[Answer ID: 14555]

What kind of file format is accepted for USB hard drives?

Created 07/30/2012 02:30  |   Updated 10/04/2013 02:21
The following kinds of format are recognizable: EXT3, XFS, FAT32, NTFS, HFS+
NTFS and HFS+ are regarded as read-only and not for back-up.
Features of each format are as follows.

 

format read write remarks
EXT3
(for USB hard drive only)

 ✓

 ✓

For file check with a hard drive connected to another TeraStation *1

  • Read/Write possible
  • Supporting journaling file system
  • Long duration for formatting (a few to several tens of minutes)
  • Less usable volume after formatting compared with XFS
  • Lower access speed in proportion to the number of files in a single folder
XFS
(USB hard drives/
internal hard drives of TeraStation)

 ✓

 ✓

For external USB hard drives and internal hard drive of a TeraStation *2

  • Read/Write possible
  • Supporting journaling file system
  • More usable volume after formatting compared with EXT3
  • No access delay independent of the number of files in a single folder
FAT32
(USB hard drive only)

 ✓

 ✓

For data check to re-connect hard drives to a PC
Hard drives can be used by connecting a PC even in case the TeraStation operates improperly.

  • Read/Write possible
  • No copy, back-up or replication is possible in terms of data larger than 4GB in a single file.
  • There are some prohibited characters specific to Mac OS X, such as ":".
NTFS
(USB hard drive only)

-

 ✓

The set-up menu on a TeraStation does not allow hard drives to be formatted.
Read-only (no write permission given in case of back-up and replication)

Supported OS: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008

HFS+
(USB hard drive only)

-

 ✓

The set-up menu on a TeraStation does not allow hard drives to be formatted.
Read-only

Supported OS: OS X 10.3.9 or later
Read-only (no write permission given in case of back-up and replication)


*1 Use the attached EXT3 reader to read out from a USB hard drive directly connected to a PC.
*2 A direct connection to a PC does not allow the data to be read out.

A selection of [GPT partitioning] is preferred to connect a USB hard drive exceeding 2.2 TB to a TeraStation.
Not selectiong this option may cause an incorrect volume recognition.
Selectiong [GPT partitioning] arises a limitation of PCs and TeraStations compatible with GPT with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later, Windows Server 2008, OS X 10.4 or later.


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