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Mixing drive sizes, is this an issue?

Radium_Angel
By Radium_Angel
in Storage Devices
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So my current largest drive in my system (windows 8.1 pro embedded) is 2TB, and everything is formatted NTFS.

So far, so good.

 

But I wanted to add an 8TB drive for data storage, which requires a different formatting (the name of which suddenly escapes me)

Can I mix and match formats, or would I have to start fresh and reformat everything to the new format so the 8TB drive will place nice with the other ones?

NOTE: I no longer frequent this site. If you really need help, PM/DM me and my e.mail will alert me. 

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Does it say to use GPT vs MBR?   That's for booting only I think.  If just data, use NTFS like the other drives.

 

I think this is correct, but I need food, so get a 2nd opinion.

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1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Does it say to use GPT vs MBR?   That's for booting only I think.  If just data, use NTFS like the other drives.

 

I think this is correct, but I need food, so get a 2nd opinion.

I don't have the drive yet, I"m gathering information.

I thought the size limitation on NTFS was 2TB, hence the need for GPT

NOTE: I no longer frequent this site. If you really need help, PM/DM me and my e.mail will alert me. 

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4 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

I thought the size limitation on NTFS was 2TB, hence the need for GPT

NTFS supports somethjing like 16eB, you won't hit that.

 

MBR supports upto 2TiB, thats probably the limit your thinking of.

 

GPT supports some big number for max size, you won't hit that with any modern drive.

 

ALso you should just use GPT for everything these days, there is no reason not to for almost all uses. It also has a few more features that allow more partitions and have more backups of the partition table.

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3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

NTFS supports somethjing like 16eB, you won't hit that.

 

MBR supports upto 2TiB, thats probably the limit your thinking of.

 

GPT supports some big number for max size, you won't hit that with any modern drive.

 

ALso you should just use GPT for everything these days, there is no reason not to for almost all uses. It also has a few more features that allow more partitions and have more backups of the partition table.

Ah, excellent, thank you for the enlightenment.

 

NOTE: I no longer frequent this site. If you really need help, PM/DM me and my e.mail will alert me. 

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What the others didn't really mention specifically is that both MBR and GPT are these structures at the beginning of your drive that describe the location, size and number of partitions on them. MBR has been around for decades and that's why there's the 2TB-limit -- no one could imagine it'd ever become an issue back when the MBR-table was first designed.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

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You guys are mixing terms. NTFS is a file system, primarily used in Windows machines. MBR and GPT are partition formatting standards. NTFS can be used with MBR or GPT.

 

To oversimplify things, format with MBR for drives up to 2TB and GPT for drives over 2TB. Drives formatted with MBR and GPT can be mixed in a computer.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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On 9/11/2019 at 2:28 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

MBR supports upto 2TiB, thats probably the limit your thinking of.

I thought MBR can go up to 4TB.

 

If you are using legacy BIOS, I think it won't give the option to use GPT.

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

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1 hour ago, Chiyawa said:

I thought MBR can go up to 4TB.

 

If you are using legacy BIOS, I think it won't give the option to use GPT.

Nope, MBR can only go up to 2TB (technically, 2.2TB).

 

Legacy BIOS, unless it's on an ancient machine, will give the opportunity to use GPT. I was able to format my old Sandy Bridge-e machine with GPT for the 4TB drives I was running. What you can't do with GPT is boot from it unless using UEFI.

 

Read here for more detailed information.

Jeannie

 

As long as anyone is oppressed, no one will be safe and free.

One has to be proactive, not reactive, to ensure the safety of one's data so backup your data! And RAID is NOT a backup!

 

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14 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Read here for more detailed information.

Okay, thanks for the clarification.

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

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