PS3 - Doesn't recognize external hard drive formatted in FAT32

I searched everywhere on the internet.. clearly not enough, for my hard drive wasn't recognized by my PS3. The most common issue was not being in FAT32 format. Which everyone says every modern OS supports, but clearly they do not support it enough, because the most common response to formatting the drive was to buy new windows software.
I tried many approaches that did not work, but maybe they did and I didn't know it, its still not clear why my eventual solution did work. After trying to format on Linux, Windows vista, Windows 7 and even putting the drive in the PS3 and then back in the USB, plugging it into the PS3, it was still not recognized.
I connect the drive to my Mac and formatted it in FAT filesystem. In 10.6 it doesn't say FAT32 but it is. Don't try exFAT either, that doesn't work. Then I created some folders, based on this article. I plugged it in and it was instantly recognized. I'm not sure if the Mac got the formatting right, or it was the folders. It seems hard to believe the PS3 couldn't get the formatting right.
Not a single article in the dozens I read said anything about making these folders to do a backup before swapping out a drive, or trying to get an external drive to work. Everyone seemed to format in FAT32 and it just worked. If you think your drive is in the proper FAT32 and it still isn't being recognized, you might give the folders a try.