Groups > comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage > #2330

Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone

From	"Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage, alt.backup-software
Subject	Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone
Date	2012-01-08 07:18 +1100
Message-ID	<9mrnklFq0cU1@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	<41d4edcb-ae10-4094-96e4-94c2075bd398@d10g2000vbh.googlegroups.com>

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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AndyHancock wrote:

> I have a Toshiba Satellite A660 PSAW3C-047017
> running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

> I bought a 500 GB Momentus XT in December so that I can
> clone to it (bootable clone, not recoverable image).  I just
> bought and installed Norton Ghost 15, but it can't see the drive,

Yeah, thats one downside with Ghost, it can be a bit stupid.

Mainly because it does stuff at the Win level.

> which is connected to the laptop via eSATA.  Disk Management
> says I need to initialize the disk.  I can't find an explanation of
> what exactly initialization means.  What exactly does it do?

Partitions and formats the drive.

> Various forum threads say conflicting things about the
> end effect of initialization (whether it destroys data):

Yeah, thats the downside I mentioned with various forums.

Yes, the data on the drive is lost.

> http://superuser.com/questions/283930/will-initializing-disk-make-data-unrecoverable
> http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/29199-hard-drive-initialization-question.html
> http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080214215647AAYFNGS

> Since it's a new HDD, I guess I don't have to worry about that?

Correct.

> Should I choose MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table)?

MBR. The drive isnt big enough to need GPT and will be what the current drive uses.

> Finally, this may be a bit Seagate-specific for a non-Seagate thread,
> but I'll put it out there in case anyone can chime in.  I've read that
> the Momentus XT has some intelligence built in to prevent performance-
> degrading alignment problems with partition boundaries when Advanced
> Format is used.  It also advertises built-in intelligence to keep most
> frequently accessed content in the SDD part of the HDD.  Will any of
> these be "messed up" by initialization, or the wrong partition style?

Should be fine. It should warn you if that can be a problem.

> What about formatting, is there anything to be careful about?

Nope. It will be replaced by the cloning anyway.

Thread

Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-06 22:57 -0800
  Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-08 07:18 +1100
    Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-08 16:17 -0800
      Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-09 13:53 +1100
        Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-11 22:22 -0800
          Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-12 19:34 +1100
            Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-13 21:08 -0800
              Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-14 16:32 +1100
          Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone Mike Tomlinson <mike@jasper.org.uk> - 2012-01-13 11:46 +0000
            Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-13 17:08 +0000
              Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-13 21:14 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-14 16:41 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-14 21:38 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-15 20:37 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-15 21:23 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-16 20:14 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-16 20:57 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-01-17 19:44 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-15 20:48 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-16 16:10 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-16 20:50 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-17 04:26 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-18 00:58 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-19 15:04 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-20 10:55 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-19 21:27 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-20 20:12 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-20 22:50 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-21 20:20 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-21 22:08 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-22 19:34 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-23 05:09 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-22 20:26 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-22 20:46 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-23 20:04 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-23 18:49 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-24 15:58 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-23 21:09 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2012-02-24 17:30 +1100
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-02-24 20:39 -0800
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone Winniethepooh@100acrewoods.net (GMAN) - 2012-02-22 15:48 +0000
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone Arno <me@privacy.net> - 2012-01-14 18:37 +0000
                Re: Initialize / format 500 GB Momentus XT to make bootable clone AndyHancock <andymhancock@gmail.com> - 2012-01-14 21:42 -0800

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