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Windows Forum / Windows 98 / Disks / File System / June 2008Formatting a 20G HDD, One Partition, With Small Size Clusters
Hi, I installed a 20G HDD in my Windows 98se computer. With one partition, I formatted it. The results is 16K byte clusters. With a FAT32 system, a 32 bit number ("index") can represent around 4.3G. This in effect should allow around 4 billion clusters maximum. The major reason for a smaller cluster size is to reduce waste of disk space. Example, if you wrote a 1K byte file to the HDD, the free space will be reduced by 16K (15K wasted). How can I format this 20G HDD in such a way to produce smaller clusters without adding partitions? Thanks in advance, Brad Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. Suggest you read this: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partFAT32-c.html I don't know of any partitioning tool that lets you FORCE 4 KB clusters despite the HD size. Not saying there aren't any, but the admittedly few I've used set cluster size automatically. FDISK and BootItNG do, and Partition Magic, IIRC.  SignatureGary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User www.grystmill.com > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., > be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. That's probably because partitioning tools do not determine the cluster size.....formatting determines the cluster size. You can use the undocumented /Z:n switch of FORMAT to specify the cluster size. The "n" value is the number of (512 byte) sectors per cluster. To format a hard drive to use 4K clusters you would use the command: FORMAT C: /Z:8 (assuming the partition being formatted is C:) FDISK and other partitioning tools are used to set the file system (FAT, FAT32, NTFS), not the cluster size. Note that Scandisk and Defrag will have problems when you use smaller than the default cluster size for a partition. SignatureGlen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+ http://dts-l.net/ http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm > Suggest you read this: > http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/partFAT32-c.html [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >> Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., >> be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. Doh! Thanks for the correction. Seems like something I used to know, <sigh>. SignatureGary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User www.grystmill.com > That's probably because partitioning tools do not determine the cluster > size.....formatting determines the cluster size. [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >>> Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., >>> be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. Yep, I'm sure it is something you've known for 7 or 8 years at least.....the memory can only retain so many things, then it starts dropping memories out your ear to make room for new ones. :-) Actually, since there is some evidence that memories may be stored in proteins, you may not have lost anything.....they are just buried somewhere around your elbow. ;-) SignatureGlen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+ http://dts-l.net/ http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm > Doh! Thanks for the correction. Seems like something I used to know, <sigh>. > [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] >>>> Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., >>>> be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. Well, actually, something took a bazooka to that pile of proteins a few years ago, and every time I think I've got them all gathered back together, or at least as many as can be found, along comes the bazooka again. Such is life. SignatureGary S. Terhune MS-MVP Shell/User www.grystmill.com > Yep, I'm sure it is something you've known for 7 or 8 years at > least.....the memory can only retain so many things, then it starts [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] >>>>> Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., >>>>> be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., > be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. Poor cluster size is not a problem with fat32 partitions under 32gigs http://www.project9.com/fat32/ > I installed a 20G HDD in my Windows 98se computer. With one partition, > I formatted it. The results is 16K byte clusters. With a FAT32 system, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > How can I format this 20G HDD in such a way to produce smaller clusters > without adding partitions? I wrote a DOS program to partition/format disks and played with small cluster sizes in FAT32 vols. There is a problem if a FAT32 vol has more than 4177918 clusters because Defrag and Scandisk can't access it. Also, general access becomes much slower. The cluster index is only a 28-bit number not 32-bit because the top 4 bits of the number are used for other purposes. I do have some 32GiB volumes here with 8kiB clusters and they work well. If your volume is 20GiB then I would say your minimum cluster size will be 8kiB based on the restrictions mentioned here. If you really want 4kiB then the maximum volume size is about 16GiB. SignatureSteven Hi, Thanks to everyone who replied. I decided to partition the HDD into two 10G partitions which resulted in 8K clusters after each partition was formatted. The second partition is logical drive "D:". Brad >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., > be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC. |
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