Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:10:24 +0200 From: Ivan Voras <ivoras@fer.hr> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: About file systems and formats Message-ID: <euha01$3ja$1@sea.gmane.org> In-Reply-To: <340a29540703291325w1e81344bu5a42350b06241bce@mail.gmail.com> References: <340a29540703291325w1e81344bu5a42350b06241bce@mail.gmail.com>
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[-- Attachment #1 --] Andrew Falanga wrote: > Yesterday while working on a problem at work, a colleague and I were > talking > about the various file systems and something that I have always wondered on > is what are the various file systems doing when a format is being done. > For > example, at home, my PC has 2 80gb drives. One for Windows and the other > for FreeBSD. It took Windows nearly an hour (give or take) to format the > 80gb drive. On the other hand, it took FreeBSD little more than 3 - 5 > minutes to format its 80gb drive. This is too slow for the FreeBSD case. By default, Windows will do a full format - in effect, will write zeroes all over the drive, with the intent of checking if the drive is capable of it. Unix format (newfs) will only initialize file system structures - in effect, will write out (initially empty) file tables to the drive. This takes about 5-10 seconds on 250 GB drives, so 3-5 minutes you got is way too much. There's no way of making newfs to the "checking" phase; there are separate utilities for that. > my colleague and I because there such a speed difference in formatting > things (once windows is installed) when choosing between a "Quick > Format" or > a "Full Format". Yes, Quick format will just write the file tables (this is simplified, but you'll get the picture) on Windows, too. [-- Attachment #2 --] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.4 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGDCtAldnAQVacBcgRAnNrAKCUG0SduwOwOlmx4QxIg+M9XKScPwCg+FV/ 8MNiRaqcI1ILSZmtqa87GPA= =ued3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----help
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