how big a HD can windows see before extra programs are needed ? i have got windows to work with aq 6tb drive but thatsthe biggest i have, would i need extra programs to use larger drives and if i do what are the recomended progs ?
Below are the Windows NTFS limits when using a GPT formatted HDD (Legacy-MBR formatting is limited to 16tB): Maximum disk size: 256 terabytes Maximum file size: 256 terabytes Maximum number of files on disk: 4,294,967,295 Maximum number of files in a single folder: 4,294,967,295
This needs a bit of explanation. If your disk is formatted using 512-byte sectors, this limit is 2tB. If your disk is using 4k-byte sectors (Advanced Format Technology disks <AFT> only), the disk limit is 16tB. Be aware that many AFT disks are internally formatted as 512-byte sectors <called 512E or 512-byte sector emulation> and these have the 2tB size limitations when formatted as MBR disks. All these funny restrictions disappear if the disk is first formatted as a GPT disk (instead of MBR)... at that point the sky's the limit as far as Windows and the NTFS FileSystem are concerned. If your current 6tB disk is a single partition disk, then it is already formatted as a GPT disk.
..and I guess the final statement is, as far as Windows itself is concerned, no extra programs are needed to handle large disks under the NTFS FileSystem. BUT... be aware, if those large drives are AFT drives and have real 4k-byte sectors (not 512E emaulation), there are still some APPLICATIONS that cannot handle those large sectors as of yet. At this point, the safest large drive configuration should always have 512-byte sectors (real or emulated) and they should be GPT formatted.
