linux - Should I use VFAT or ext3 for a 1Tb external usb hard drive?

04
2013-10
  • ihuston

    I have a 1 Tb USB external hard drive which I want to use to backup data from my home and office desktops (both running Linux).
    Should I format the drive (possibly split into a few partitions) as vfat or ext3?

    I don't anticipate using the drive with Windows very often so this is not a primary concern. The main thing holding me back from just using ext3 is the problems you can have when two different users (home and work accounts) try to access each others data.
    Is there any way to mount an ext3 drive with user id mapping?

    • Answers
  • tj111

    Definitely ext3/4 over VFAT.

    • Ext3/4 are journaling file systems, which means no fragmentation issues.
    • Read/writes will be significantly faster with Ext.
    • VFAT has a 4 GB maximum file-size, which can come back to haunt you when you need to store a large file on it after you already have it loaded up with data.
  • Ludwig Weinzierl

    If you only want to access it from linux I'd go with ext3 at any rate.

    The issues with VFAT are that you will lose much of the overall capacity due to fragmentation and it access will be noticeably slower.

    For the permissions, that has not been much of a problem for me so far. Either I don't care about the permissions, then I make the files world readable on my USB or eSATA drives or I do care then I tar the stuff.


    • Related Question

    windows xp - External hard drive not connecting USB
  • DeadHead

    I recently bought a Western Digital 1 TB Black hard disk drive (HDD). Upon realizing that I didn't have that extra SATA cable lying around, I put it in my external USB case until I could buy a SATA cable.

    The problem is that Windows XP does not always recognize the HDD. Sometimes it connects perfectly fine, sometimes it will only be recognized as a USB device which can't be used, and other times, it is recognized, but the read/write light on the case is constantly on, and it doesn't mount properly.

    I haven't been able to notice any kind of pattern either, and have also tried multiple USB ports.

    What could be going on here? What should I check?


    • Related Answers
  • splattne

    Here is a comprehensive list of things you could try:

    Troubleshoot: Windows Won't Recognize USB Hard Drive / Fix Unassigned Drive Letter

    I personally had problems with some USB controllers on certain machines which didn't provide enough juice to power the disk. There a special cables with two USB connectors which work on such machines.