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**Praetor** · 04-04-2005, 12:55 AM

Section 6 -- Addendum
Temperature
For those concerned with the performance/reliability of their drives the general guideline that "colder is better" applies however any performance/stability delta will be almost negligible (i.e. you might be able to get an extra 500K/s of harddrive throughput with a 20ºC drop ... i.e., it's not noticeable).

Of course it doesnt take much too cool a drive: a simple 80mm fan can keep a drive at 30ºC-35ºC almost indefinitely (whereas without, temperatures in excess of 50ºC-60ºC are common). While you may not notice any real-world change by lowering the temperature, it certainly can bring a bit of peace-of-mind

Dealing With Partitions
Before you can use the space on your harddrive you must provide it with a filesystem (the "blank" type is RAW which isnt useable). There are several ways of manipulating partitions

Utilities like FDISK can perform basic partitioning tasks (create/destroy) although they cant handle the larger modern drives nor can they make use of filesystems other than FAT/FAT32 (this route is destructive)
During the installation of the operating system (other than like W9x/WME or something) and option is available to make and delete partitions. This is a destructive technique meaning data will be lost
After installing Windows you can
1. Control Panel
2. Administrative Tools
3. Computer Management
4. Select Disk Management
5. Select a drive and proceed to make/delete a partition (this is also a destructive process
Using a third party program like Partition Magic can allow you to make your partitions without losing data. Third party programs like this also provide the ability to merge, resize and otherwise alter the partition (all non-destructive)
Do note that when you create a new partition, to be able to actually use it (since it's still in RAW format) you have to format the said partition. Formatting can be done (formatting is a destructive process)
1. From DOS via the Format command
2. From windows by going to My Computer, selecting the drive to format, right-clicking on it and selecting format (or just selecting the drive)
3. Using a third party program like Partition Magic

Why Can't I see My SATA Drive During Installation?
The be able to see a SATA drive during the installation of windows or something requires either native chipset support (generally, anything with a ICH5 or NForce3 or newer). If you dont have such a setup or it's "not working", you will need to have the SATA drivers available in order to install to the drive.

Look on your motherboard CD/website and download the SATA drivers to a floppy disc and when you fire up the Windows installation, press F6 when prompted to (at the bottom of the screen). Then point the installer to the drivers. The installation will then be able to make use of the drive

How do I format a Drive?

By using Format via DOS
Installing Windows2000 (or newer) from boottime allows the option to format the installation partition
Right-click on the desired partition and select Format
Going to the Computer Management (see above), select the desired partition and format
Third party tools like Partition Magic allow for formatting of partitions

I Look at C: ... but where are all the folders?
Windows by default hides a lot of stuff from you.... to have it show up

Control Panel
Folders
View Tab
Select "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
Unselect "Hude protected operating system files(reccomended)"
Click ok

I'm slow, what's the difference between all these drive types?
"IDE" Cable
SATA Cable
SCSI Cables

NTFS? FAT32?

04-04-2005, 12:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 24 Posts: 19,946	Section 6 -- Addendum Temperature For those concerned with the performance/reliability of their drives the general guideline that "colder is better" applies however any performance/stability delta will be almost negligible (i.e. you might be able to get an extra 500K/s of harddrive throughput with a 20ºC drop ... i.e., it's not noticeable). Of course it doesnt take much too cool a drive: a simple 80mm fan can keep a drive at 30ºC-35ºC almost indefinitely (whereas without, temperatures in excess of 50ºC-60ºC are common). While you may not notice any real-world change by lowering the temperature, it certainly can bring a bit of peace-of-mind Dealing With Partitions Before you can use the space on your harddrive you must provide it with a filesystem (the "blank" type is RAW which isnt useable). There are several ways of manipulating partitions Utilities like FDISK can perform basic partitioning tasks (create/destroy) although they cant handle the larger modern drives nor can they make use of filesystems other than FAT/FAT32 (this route is destructive) During the installation of the operating system (other than like W9x/WME or something) and option is available to make and delete partitions. This is a destructive technique meaning data will be lost After installing Windows you can Control Panel Administrative Tools Computer Management Select Disk Management Select a drive and proceed to make/delete a partition (this is also a destructive process Using a third party program like Partition Magic can allow you to make your partitions without losing data. Third party programs like this also provide the ability to merge, resize and otherwise alter the partition (all non-destructive) Do note that when you create a new partition, to be able to actually use it (since it's still in RAW format) you have to format the said partition. Formatting can be done (formatting is a destructive process) From DOS via the Format command From windows by going to My Computer, selecting the drive to format, right-clicking on it and selecting format (or just selecting the drive) Using a third party program like Partition Magic Why Can't I see My SATA Drive During Installation? The be able to see a SATA drive during the installation of windows or something requires either native chipset support (generally, anything with a ICH5 or NForce3 or newer). If you dont have such a setup or it's "not working", you will need to have the SATA drivers available in order to install to the drive. Look on your motherboard CD/website and download the SATA drivers to a floppy disc and when you fire up the Windows installation, press F6 when prompted to (at the bottom of the screen). Then point the installer to the drivers. The installation will then be able to make use of the drive How do I format a Drive? By using Format via DOS Installing Windows2000 (or newer) from boottime allows the option to format the installation partition Right-click on the desired partition and select Format Going to the Computer Management (see above), select the desired partition and format Third party tools like Partition Magic allow for formatting of partitions I Look at C: ... but where are all the folders? Windows by default hides a lot of stuff from you.... to have it show up Control Panel Folders View Tab Select "Show Hidden Files and Folders" Unselect "Hude protected operating system files(reccomended)" Click ok I'm slow, what's the difference between all these drive types? "IDE" Cable SATA Cable SCSI Cables NTFS? FAT32? FAT32 NTFS How to decide on a filesystem Converting FAT32 to NTFS __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI Last edited by Cromewell; 12-15-2006 at 09:08 AM.