How to Align “Advanced Format”, 4096 byte/sector Drives for use as the NMT Apps Drive

[nuke12]

(11-11-2010 01:45 AM)BanditRider Wrote:  I've never used a file sharing site.
nuke12, check this file: http://rapidshare.com/files/430078320/4KB_Align.ogv
It's a theora video in an ogg container I'm not sure how to convert it to a Windows friendly format.

Well, I have the file. My Windows won't play it. My Linux machine says it's playing it but all I see is a green screen. I don't normally use Linux for media things and this is not a format, I use.

Maybe Chris can do something with it?

[BanditRider]

It plays in mplayer or vlc in linux.
I would think vlc in windows would too.

http://www.xiph.org/dshow/downloads/

Or get the windows codecs here.

[nuke12]

(11-11-2010 11:56 AM)BanditRider Wrote:  It plays in mplayer or vlc in linux.
I would think vlc in windows would too.

http://www.xiph.org/dshow/downloads/

Or get the windows codecs here.

You are correct. Windows vlc will play the file. I didn't have the .ogv extension connected to an app.

[BanditRider]

That's the first .ogv I've ever seen. It's the only format generated by recordMyDesktop. It supports audio too and I could have narrated while recording but I'm not very well spoken and it would have been filled with "umm"s and "ahh"s .

Anyway, it would have gone faster if the pch drive was the only drive in my PC since GParted re-scans the drives after every "Apply"
I wonder if the GParted boot CD is the same version or close. I also wonder if moving the 3 partitions could be done at the same time with just 1 Apply.

I'm satisfied that it works and I have no reservation about using Advanced Format drives in the pch.

[nuke12]

(11-11-2010 01:54 PM)BanditRider Wrote:   That's the first .ogv I've ever seen.

Me too!

(11-11-2010 01:54 PM)BanditRider Wrote:  I wonder if the GParted boot CD is the same version or close. I also wonder if moving the 3 partitions could be done at the same time with just 1 Apply.

The GParted stable ISO is version 0.7.0, the same version as you used. The Parted Magic version is 0.6.4. There is a beta version at 0.7.4.

Could you do this all as one apply? I think yes, if everything is done in the correct sequence and and no screw-ups are made. I think it's safer to do them one at a time.

[chris57]

Can you upload the video elsewhere, its not letting me access unless I upgrade to Pro.

[nuke12]

(11-13-2010 04:01 PM)chris57 Wrote:  Can you upload the video elsewhere, its not letting me access unless I upgrade to Pro.

I have the file but I never use these type of sites. Is there a hassle free place that allows up/downloading without having to join/pay/provide email addie etc.?

[BanditRider]

http://www.MegaShare.com/2737123

[chris57]

Thanks downloading it.

I find zippyshare good as it doesnt have any waiting period or additional requirements.

[chris57]

Right guys here's a video uploaded to youtube:-


I've added it to the first post, feel free to edit the placement etc. Nuke.

---

I have converted it to a mpeg within a MKV.


Here's the WIKI article:-
http://www.networkedmediatank.com/wiki/i...troduction

[shaunconn]

(11-08-2010 05:24 PM)nuke12 Wrote:  First, I want to thank BanditRider and PeterB for “showing me the light”. This is the simplest method, I’ve seen for non-Linux/Window users.

This is a work in progress. I’ll write down the procedure, as best as I can and as people find problems, I’ll try to correct this first post.

Things we won’t cover here;
This method is designed for new drives with no user data or partitions on the drive. We are not trying to correct a loaded drive.
This works with “Advanced Format” drives up to 2 TB in size. Using a drive larger then 2 TB will render the extra space inaccessible to the user.


Tools. A bootable CD with GParted 0.6.4 or better.
GParted ISO - http://sourceforge.net/projects/gparted/...o/download
Parted Magic ISO - https://sourceforge.net/projects/partedm...o/download
I prefer the second disk (has a lot more utilities) but for this exercise, either one will do. I want the newer GParted because it defaults to MiB alignment, where as older versions default to cylinder alignment.

1) Install the drive in your NMT and go to Setup -> Maintenance -> NMT setup wizard. It matters not if you use the online or USB method. Installing the apps is best covered in other places.
2) After the apps are installed and the unit has rebooted, go to Setup -> NMT Applications and start either, NFS, SAMBA or FTP. Use whatever service is best for you and copy off all files and folders from the user’s data partition to a safe place on computer. I’m not sure if this step is required yet, but best be safe.
3) Shutdown the NMT and remove the drive.


Now we are going to install the drive in a computer. It would be best if this is the only drive in the computer, so there is no mix up in drive selection. I’m going to assume it is the only drive and if you do otherwise, then proceed at your own risk.

4) Connect the drive to the computer via SATA or USB. Power up the computer and boot from the ISO.
5) The startup defaults for both ISOs, work for most people. The GParted ISO will start GParted. The Parted Magic ISO requires running the “Partition Editor” icon.
6) Now that GParted is running you will have a hard drive “sda” and three or four partitions called “sda1”, “sda2”, “sda3” and maybe “sda4”. The number of partitions depends on the NMT, the drive is being used in. The highest number partition is the “user's data” partition.
7) Select and then right click the highest partition number (this will be sda3 or sda4) and select “delete” and then “apply”. Yes, we are deleting this partition. Good thing you don’t have data on this drive yet. This will allow us to align the drive in an hour, rather then a day or days.

So now we have only 2 or 3 partitions with a lot of free space at the end of the drive. We are going to work with each partition. One at a time.


Ok, we have done the first stage and now we are going to put things back but they will be correctly aligned this time.

Quote:a) Select and right click your lowest numbered partition (sda1). This brings up a box and we are going to change the “Free Space Proceeding” from it’s current setting to the smallest number (should be 0 or 1) . Click “resize/move” and then apply.
b) Do the same with all remaining partitions, working from sda2 up. You don’t want any unallocated space between the partitions.

8) Almost done. You should have one large hunk of unallocated space at the end of the drive. We are going to partition and format that space. Select the “unallocated” area, right click and “new”. This brings up a box. We want the defaults except change the file system to “ext3”. Click “add” and then “apply”. This step will take the longest, of all the steps we've done.

The following is not necessary unless you want to check your work.
Start up a shell. Both disks offer one. Sometimes called a terminal window.

Quote:a) At the prompt, type “parted /dev/sda” without the quotes.
b) Type “u s” <- change the units to sectors.
c) Type “p” <- displays the partition table.
d) You should see something like this;

Code:

Model: ATA WDC WD1001FALS-0 (scsi)
       Disk /dev/sda: 1953525168s
       Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
       Partition Table: msdos

         Number  Start     End          Size         Type     File system     Flags
          1      2048s     509951s      507904s      primary  ext3
          2      509952s   1523711s     1013760s     primary  linux-swap(v1)
          3      1523712s  1953523711s  1952000000s  primary  ext3

e) Take each start sector number and divide by 8. eg.- 1523712/8=190464. There should be no remainder, for any of the partitions.
f) Type "q" <- to quit

10) Shutdown the computer, remove the hard drive and reinstall in the NMT. Start up the NMT.

That should be just about it. The only thing you might have to do is copy back the files and folders, we copied off to the desktop. I did this on an A-110 and the NMT recreated them for me. No need to copy anything back.

Yes, it looks like a lot of work but it really does not take long. You can't mess anything up because there is no data on the drive. Worst case, you start from the beginning again.

Here's a video to show the process in action:

Video Download

EDIT: All we are doing here is, first moving the partitions to the right and then we are moving them back to the left. This works because we have MiB selected as the method of alignment. The NMTs are still using cylinder alignment.

Hi

When I format the drive in the PCH-C200, fdisk shows it as 4 partitions, as you rightly say. However, gparted shows it as a single partition, and gives me the error:

/dev/sdd contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table. However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it should. Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT partition tables. Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table?


Which means I can't follow your instructions. Any ideas?

TIA
Shaun

[nuke12]

(11-23-2010 10:13 AM)shaunconn Wrote:  Hi

When I format the drive in the PCH-C200, fdisk shows it as 4 partitions, as you rightly say. However, gparted shows it as a single partition, and gives me the error:

/dev/sdd contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table. However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it should. Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT partition tables. Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table?


Which means I can't follow your instructions. Any ideas?

TIA
Shaun

Did you use this drive in something else before you put it in the PCH? Windows or a Mac perhaps? It's telling you it has a GPT table and not the correct fake msdos table. All signs it was it was used somewhere else before this.

I know two ways to fix this. Use the "dd" command to zero out the first part of the drive or the mfg's utilities to zero out the first part of the drive.

[shaunconn]

(11-23-2010 11:45 AM)nuke12 Wrote:  Did you use this drive in something else before you put it in the PCH? Windows or a Mac perhaps? It's telling you it has a GPT table and not the correct fake msdos table. All signs it was it was used somewhere else before this.

I know two ways to fix this. Use the "dd" command to zero out the first part of the drive or the mfg's utilities to zero out the first part of the drive.

Hi

Thanks - it has been used in mac, ubuntu and Windows :-)

Can you tell me the dd command I'd use please? I don't want to ruin the drive, just remove the GPT thing...

Shaun

[nuke12]

(11-23-2010 12:03 PM)shaunconn Wrote:  Hi

Thanks - it has been used in mac, ubuntu and Windows :-)

Can you tell me the dd command I'd use please? I don't want to ruin the drive, just remove the GPT thing...

Shaun

Is there data on this drive?

[shaunconn]

(11-23-2010 12:09 PM)nuke12 Wrote:  Is there data on this drive?

Hi

No - all I'm trying to do is get a 2TB WD EARS working on my PCH-C200 (the drive used to be in my mac). When I format it using the PCH-C200 and copy film to it, the performance is appaling, so I want to format it with the correct settings.

If someone can post me the dd command I can use, before I format it in the PCH-C200, or give me the commands to do this I'd really appreciate it - for the moment I thought I'd try something like dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M to at least fill it all with zeros before I put it back in the PCH-C200 to re-initialise it. Does that sound sensible?

TIA
Shaun