Ubuntu reformatting can’t be read in Windows 7

Asked By alexreynolds 0 points N/A Posted on - 03/06/2012

When I reformat a USB stick on my Ubuntu 11.10 system, my Windows 7 computer can't read the flash drive.

I tried it with Disk Utility, gParted, & mkfs (mkfs.vfat / mkfs.ntfs) but nothing worked.

However, when I format it via my Windows 7, I can read and copy files through Ubuntu and then see them with Windows 7.

Why is this so?

Please explain it to me.

Thanks!

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Answered By Sharath Reddy 590495 points N/A #94438

Ubuntu reformatting can’t be read in Windows 7

I’m not that familiar with Ubuntu.

But if you format your USB flash drive under Windows 7 and you can access its contents via Windows 7 and Ubuntu that only means that Ubuntu can access the file system used by Windows 7.

But if you format the USB flash drive under Ubuntu, Windows 7 can not access its contents because it does not understand the file system that is being used on the USB flash drive.

Ubuntu supports ext2 (second extended filesystem), ext3 (third extended filesystem), ext4 (fourth extended filesystem), XFS, JFS (Journaled File System), ReiserFS, and btrfs (B-tree file system).

Windows 7 supports these file systems: NTFS (New Technology File System), FAT (File Allocation Table), exFAT.

So if you want your USB flash drive to be accessible between your Ubuntu and Windows 7 operating systems, always format it under Windows 7 and not via Ubuntu.

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• Posted on - 03/07/2012
• Question Category: Windows 7