NTFS on new install

[David Walker]

In the old days, installing Windows 2000 to a new partition carved out of
raw disk space, OR installing to a FAT32 partition and telling the install
program that it could convert the partition to NTFS resulted, at the end of
the whole process, in an NTFS partition with 512-byte sectors.

Is this still the case installing Windows XP, or will you now end up with
an NTFS partition that uses 4K sectors on the new C drive? I don't know if
the new regime needs to install to FAT and then "convert" or if it formats
in NTFS before installing.

And there are two scenarios, installing to NTFS in raw disk space, or
pointing to FAT or FAT32 space and telling XP it can convert to NTFS.

Thanks for any info.

David Walker

 

[Jim]

My experience w/ XP has been that it still defaults to 512 byte sectors.
For this reason, I always start w/ a FAT32 partition, then convert it. BUT,
even then, you'll end up w/ 512 byte sectors unless the partition is
boundary aligned first. To align the partition, I run BootIt NG (
http://www.bootitng.com ). It has a partition manager that has this option
when you use the Resize option. Now I reboot XP, do the NTFS conversion,
whalla, I get 4k sectors.

There may be others ways, maybe even easier and more direct, but this works
for me.

Jim

 

[Jim]

Oops, made an error, not the Resize option, but the Slide option.

Jim

 

[RWS]

--------------------------------------------------
It is going to be a new partition right?
Why not just format with NTFS in the first place?
Why bother with the conversion from FAT32 ???
Don't use the Quick NTFS format option -
That suggestion is just my opinion.
--------------------------------------------------

My experience w/ XP has been that it still defaults to 512 byte sectors.
For this reason, I always start w/ a FAT32 partition, then convert it. BUT,
even then, you'll end up w/ 512 byte sectors unless the partition is
boundary aligned first. To align the partition, I run BootIt NG (
http://www.bootitng.com ). It has a partition manager that has this option
when you use the Resize option. Now I reboot XP, do the NTFS conversion,
whalla, I get 4k sectors.

There may be others ways, maybe even easier and more direct, but this works
for me.

Jim

 

[Jim]

I can only speak to my experience, but whenever I've defined an NTFS
partition FIRST, it always 512 byte sectors. I can't figure out how to make
it 4k except as I've described (if you have the secret, I'd love to know
it). Like I said, perhaps other have techniques that work, I happen to know
this works every time.

Jim

 

[RWS]

--------------------------------------------------
I guess I don't understand why one would prefer
the less efficient 4k sectors over 512 byte sectors
in the first place.
--------------------------------------------------

I can only speak to my experience, but whenever I've defined an NTFS
partition FIRST, it always 512 byte sectors. I can't figure out how to make
it 4k except as I've described (if you have the secret, I'd love to know
it). Like I said, perhaps other have techniques that work, I happen to know
this works every time.

Jim

 

[Jim]

Well, maybe so, but that wasn't the OP's question, he wanted to know how to
get 4k sectors.

As far as what's better, it depends. 512 bytes may be result in fewer slack
bytes, but the price for that efficiency is usually performance (more
sectors per file = more access time). If you have a predominance of small
files, perhaps 512 is the way to go. But who wants to be editing video
files, for example, of 2-4GB w/ 512 byte sectors?! An extreme case, for
sure, but it makes the point. Context is everything.

Jim

 

[RWS]

----
OK
----

Well, maybe so, but that wasn't the OP's question, he wanted to know how to
get 4k sectors.

As far as what's better, it depends. 512 bytes may be result in fewer slack
bytes, but the price for that efficiency is usually performance (more
sectors per file = more access time). If you have a predominance of small
files, perhaps 512 is the way to go. But who wants to be editing video
files, for example, of 2-4GB w/ 512 byte sectors?! An extreme case, for
sure, but it makes the point. Context is everything.

Jim