A file system is used to control how a drive reads and writes data. The correct file system depends on your needs and the type of operating system you are using.
(We will assume you are installing a new internal Hard Disk Drive, HDD. The same information holds true for Solid State Drives, SSD)
After you have successfully installed a new HDD in the computer, you will be prompted to format it. Generally, the default options/settings will be best for that particular operating system. The default partition and format is what you will want to use unless there is a specific reason you need something different.
If you are using a Mac computer, the default file system is HFS+ (Journaled) or OS Extended (Journaled). Both are the same thing. A Journaled OS has the ability to maintain a log of the changes to the drive and in the event of a power outage or crash, it can recreate any lost data from the log file. This format does not work with Windows PCs.
The standard Windows file system is NTFS. These drives can be formatted in 2 ways depending on the storage capacity of the HDD. For drives that are 2TB and less, the default is to format the drive with a Master Boot Record (MBR). For drives larger than 2TB, the drive will be formatted with a GUID Partition Table (GPT). A GPT partition allows Windows to use the full capacity of a drive larger than 2TB, up to 256TB, with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
On a Windows PC, if you want to use a HDD larger than 2TB as the primary disk, and be able to boot off of it, you will need 3 things. First, the drive needs to be formatted GPT. Next, your system must have 64-bit architecture. Finally, you must have a UEFI Firmware. Please note for some computers trying to use HDDs larger than 4TB, your computer hardware needs to be able to support those HDDs in BIOS. (We will be discussing UEFI Firmware and BIOS in a future article.)
If you have any questions about what the right option for you is, feel free to contact us or come into our store to speak to a technician.
What is a file systems and which one should i be using?
A file system is used to control how a drive reads and writes data. The correct file system depends on your needs and the type of operating system you are using.
(We will assume you are installing a new internal Hard Disk Drive, HDD. The same information holds true for Solid State Drives, SSD)
After you have successfully installed a new HDD in the computer, you will be prompted to format it. Generally, the default options/settings will be best for that particular operating system. The default partition and format is what you will want to use unless there is a specific reason you need something different.
If you are using a Mac computer, the default file system is HFS+ (Journaled) or OS Extended (Journaled). Both are the same thing. A Journaled OS has the ability to maintain a log of the changes to the drive and in the event of a power outage or crash, it can recreate any lost data from the log file. This format does not work with Windows PCs.
The standard Windows file system is NTFS. These drives can be formatted in 2 ways depending on the storage capacity of the HDD. For drives that are 2TB and less, the default is to format the drive with a Master Boot Record (MBR). For drives larger than 2TB, the drive will be formatted with a GUID Partition Table (GPT). A GPT partition allows Windows to use the full capacity of a drive larger than 2TB, up to 256TB, with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
On a Windows PC, if you want to use a HDD larger than 2TB as the primary disk, and be able to boot off of it, you will need 3 things. First, the drive needs to be formatted GPT. Next, your system must have 64-bit architecture. Finally, you must have a UEFI Firmware. Please note for some computers trying to use HDDs larger than 4TB, your computer hardware needs to be able to support those HDDs in BIOS. (We will be discussing UEFI Firmware and BIOS in a future article.)
If you have any questions about what the right option for you is, feel free to contact us or come into our store to speak to a technician.
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