Toshiba 3TB Partitioned As All MBR?

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Big_Al_C

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Hi, I run Windows 7 Pro SP-1 64-Bit with a ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3)

MoBo that has a UEFI BIOS.


My C, D and E partitions are on a 120 GB NTFS SSD with a MBR.

I installed Windows 7 on a pre-partitioned SSD, so no hidden

"System Partition".


I installed a Toshiba PH3200U-1I72 2TB HDD that is Advanced Format

512e and is properly "Aligned" using the Toshiba provided utility.

The PH3200U-1I72 is used as storage only on partitions "F" thru "M"

set as MBR and working perfectly.


I bought a Toshiba PH3300U-1I72 3TB HDD that is also Advanced

Format 512e to replace the 2TB.

I know that 3TBers can't utilize the full capacity in MBR,

and must be set as GPT to do so.


BTW: I would make 5 partitions, 4 NTFS and one small FAT32.


I use Norton's Ghost weekly and it has issues with GPT.


I proceeded to contact various partitioning/cloning software

companies to see if their products could be used in place of

Ghost.


The partial exchange below is between TeraByte Unlimited and me:

TBU:

"If your new drive uses 4K sector sizes you
wouldn't need to have a GPT."

Me:

Please elaborate.

BTW, This is what my present Toshiba 2TB looks like:

http://i.technet.microsoft.com/dynimg/IC546236.jpg


TBU:

If you expose the 4K sector size and not the emulated

normal 512 byte sector size, you can use an MBR and

use the entire space (up to 16TiB).

0xFFFFFFFF*512=2,199,023,255,040
0xFFFFFFFF*4096=17,592,186,040,320


Me:

With what software and what is the procedure to go about

doing this?

Can it be done via a Bootable CD or must it be done in Windows

with just my SSD and empty 3TB connected?


TBU:

It would be a drive feature/option, typically using
a jumper. The BIOS would also have to support the larger
sizes too so it doesn't crash reading larger sectors, a
modern BIOS should be able to handle it.


My hunt for answers from Toshiba is a lost cause as their

support is a TOTAL joke and does NOT offer E-Mail support.

So, I'm here to find out if this "exposing the 4K sector size" can,

indeed, be done to my PH3300U-1I72, and if so, EXACTLY how to go

about doing it.

Also, are there any shortcomings to having the Toshiba "exposing

the 4K sector size" using 5 partitions, 4 NTFS and one small FAT32?


Thanks in advance for any help you can be.

Big Al
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The word "exposing" seems all wrong to me. You don't "expose" or reveal or hide anything. 512b size can certainly cause problems on these large drives because that requires 8 times the number of addresses than 4kb sectors while potentially saving only a marginal (at best) amount of disk space.

Here's some good background info: Everything You Need to Know About 3TB Hard Drives | PCWorld

Shortcomings? None that I see, other than trying to keep track of all your partitions in your own head. I used to use a lot of partitions, but since partitions do nothing for performance, and "expose" the drive to more potential points of failures, I now just use large subfolders on fewer drives/partitions. I don't see a reason use FAT32 on a hard drive with a modern OS like W7 64-bit.

As for software, I use and recommend EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition whenever I need to dink with partitions. I have never had any problems, but you still need to back up your data first as a precaution. An unexpected system crash or power outage in the middle of the process can be disastrous.
 
MAJOR Update

I found a way to make my 3TB FULLY accessible and set as MBR.

It's Acronis True Image, aka Seagates DiskWizard aka WD's version

of DiskWizard. It puts an "Extended Capacity Manager" in the boot

sector so you get one 2.1TB and one 700+GB partition, BOTH MBR.

See: Seagate DiscWizard CloneDisc for drives larger than 3TB_Part-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCLGfj1LSmI


I just found this and would like some input before opening the

Toshiba 3TB's box:

Make SURE the 3TB is EMPTY as this will wipe ALL data on the drive

To make a fully accessible 3TB with 4k sector:


1. Boot to desktop.

2. Open "My Computer" in Windows Explorer.

3. Click on the EMPTY 3TB HDD.

4. If the factory made some partitions on it, delete them all.

5. Once it is just one disk, right-click it and click "Format"

6. Select "4096", "NTFS" and "Format".

7. Click OK. Since the 3TB is EMPTY, it should be real quick.

8. It's now ready to be partitioned to your liking up to 2.7 or so

TB's total and is set as MBR.

The reason that I'm posting this is to get feedback from anyone who

has used these programs or the "4096", "NTFS" and "Format" method

to see if the 3TBers work as any other HDD would or are there any

quirks that have come up since partitioning your 3TB?

Please post to me.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Big Al
 
Even I haven't tried the method you're referring to to get >2TB partitions on MBR, personally, I would STRONGLY suggest you avoiding that. Microsoft officially states, that you need to use GPT for >2TB partitions. Using 3rd party tools to overcome the limit might result in unexpected issues in the future. Moreover, no one (except the vendor of 3rd party software you used) will be able to help you with these issues due to the unsupported configuration you have.

I'm pretty sure you can find some other, more advanced, backup software, which wouldn't have issues backing-up GPT disks.
 
3TB's Partitioned As NTFS With MBR Out There? - MajorGeeks Support Forums

3TB's Partitioned As NTFS With MBR Out There? - Wilders Security Forums

Shotgun posting is not considered good forum etiquette as it often ties up shared resources, can result in confusing and/or conflicting advice, and often results in some threads left dangling with no resolutions. Since this site has replies, I recommend you let this thread here at Sysnative play out and be sure to update all the others sites you have posted this question.
 

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