[H] 3TB Hard drive as Storage in Media server

[Serenath]

Hi everyone

Need some advice, or to be exact just want to make sure about something.

Recently bought a 3TB hard drive to put into my media server as extra storage drive, but Media server is still running on XP atm (still an entry level Dual core with , 2gb Ram, mainly used as file server.)

But no biggy, planning to upgrade it to Win 7 Pro sometime this weekend.
As mentioned basically the 3TB will be used primarily as storage drive, non bootable.

I read up a bit on the net regarding 3TB and Win7.

So i have a legacy BIOS setup (non eufi board), so according to my logic (and the article) i would still be able to use the drive fine in Win7 as storage only drive.

Quick facts about Windows and 3TB drives:

Windows 7 and Vista support GPT 3TB single partitions
Windows 7 and Vista can only boot GPT on systems with UEFI BIOS
Windows 7 and Vista can mount a GPT non-booting data drive
Intel RST device drivers before v10.1 do not support 3TB disk drives
Windows systems with Legacy BIOS and MBR boot drives are limited to 2.2TB partitions
Windows XP does not support GPT
Windows XP sees a 3TB drive as 800GB on boot or data drives
DiscWizard software can install a device driver which opens the full capacity of a 3TB. You can use it to create a second partition for the capacity above 2.2TB

Support for Disk Drives Beyond 2.2 TeraBytes (TB) and 4K Advanced Format Sectors

Also, i don't really care for the full capacity not showing, since i was planning to partition the drive into 3 x 1TB partitions.(will this work under XP this way as well as MBR ?)

Will this work on both XP and Win 7 ? some forums recommend using Seagate Disk Wizard which installs a driver to enable full capacity under non EUFI boards.

Should i rather upgrade to an EUFI board setup as well as Win 7 to ensure everything runs smoothly?

Guess all in all, what would be the best way to go about getting the 3TB drive running as storage drive.

Purely Win 7 upgrade, keep current setup, upgrade server to newer board etc.

Any advice / help will greatly be appreciated.
Thanks for reading and in advance.

Peace

 

[The_Assimilator]

If you want to remain on XP (why? do you hate yourself?) then you will need to use a program or driver (like DiscWizard) to get Windows to see the full 3TB. From there you can format the drive as 3x 1TB MBR partitions.

If you upgrade to Windows 7 (DO IT), you can format the drive as 1x 3TB GPT partition, or 3x 1TB MBR partitions.

BTW, it's UEFI, not EUFI

 

[Serenath]

Thanks for the advice

In the process of upgrading my server to Win 7, tested the drive on a another Win 7 PC.
Went with 1 x 1Tb & 1 X 2Tb partition, GPT format, works really well.

BTW, it's UEFI, not EUFI

Hehe, seeeerious typo thanks for the correct.

 

[heavySoul]

A bit off topic, but. . .

 

[Serenath]

Saw the article above about the 3Tb drives, and although concerning i also believe this should be taken with a grain of salt.
They drives in the article were run under heavy stress conditions.

Dispelling Backblaze's HDD Reliability Myth - The Real Story Covered

I do prefer WD Drives, but desperatly needed a new Hard drive, got a good deal on the Seagate and still under warranty.
But i will keep the above in mind, thanks dude.

 

[Dirtdiver]

Why did you partition the drives?

 

[Serenath]

Basically just for better data structuring

Currently have a 500gb in that has a bad sector, so want to replace that and copy the data over to a separate partition.
Decided to go with 1 x 1tb and 2tb partition.

 

[KLEAN_upguy]

note that all hard drives fail at some point.. instead of throwing vague stats you should get drives that suit your application for instance seagate baracudas are not to be used 24/7...the drives spin up and down constantly...v.s like a wd black that was made for 24/7 use...seagate Constellation is more suited for 24/7...

with regards to windows yes legacy you will be limited...uefi will allow for bigger drives,windows must be installed with either setting determined by you in bios....i experience this when first getting a 3 tb drive...i formatted 3 tb in to two partitions(legacy win7 install)...a few months down the line i reinstalled win 8 to
UEFI and got another 3tb and noticed that extra space is all there all in one drive all thats needed is UEFI

 

[Mr-Day-Wing]

A bit off topic, but. . .

The problem with this stat as well is they don't list how many were faulty and how many drives were sold.. You could find they sold lots of 3tb sg drives so obviously they more likely to fail as there are a lot more out there So these stats can be rather flawed a lot of the time

 

[el3venth]

If this is going to just be a media server, just upgrade your Windows XP to a Linux version.
That costs nothing and will support GPT partitions.
It really is very very easy to set up with loads of community support available.
I recently set up a Ubuntu Server on my HP Microserver and it works so amazing. Runs a fileserver on AFS, NFS and SMB; Airvideo server for iPad; transmission for torrenting (including times that it runs); download manager; webserver.

 

[fatty]

Have you looked at Freenas as an os ?

 

[Serenath]

[MENTION=145]eleventh[/MENTION]

I have considered Linux yes, my previous setup ran on Linux Mint, and must say really loved it.
Very stable and fast, also i preferred to run TinyXP / 7 in a VM, just for those odd occasion you might need Windows after all, like for running an app not avail on Linux...hated to go the Wine route for win apps.

I unfortunate took out that drive and formatted it by mistake at some stage, and did not dump the image, stupid i know.
So will have to do it from scratch again, have not worked with Linux in a while, so but rusty, but certain it will all come back to me fairly quickly.

I am indeed very fond of Linux.

Tell me what Download manger are you using with Linux ? i love IDM on Windows, but unfortunately Linux is not supported, would be awesome if one could get a similar one for Linux.

Uget and XMD looks to be almost the same.

[MENTION=1233]fatty[/MENTION]

I have looked at it, but not too sure if my specs will be able to handle it ? i see they recommend a 8GB Ram... i only have 4GB.
It looks pretty decent with all the plugins avail, and very customizable.

FreeNAS

I think as a personal challenge and learning initiative i should go either Linux / FreeNas route.XDM

My specs are:

Intel G3220 3.0Ghz
4GB Ram
320B SATA II (OS Drive)

 

[el3venth]

My server is totally headless, running Ubuntu Server.
I use:
1. aria2 with a web interface for normal http downloads
2. transmission for torrent files.
3. air-video for ipad 1 movie sharing
4. NFS for apple tv (atv-flash) streaming
5. SMB for Windows sharing

Total memory usage has not topped 450megs.
Boots in under 10 seconds.