External Hard Drives TIP

I'm sure you already know this? but in case you don't?

All external drives come Pre formatted to FAT32 because it makes them cross compatible with Windows & Mac's.

In today's world especially with the large size of video files (Single layer DVD 4.8GB & Dual layer 9GB) this is a major restriction on the FAT32 format.

Why?

FAT32 can not handle a file greater than one MB less than 4GB (basically 4GB is the maximum file size for any one file that you can use on a FAT32 drive regardless of its capacity)

Therefore, the very first thing you should do when you purchase any external hard drive for use on a Windows system, is format it to NTFS.

To do this you simply right click the new drive in My Computer (Computer for Vista) and choose "Format".

Note: This must be done while the drive has no content, otherwise it will erase anything already on the drive.



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I have done this for each of the eternal drives I have gotten. I was also given a choice of a quick format or standard. I always chose standard, tho it does take longer. Formatting my 1TB drive took a few hours.

Originally Posted by rtm27

I have done this for each of the eternal drives I have gotten. I was also given a choice of a quick format or standard. I always chose standard, tho it does take longer. Formatting my 1TB drive took a few hours.

Yes it does take time using standard, but it is the best choice.

The differance between the two methods is,

Quick = Format only.

Standard = Format while carrying out a full chkdsk & marking any bad sectors.

Never assume that because a HDD is new that it has to be 100% healthy.

Remember, a 1TB drive holds a hell of a lot of data & you need to know the drive is in good nick, especially if the data you entrust it with is mission critical.


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My 1TB holds alot of my movies I haven't burned yet....right now it is at 65% capacity....nearly 2/3 full. This drive has been great since I got it back in february.

Very valuable info, G. Thanks

Originally Posted by rtm27

My 1TB holds alot of my movies I haven't burned yet.

Like we discussed in an earlier thread, get one of these & you won't need to burn them !

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I'm still intent on picking one of those up Gman.

Brilliant G.Great to know what to look for.Thanks

Originally Posted by Gman496

Like we discussed in an earlier thread, get one of these & you won't need to burn them !

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Yeah....one of these days I will!!

I would like to have one of those someday as well, but right now I am happy streaming mine through my ps3.