Home
Support
Storage is a very important part of a computer. It is where all your data is stored and where the operating system is installed. If you plug a drive in you can't just use the drive. You have to format and partition the drive. Formatting a drive is the process of preparing a storage device for use by an operating system.
A file system is a way of organizing and storing files on a storage device. There are many different file systems that are used by different operating systems . Some of the most common file systems include NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, HFS+, APFS, ext4, etc.
Ext4 is a journaling file system for Linux. It is the default file system for many Linux distributions. However Most Windows installs support external drives as ext4. Unlike NTFS, ext4 is much more efficient and works with less read and write cycles so it is better for drive health.
NTFS is a file system for Windows. It is the default file system for Windows. It is also supported by Linux and macOS.
FAT32 is a file system that is supported by most operating systems. It is commonly used on removable drives and memory cards. FAT32 is very common for Operating system bootloaders and kernels
APFS is a file system for macOS. It is the default file system for macOS. However MacOS is installed with APFS Macs typically support booting other files systems
Partitioning is the process of dividing a storage device into multiple logical sections. Each partition can be formatted with a different file system and used independently. This is useful for organizing data, installing multiple operating systems, or isolating system files from user data. Since partitions can have diffrent file systems they have to be mounted all seperately.
MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table) are two different partitioning schemes used to organize the partitions on a storage device. MBR is an older partitioning scheme that is limited to 4 primary partitions and is not supported by UEFI systems. GPT is a newer partitioning scheme that supports up to 128 partitions and is required for UEFI systems. GPT also includes a protective MBR to prevent legacy tools from misinterpreting the disk. BIOS systems can support both MBR and GPT. MBR originated with the MS-DOS Operating system.
In order to partition a disk you need to use a partitioning tool. The Tool you use can vary and depends on your operating system. Some of the most common GUI partitioning tools include Disk Management for Windows, Disk Utility for macOS, and GParted for Linux. These tools allow you to create, delete, resize, and manage partitions on your storage device. There are also Terminal tools like fdisk, gdisk, cfdisk and parted that provide more advanced features for partitioning and managing storage devices.