From: CAREY SCHUG via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
So winblows allows usb (and probably internal) disks to be formated EXFAT but without any partition table.
WHAT POSSIBLE EXCUSE is there for gparted to not recognize this? Obviously wimblows can detect there is data, directories, etc on the device, why not GParted?
gparted is a partition editor. It doesn't recognize data, directories, etc. It recognizes partitions and filesystem contained inside partitions. A disk containing only a filesystem has no partitions. Since there are no partitions, gparted has nothing to operate on. What would you have it do? Perhaps partition the drive? It can do that. But you will lose any existing filesystem.
From what you say elsewhere, this particular filesystem contains nothing of interest yet. So go ahead: partition the drive. Put new, empty filesystem(s) in the new partition(s).