Re: [APML] OT: external HD questions

["Chris Cook" <chris@cookphoto.com>]

Hi Andrew,

This is awesome info!!
I did click on the external HD in Disk Management and it is one single
partition.  I have already dumped files onto the drive so I'm sort of
debating whether or not to re-format to NTFS.  Here's another question, the
drive is 7200rpm w/8MB of cache.... is NTFS any faster read and write wise
than FAT32... or are they the same?

Thanks again, great stuff!

Chris

-----------------------------
Chris Cook Photography
www.cookphoto.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew Skretvedt" <atsdroid@gra.midco.net>
To: "Discussion of Film Astrophotography" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 12:05 AM
Subject: Re: [APML] OT: external HD questions


> Here's the IT perspective.
>
> All hard drives must be partitioned(1), but most of the time that means
> simply one big partition encompassing the whole drive. Also, the
> partitioning does not consume any more than about 1K of space, a
> pittance. The filesystem consumes much more space, space needed to
> properly database your files and folders.
>
> At the factory, the manufacturer most likely set up a single partition
> encompassing 100% of the available space, and preformatted this
> partition with the FAT32 filesystem. This is for ease of use with
> non-technical people. You can generally just plug it, drop files on it,
> and fugetabowtit.
>
> If you're technically minded, you can make some changes. I'd recommend
> changing the filesystem from FAT32 to NTFS. It's not required, but
> you'll gain some benefits.
>
> NTFS has journalled file metadata(2). That jargon means it will handle
> power interruptions and careless plugging and unplugging with more grace
> and less chance of corrupted or lost data.
>
> NTFS also supports a max filesize scads higher than the paltry 4GB max
> size of FAT32 files. This may not mean much unless you're into video
> work. Digital camera files, even raw ones, generally don't exceed 2GB in
> a single file...yet.
>
> To accomplish this filesystem change there are many ways, but might I
> suggest using the Disk Management console. You can access it by
> right-clicking on your My Computer icon, and choosing Properties. Then
> click the Disk Management item from the left-hand pane.
>
> This console is spiffy and allows you to view the partitioning structure
> of your drives graphically. If you open the console with your drive
> off/disconnected, then turn it on/connect it, you'll see it's partition
> and volume data pop into existance in the window.
>
> Right click the partition corresponding to your external drive and
> choose Format. In the drop-down box for File System, choose NTFS. Click
> OK. You can go back and forth like that, but of course, you're
> formatting, so any existing data in that partition is going away in the
> process. Experiment, learn, and have fun, then put it to work.
>
> --footnotes--
> (1) Strictly speaking, partitions need not exist on a hard drive to
> store data. They must exist if you want to segment a drive's storage
> capacity into multiple filesystem volumes. Your operating system may
> also depend on them to properly work with the drive. Windows 2K/XP can't
>   make a filesystem and store data unless a partition exists. Linux,
> however, is not limited by this. A filesystem can be created directly on
> the drive, without a partition. The limitations are that you could not
> boot your system from such a drive, and the filesystem will span the
> whole drive.
>
> Your memory cards are partitioned like hard drives too! Canon cameras
> create a partition on the card, then format it FAT32. If you format the
> card in the camera, this will happen. As an experiment, on my Linux PC I
> took a card, removed its partition, and created a FAT32 filesystem
> directly on the card. I then created some DCIM folders and dropped some
> pix to it. Windows XP freaked out and called the card unformatted. To my
> surprise, my Canon RebelXT and Powershot S410 both accepted the card,
> could show the pix, and had no problem saving new pix. If I formatted
> the card in one of the cameras, a partition was then created and
> formatted FAT32.
>
> (2) NTFS uses a special log called the journal, to keep track of write
> operations in process. File metadata is first recorded to the journal,
> then the operating system parses the journal and commits each change to
> the filesystem. Only when a change has been completed, does the journal
> entry get cleared. This way, if something bad should happen in the
> middle of a write, the next time the filesystem is accessed the OS will
> notice that the journal didn't get closed, the journalled change the
> system was in the middle of writing will still be logged in the journal,
> and the system can try again and, if successful, clear the entry and
> move on.
>
> Unfortunately with NTFS, only metadata is journalled, not the actual
> data for a file write. The advantage is the filesystem stays consistent,
> even if the data contained within a file is mangled. Fully journalled
> filesystems like ReiserFS (correctly configured) and XFS are used on
> servers where data integrity is preferred over performance. However,
> it's better than FAT32 and related filesystems. Without any journalling
> scheme, when crashes happen the filesystem can become inconsistent,
> leading not just to garbled data, but mangled filenames, lost folders,
> and crosslinks: where two different files or folders point to the same
> data, even if they each had their own data before. Bad news. Think
> Brendelfly!
>
> (Perhaps more than you cared to know, but knowledge is power!)
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>
>


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