How do I format Fat 32 at 4k cluster??

[Mustanggt]

I read that 4k cluster is the best performace so I tried to format my HD that way but it keeps telling me this is to small format canceled?? I am running a Raid array 0.

 

[DocDoo]

The "cluster" size is dependent on the final size of that drive or partition. For example, my 10GB partition is working on a 8K cluster. A 8GB partition is considered "ideal" for most...

The smaller the drive/partition, the smaller the cluster size.

How are you planning to partition your set up?

Will you be storing large files, or many small files?

 

[Mustanggt]

I have 2 partions 9.2 gigs each. Another question how would I format my harddrive to NTFS at 4k cluster? from dos and not the win2k setup?? I have alot of small files.

 

[Noriaki]

9.2GB partitions will be 8k clusters in FAT32.

You need to be <= 8GB to get 4k.

I just formatted a bunch of my hard drives to 4k clusters in NTFS, just format from within Win2000 Win Explorer, right click and pick format, make sure you choose NTFS as the target file system and there is a drop down box that lets you pick cluster size

I made a partiton with Partiton Magic (Pro) 6.0 and one within Win2k setup both have 4k clusters sizes.

I'm pretty sure 4k is the default, unless you do a convert from FAT32 to NTFS, then it has to use .5k (512b) to align the files properly.

I've never used a Win2k boot disk set, and DOS in the Win9x sence can't format to NTFS.

 

[jj1492]

From what I understand, larger cluster sizes equals better (faster) performance, but more &quot;wasted&quot; space. Larger sizes are recommended for people constantly using huge files, IE video editing.

 

[Mustanggt]

Will I bennifit from a 4k cluster running a Raid 0 setup?? my array is set at 64k

 

[jaywallen]

Noriaki: Actually, use of the /A switch with the FORMAT command allows the user some discretion in choosing allocation unit sizes, so long as the maximum number of clusters per partition rule for FAT32 is not violated.

Mustanggt: You'll get a lot of different answers from various people on that one. I think you said that you have a lot of small files. If I were you, I'd use 4,096 byte clusters. It's the most versatile allocation unit size, anyway. If you go above 4,096 bytes, you lose the ability to use compression and encryption. You can set the cluster size during setup. Default for drivers larger than 2 gigs is 4K.

Regards,
Jim

 

[Bozo]

General rule of thumb for RAID setups is cluster sizes half that of the stripe size. In your case that would be 32k clusters. My RAID 0 setup has a 64k stripe and runs like a raped ape with 16k clusters.

Bozo

 

[Mustanggt]

Ok thanks for help all. I think I will try a few different sizes and see what works best. Right now I am running 64k stripe and 32k cluster it feels fast but benchmarks say otherwise. before this configuation I had it at 16k stipe and 16k cluster and I got much better benchmarks.

 

[esung]

you can also force the cluster size under Win9x. just use /Z:x switch. where x is the number of sectors per cluster (each sector is 512 bytes). so to use 4K cluster, just use /Z:8 when formatting...

like jaywallen said, as long as you don't violate the maximum # of clusters(the program will tell you), you can do it.

 

[Mustanggt]

Thanks esung and everyone else. I am now running at a 4K raid stripe and 4K cluster and its is very fast. I dont care about Cpu usage I have 1 Ghz plenty to go around LOL. under HD Tach Im getting allmost 60 mb burst speeds and 30,000 in sandra this is same scores as 16K stripe and 16K cluster but it feels faster. I notice a decrease when switching to network server from desktop pc strange?? My seek times are at 9.5 and the 16K 16K configuration was never less than 12.