3TB HDD Question

One of my 2TB HDDs has developed some bad sectors.
The most cost effective replacement HDD that my regular supplier sells is 3TB.

My ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3 motherboard uses BIOS (not EFI).

My HDD setup currently is:

• 1.5TB (Boot HDD)
• 2x 2TB (Data HDDs)

I have the following operating systems installed:

• W7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit)
• XP Pro SP3 (32 Bit)
• Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit)

I realise that XP may have problems.
I have downloaded a utility from ASRock (3TB+ Unlocker) which is supposed to be able to work around the 32 bit address limitations.

The fantastic 3TB+ Unlocker tool offers a tweak-friendly feature, breaking the limitation of 32-bit operation system that could only detect the hard disk within 2048GB. It also allows ASRock motherboards without UEFI Technology to take advantage of the hidden storage space on 3TB and larger HDDs, helping to fully utilize the wasted spaces.

ASRock 3TB+ Unlocker

I'm not opposed to partitioning the 3TB HDD as 1 TB + 2TB if necessary.

Can I install a 3TB HDD as a data disc (not boot disc) without any other issues?

dsperber said:

lehnerus2000 said:

Can I install a 3TB HDD as a data disc (not boot disc) without any other issues?

To use it as a 3TB drive, you must format it (and possibly partition it) as GPT... not MBR (which is limited to 2TB).

Otherwise, using it as a data disc will be no problem, at least not to Win7.

Thanks. :)

That was my understanding, but I wanted some opinions from other people to be sure.

I am still confused about MBR vs GPT though.

My Linux Expert friend looked confused when I questioned him about the issue.
He recently installed a 3TB HDD and formatted it as EXT4.
He has not noticed any issues.

dsperber said:

"MBR works with disks up to 2 TB in size, but it can’t handle disks with more than 2 TB of space. MBR also only supports up to four primary partitions — if you want more, you have to make one of your primary partitions an “extended partition” and create logical partitions inside it."

"GPT stands for GUID Partition Table. It’s a new standard that’s gradually replacing MBR. This system doesn’t have MBR’s limits. Drives can be much, much larger and size limits will depend on the operating system and its file systems. GPT allows for a nearly unlimited amount of partitions, and the limit here will be your operating system — Windows allows up to 128 partitions on a GPT drive, and you don’t have to create an extended partition."

I am aware of the general blurb. :)

What I don't understand is, if Windows only functions with drive letters how can you have a massive number of partitions?
Do you have to create a "folder with a drive letter" and then mount all of the other partitions inside it?

dsperber said:

Apples and oranges. Nothing to do with MBR vs. GPT, which is really a discussion about drive partitioning technique.

EXT4 is a Linux file system used for data storage on a given partition on a drive, like NTFS, FAT32, for Windows, etc., and can exist on drives partitioned with either MBR or GPT.

Poor phrasing on my part.
I am also aware that EXT is a file system (I use EXT4 for my Linux partitions).

What was confusing was that when I asked how he set up up his 3TB HDD and mentioned GPT, he looked at me like I was speaking gibberish.

ignatzatsonic said:

You shouldn't have any issues with the new disk.

I recently replaced a 1.5 TB data backup drive with a 3.0 TB drive. The only change I had to make was to use GPT on the new drive. I still use BIOS and my boot drive is still MBR. I haven't noticed anything unusual at all.

I think that Asus tool you downloaded would allow you to format and use the entire 3.0 TB disc, even if you used MBR--the device driver mounts the capacity above 2.2 TB with another MBR which looks to the system as a second virtual “physical” device. You’d have a 2.2 TB partition and another for the remainder.

If you don’t use that tool, you’d be limited to 2.2 TB on that 3.0 TB drive---regardless of the number of partitions. The alternative is to use GPT.

A system with BIOS cannot boot a GPT disk, which is no problem for you since this is strictly a data disc.

Since this is a data disc, there's no over-riding reason for you to use that Asus download.

I assume (based on the marketing blurb) that the ASRock utility is supposed to enable XP (32 bit) to use the entire disk.

The end result is that you have both posted that using the disc for data should cause no issues. :)

I didn't want to buy a 3TB (or larger) HDD only to discover it won't run correctly in my system.

dsperber said:

lehnerus2000 said:

Do you have to create a "folder with a drive letter" and then mount all of the other partitions inside it?

Yes, except that the folder doesn't have a drive letter. It's just a folder. And all the other partitions are mounted inside it.

I'm not sure what I was trying to say (I need to get more sleep).

I have mounted VHDs in folders on Windows (once for each W8 Preview).

I've had to do it in Linux (fstab) to auto-mount my NTFS partitions during boot up.

dsperber said:

So you get to all the partitions and their contents not with letters, but simply symbolically as part of a folder structure. Kind of like how you access removable devices (like phones) that connect through MTP and appear in Windows Explorer symbolically, but also without drive letters.

I've never tried to connect a phone (or similar device) to Windows.

dsperber said:

Well, I would venture to guess that while he might not have realized it (and perhaps didn't do something explicit to create it that way), if he set up his 3TB drive with one 3TB EXT4 partition then that drive had to have been partitioned (perhaps automatically) with GPT, as it had to be in order to support more than 2TB of size.

I was wondering if the partitioning tool he used, automatically selected GPT because of the HDD/Partition size (he uses Arch Linux).

I use GParted for all of my partitioning (except in VMs).

I notice that the screenshot is showing the "breadcrumb" path information.

If you don't mind me asking, what path information does the Address bar show if you click in it (when your phone is connected)?