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Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS

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Jim wrote:

> On 17/10/2016 01:50, VanguardLH wrote:
>> Jim wrote:
>>
>>> On 16/10/2016 23:42, VanguardLH wrote:
>>>> Jim wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have used EaseUS Partition Master 11.9 to format my WD Green to the
>>>>> NTFS format, is this safe to do (safe as in drive not breaking down, and
>>>>> losing data) or should i format to the GPT format?
>>>>>
>>>>> Jim
>>>>
>>>> There is no GPT *file* format.  If you want to use a partition then
>>>> decide on what *file system* you want inside of it, like NTFS.  GPT is
>>>> the *partitioning scheme*.
>>>>
>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS
>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table
>>>
>>> In that case how does it fit when wiki says "Because partition tables on
>>> master boot record (MBR) disks support only partition sizes up to 2 TB,
>>> dynamic or GPT volumes must be used to create NTFS volumes over 2 TB"
>>> My boot drives are small ssd's running mbr and these bigger 4TB drives
>>> are only for media storage or have i got the wrong end of the stick (not
>>> unusual i know)
>>
>> Under MBA, the partition table has 4 partition records.  Each partition
>> record is 16 bytes long, or 128 bits long.  No, you don't get to address
>> 2^128 - 1 sectors (of 512 bytes each).  Some of those bytes are for
>> purposes other than addressing.  See:
>>
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record#PTE
>>
>> Your HDD can have a total capacity far exceeding what is addressable by
>> the MBR.  When you access a file in the file system (e.g., NTFS), it
>> still must get translated to a sector on the HDD.  So you hit the
>> limitation of partition size by the MBR's partition records before you
>> hit the max file system's file size.  NTFS has a theoretically maximum
>> file (not partition) size of 16 exabytes you can't find an HDD/SDD
>> anywhere near that size plus Windows itself places limites on volumes.
>> It looks like you don't know what are dynamic volumes or the difference
>> between BIOS and UEFI as the firmware in the mobo.
>>
>> http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm
>> (Those are max file sizes by the file system, not max partition sizes.)
>>
>> I'm pretty sure that if you use Easeus Partition Master to create a
>> partition larger than 2 TB that it will automatically attempt to create
>> it as a GPT partition - and that is BEFORE it even starts the format of
>> the partition to lay down a file system.  You have to create the
>> partition BEFORE you can lay down a file system inside of it.  However,
>> going beyond 2TB for partition size depends on your hardware's firmware.
>> BIOS only supports MBR.  UEFI allows the allocation of GPT partitions.
>> If you want GPT partitions, your computer must use UEFI, not the old MBR
>> BIOS.  That is, if you want to leave MBR and use GPT then you need to
>> leave BIOS and have EFI-compliant hardware.  You can create GPT
>> partitions under UEFI.  You cannot create GPT partitions with MBR BIOS.
>>
>> You never identified the make and model of the motherboard for anyone
>> else to know if it only supports the old BIOS model or the newer UEFI
>> model.  For GPT partitions, you'll need your mobo hardware to support
>> UEFI.  GPT = GUID Partition Table, and GUIDs are definable only in UEFI.
>> GPT is part of the UEFI specification.
> 
> My motherboard is an Asus Z87 Deluxe
> https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87DELUXE/
> which if i remember rightly can run the newer UEFI BIOS.
> I clearly need to do more reading on this one to understand things, sure 
> i can get it too work easly enough but i'd like to know more about it so 
> good few hours ahead reading for me, of to bed now as it's 3.30am local 
> (London) time

That URL says that mobo supports UEFI.  So you must have partitioned the
disk using the older MBR scheme, like in an older computer and then
migrated the disk to the Asus mobo setup.  UEFI includes the old MBR
scheme for backwards compatibility.

I've never researched the consequences of using MBR with its partition
table with maximum of 4 partition records and 2TB limits to convert to a
UEFI record for a GPT partition.  The Easeus utility might have a
conversion to go from MBR to GPT.

Change a Master Boot Record Disk into a GUID Partition Table Disk
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725671(v=ws.11).aspx

Free Convert MBR to GPT Without Data Loss
http://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/free-convert-mbr-to-gpt-without-data-loss.html
(says their Partition Master can do it)

Obviously you should save partition backup images before committing this
major surgery on the structure of the partition(s).

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Thread

Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Jim <luckyjim2000_2000@yahoo.co.uk> - 2016-10-16 22:14 +0100
  Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2016-10-16 17:42 -0500
    Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Jim <luckyjim2000_2000@yahoo.co.uk> - 2016-10-17 00:57 +0100
      Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Jim <luckyjim2000_2000@yahoo.co.uk> - 2016-10-17 01:19 +0100
      Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2016-10-16 19:50 -0500
        Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Jim <luckyjim2000_2000@yahoo.co.uk> - 2016-10-17 03:35 +0100
          Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2016-10-17 00:22 -0500
  Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Edward Diener <eldiener@tropicsoft.invalid> - 2016-10-16 23:13 -0400
  Re: Safe to format 4TB to NTFS Yousuf Khan <bbbl67@spammenot.yahoo.com> - 2016-10-16 23:55 -0400

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