You are not logged in.

#1 2011-02-06 19:04:58

tgoossens
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2011-02-06
Posts: 96
Website

Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Hi,

I've been having some issues with my external (NTFS) drive: it's read only. And reading on the internet only scares me.
This because I've seen a lot of people writing about the lack of proper NTFS support in linux and the potential risk of data loss.

So i was wondering, if i were to reformat my external usb drive, what format should I consider? Ext3/Ext4?

Thanks in advance!


Share and enjoy!

Offline

#2 2011-02-06 19:16:49

smithr.michael1997
Member
Registered: 2010-11-27
Posts: 16

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

It depends on what you are looking to do with it. If you decide to go ext3 or ext4, keep in mind that Windows does not natively support those formats. You may wish to consider FAT 32 for something universal. I have never had problems with NTFS myself.


Regards, Michael Smith

Offline

#3 2011-02-06 19:48:08

fsckd
Forum Fellow
Registered: 2009-06-15
Posts: 4,173

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Linux support of ntfs is decent. It seems you are using the wrong driver. Use ntfs-3g.


aur S & M :: forum rules :: Community Ethos
Resources for Women, POC, LGBT*, and allies

Offline

#4 2011-02-06 19:56:29

graysky
Wiki Maintainer
From: :wq
Registered: 2008-12-01
Posts: 10,595
Website

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

+1 for ntfs-3g.  With this, ntfs support is more than decent.  I would deem it excellent.


CPU-optimized Linux-ck packages @ Repo-ck  • AUR packagesZsh and other configs

Offline

#5 2011-02-06 20:13:29

thedude0
Member
Registered: 2006-12-28
Posts: 8

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

I use my external drive on stuff like game consoles, if you have anything comparable you ever want to use it for stick with FAT32.

Offline

#6 2011-02-06 20:46:29

Mr.Elendig
#archlinux@freenode channel op
From: The intertubes
Registered: 2004-11-07
Posts: 4,092

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

ntfs if windows/mac needs access to it, ext4 if not. fat32 has the moronic 4gb file size limit and no journal.


Evil #archlinux@libera.chat channel op and general support dude.
. files on github, Screenshots, Random pics and the rest

Offline

#7 2011-02-08 06:31:26

SeanM
Member
Registered: 2011-02-07
Posts: 25

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

NTFS is the way to go. Just install ntfs-3g (it's in the normal repos). Should solve all your problems. It's 100% stable. I've used it for years with no problems!

Oh, and don't worry about what they say on the internet... They are normally wrong :-)

Offline

#8 2011-02-08 07:06:44

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

You shouldn't read random stuff on the internet without taking note of the context, primarily in this case the date. I'm pretty sure you're reading articles from the turn of the century.

NTFS is just fine (well, except for it being a Microsoft creation with everything that entails) and is better than Linux filesystems for external harddiscs (particularly due to the permissions issue if your user is not user 1000).


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

Offline

#9 2011-02-08 07:38:16

Awebb
Member
Registered: 2010-05-06
Posts: 6,275

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

SeanM wrote:

It's 100% stable.

Hehe. How optimistic.

I can indeed confirm that the ntfs-3g works very well for me. It just seems to read a bit slower than the native windows implementation.

Offline

#10 2011-02-08 12:06:43

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Awebb wrote:
SeanM wrote:

It's 100% stable.

Hehe. How optimistic.

I can indeed confirm that the ntfs-3g works very well for me. It just seems to read a bit slower than the native windows implementation.

Didn't you know? Linux doesn't HAVE problems. Everything is the user's fault smile.

And yes, ntfs-3g has been very stable for me. Unfortunately the NTFS file-system itself is lacking in terms of usability for internal hard disks on a linux system, so everything inside the machine is ext4, and I hardly use ntfs anymore (ssh, unison, and dropbox mean I hardly need my thumbdrives or external hard disk drives).


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

Offline

#11 2011-04-02 01:25:50

BAJ716
Member
Registered: 2011-02-13
Posts: 32

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Can you format an external drive NTFS from linux?  I haven't been able to find any how-to on that.

Offline

#12 2011-04-02 02:03:39

anonymous_user
Member
Registered: 2009-08-28
Posts: 3,059

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Install ntfsprogs first then you can use gparted to format. I don't know the command to format from CLI XD

Offline

#13 2011-04-02 02:14:05

JokerBoy
Member
From: România
Registered: 2009-09-24
Posts: 641

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

mkfs.ntfs @ ntfsprogs

Offline

#14 2011-04-02 02:22:16

Hyugga
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2010-03-26
Posts: 335

Re: Format External Drive : what filesystem to choose?

Two years using NTFS format in a 500gb external hard drive. No problems so far.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB