i'll need to jump between apps on both OS setups. I can't rule out the possiblity of VERY big files, as this is graphics/video related stuff.

 

[Legend]

Ah missed the viedo work bit *feels a bit stupid*, i still vote against the ntfs drivers as one failed unmount kills the partition (which is no fun if you do it by accident or something). The windows ext3 method then would be the best, though remembering not to mount your root or boot partitions in windows ever! (killed a linux instal as windows didnt unmount it propperly which caused interesting amounts of data corruption)

When you say it kills the partition, i'm thinking that's not an issue in my case as I have a totally separate drive dedicated to Linux. It's not on a partition. And the portable drive I have is not partitioned either. So is the best method is NTFS-3G as Kamakazie suggests, or EXT3 as Pingwing suggests?? I really don't know!

 

[Legend]

I will be using Ubuntu, so EXT3 seems like it could be the way to go.

This may be a stupid question, but seeing as I'm pretty new to Linux, I'm just wondering how exactly I go about formatting this external drive as EXT3? I know how Linux can sometimes be a bit perplexing for people like me so used to Windows, so just wondering if there's anything I need to know? Presumably I format within Linux, or can it be done from Windows? I have Vista x64 by the way.

 

[Legend]

How exactly do you define this 'unusable space' then?

This Linux thing is a big load to absorb! I know there's a logic to it, but still...!