Re:First off... (Score 1)

Windows (and DOS) show drive letters for partitions that are flagged as windows filesystems (FAT-something, NTFS) in the partition tables of all drives. An integer id is used to identify the partition type, but it does not necessarily mean that the drive is formatted (filesystem data structures may not have yet been created). Thus, Windows may "see" the drive and make it accessible via a drive letter, but still ask you to format it.