Category Archives: external hard drives

Workstation tweaks

In workstations, file indexing is not always what you want…

Disable in OS X:

launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist

Win 7

-> services.msc -> Windows Search Service -> stop + disable


Win 7, other special tweaks for special cases

  • system protection: off
  • powercfg /hibernate off
  • Pagfile.sys (manually set size & place)

Format GPT hard disk in Windows to MBR & exFAT

If you need to use big, over 2 GB files both in Windows and Mac OS X’s, MBR partition format and exFAT file system could be the most practical option for your mobile HDD.

However, note that there have been reliability problems with exFAT in hard use. Always keep a backup on a trusted media.

Mac OS X’s Disk Utility is easy, but what to do if you have to quickly reformat an GPT/EFI disk (from Mac or Win 7) to MBR partition layaout and exFAT file system in Windows 7 or XP ?

Let’s assume the external hard disk is Disk 3 (check with Computer -> Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management) and the drive letter is  G:

2) In Windows 7, Choose Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt -> Right-click & choose “Run as administrator”

In Windows XP, use Windows-R and cmd — for exFat support you have to install a patch first: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=955704

3) Type commands

diskpart
select Disk 3 
clean
create partition primary
assign letter=g 
exit
format g: /fs:exfat /q
exit

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