4. Using Your LaCie Drive
page 38
LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme with Triple Interface
User’s Manual
4. Using Your LaCie Drive
Formatting a disk consists of the following: the operating system erases
all of the bookkeeping information on the disk, tests the disk to make
sure that all of the sectors are reliable, marks bad sectors (i.e., those that
are scratched) and creates internal address tables that it later uses to
locate information.
As you format the drive, you will have the opportunity to divide the hard
drive into sections, called partitions. A partition is a section of the hard
drive’s storage capacity that is created to contain files and data.
Once formatted, the actual available storage capacity varies, depending
on operating environment, and is generally about 10% less than the non-
formatted capacity.
File System Formats
There are three different file system formats that are predominately found
in Mac and Windows environments:
•Mac OS Extended (HFS+) - for Mac OS 9.x and Mac OS 10.x
•NTFS - for Windows 2000 and XP
•FAT 32 - for Windows Me and legacy operating systems
Tech Note:
Windows Users!
This LaCie
Hard Drive is formatted for the Mac
operating system, and you will need to
re-format the drive in order for it to
appear and operate under the Windows
operating system. See section
4.1.2.
Formatting And Partitioning Your LaCie
Drive - Windows Users
for detailed
instructions.
Mac Users
• If you will be using the drive in a strictly Mac OS
environment, leave the drive formatted as one large Mac
OS Extended volume.
• If you want to be able to install multiple Mac operating
systems on the LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme with Triple
Interface, partition the drive into multiple Mac OS Extended
volumes.
Windows Users
• If you will be using this drive betweenWin Me, 2000 or XP
environments, it is recommended that you create two
partitions: one that is a 32GB FAT 32 (MS-DOS File System)
volume, and the other as a large NTFS volume.
• If you will be using the drive in a strictly Win 2000/XP
environment, create one large NTFS volume.
Important Info:
If you will be using this
drive between Mac and Windows
operating environments, you can create
two partitions: one 32GB FAT 32 volume,
and one large Mac OS Extended volume.
There are certain limitations to this
configuration, though; to achieve the best
performance and reliability, it is
recommended that you utilize a third-
party utility, such as Mediafour’s
MacDrive
, which allows Windows
computers to read and write files on a
volume formatted for the Mac.
