FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD)

leelaprasad_kol · 05-23-2008, 04:20 PM

Hy Guys,
I am new here........
Yesterday i bought 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) out of box it was formated as a Single Fat32 drive.

I will be using this drive for storing files of 700MB in size. so please just me whether to go for FAT32 or NTFS and the cluster size. By the way i will be using this drive on Vista and XP only i need to get good read and write speeds.

-LeelaPrasad

**peterhuang913** · 05-23-2008, 06:18 PM

NTFS and use default cluster size.

leelaprasad_kol · 05-23-2008, 06:44 PM

when using NTFS with the default cluster size i am getting only upto 25 MB/sec write speed and read speeds upto 50 MB/sec.

i guess it can perform more well........

nantax · 05-25-2008, 12:40 AM

Limitations of FAT32 File System

You cannot format a volume larger than 32 GB in size using the FAT32 file system in Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 FastFAT driver can mount and support volumes larger than 32 GB that use the FAT32 file system (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create one using the Format tool. This behavior is by design. If you need to create a volume larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system instead.

So you really have no choice but to use NTFS.

leelaprasad_kol · 05-29-2008, 11:50 AM

by using some other tools i can format as FAT32 with size greater than 32 GB

AceGoober · 05-29-2008, 11:56 AM

I would assume you have the drive connected through a USB port on the motherboard. If so, you will not achieve the same performance through the USB port as you would experience if the drive was connected directly to a SATA or IDE controller.

FAT32 is inneficient compared to NTFS. You will find that using "other tools" to format the drive out in FAT32 will increase the cluster sizes and decrease the efficiency rather significantly.

leelaprasad_kol · 05-29-2008, 12:31 PM

ok tell me the best cluster size to use. i will be storing files of size 700 MB or bigger

AceGoober · 05-30-2008, 07:52 AM

For large files set the cluster size to either 16 or 32k. This will lower the possibility of file fragmentation and makes the File Table smaller.

gavnuga · 11-11-2008, 05:34 AM

Hey out There,

I got a WD 320GB HDD. Had alot of data on it and now the drive has gone corrupt on me. Basically all the sub folder titles are not english anymore more but some form of chinese writing (Basically they are corrupted) I cannot access any folder on the drive. My Visa sees the drive but it says there are 0 bytes free. I get a syntax error message when I try any method to read the drive. So what tools could I use to fix this HDD? How can I recover my lost data? I am currently trying check volume for errors and on reboot it is going through error checking. However it has been running for almost a day now and I am at cluster 5177750 with error reports of Bad links in lost chain at cluster yayaya corrected. and some truncated and some orphaned! can anyone advise me if i am screwed here with retrieving my data? What can i do as i need the data badly?

BR Gavnuga

05-23-2008, 04:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
leelaprasad_kol Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1	FileSystem(Fat32 or NTFS) for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) Hy Guys, I am new here........ Yesterday i bought 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) out of box it was formated as a Single Fat32 drive. I will be using this drive for storing files of 700MB in size. so please just me whether to go for FAT32 or NTFS and the cluster size. By the way i will be using this drive on Vista and XP only i need to get good read and write speeds. -LeelaPrasad Last edited by leelaprasad_kol; 05-23-2008 at 04:29 PM.

05-23-2008, 06:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
peterhuang913 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 946 OS: XP Home SP2	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) NTFS and use default cluster size.

05-23-2008, 06:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
leelaprasad_kol Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) when using NTFS with the default cluster size i am getting only upto 25 MB/sec write speed and read speeds upto 50 MB/sec. i guess it can perform more well........

05-25-2008, 12:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
nantax Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bacolod, Philippines Posts: 37 OS: WinXP SP2 / Ubuntu 8.04 LTS	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) Limitations of FAT32 File System You cannot format a volume larger than 32 GB in size using the FAT32 file system in Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 FastFAT driver can mount and support volumes larger than 32 GB that use the FAT32 file system (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create one using the Format tool. This behavior is by design. If you need to create a volume larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system instead. So you really have no choice but to use NTFS.

05-29-2008, 11:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
leelaprasad_kol Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) by using some other tools i can format as FAT32 with size greater than 32 GB

05-29-2008, 11:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
AceGoober Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Eureka, CA Posts: 39 OS: Windows XP SP2; Windows Vista 64bit SP1 My System	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) I would assume you have the drive connected through a USB port on the motherboard. If so, you will not achieve the same performance through the USB port as you would experience if the drive was connected directly to a SATA or IDE controller. FAT32 is inneficient compared to NTFS. You will find that using "other tools" to format the drive out in FAT32 will increase the cluster sizes and decrease the efficiency rather significantly.

05-29-2008, 12:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
leelaprasad_kol Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) ok tell me the best cluster size to use. i will be storing files of size 700 MB or bigger

05-30-2008, 07:52 AM	#8 (permalink)
AceGoober Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: Eureka, CA Posts: 39 OS: Windows XP SP2; Windows Vista 64bit SP1 My System	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) For large files set the cluster size to either 16 or 32k. This will lower the possibility of file fragmentation and makes the File Table smaller.

11-11-2008, 05:34 AM	#9 (permalink)
gavnuga Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Vista SP1	Re: FileSystem for 320GB WD MyBook Essential Edition (External HD) Hey out There, I got a WD 320GB HDD. Had alot of data on it and now the drive has gone corrupt on me. Basically all the sub folder titles are not english anymore more but some form of chinese writing (Basically they are corrupted) I cannot access any folder on the drive. My Visa sees the drive but it says there are 0 bytes free. I get a syntax error message when I try any method to read the drive. So what tools could I use to fix this HDD? How can I recover my lost data? I am currently trying check volume for errors and on reboot it is going through error checking. However it has been running for almost a day now and I am at cluster 5177750 with error reports of Bad links in lost chain at cluster yayaya corrected. and some truncated and some orphaned! can anyone advise me if i am screwed here with retrieving my data? What can i do as i need the data badly? BR Gavnuga