3TB Hard Drive For HTPC help on Partition

Meridiusuk · 19 Dec 2012 at 06:35

Hi all

I just bought a 3tb wd green for my htpc server as its a new build will post specs and pics later.

the question i needed some help on is i want to use the 3tb as a boot drive which my motherboard supports as its the asus p8z77-v pro.

i want to partition it so that the boot c is 100gb and the rest as the 2nd partiton which would need to be formated to 2 GPT partitons.

the questions is the 2nd partition which is called the D: drive when i put another hard drive in the htpc server with the D: drive become the E: drive and the new drive the D: drive as its a new physical drive.

the problem with that is that my library for my stuff wil be on that drive and i dont want the 2nd partiton kept getting pushed to the last letter of the drive. is there a way to keep the 2nd partiton as the d: drive everytime i put a new drive in ? as this needs to be kept as drive d:.

I hope you understand what i mean

cheers.

bledd · 19 Dec 2012 at 09:02

go to disk management in windows (right click computer, manage)

then right click on your drives you can pick drive letters for them

Meridiusuk · 19 Dec 2012 at 12:53

So if I did this once changing the drive letter and then I add another drive would it then move that partition to the end again ?

Thanks

Meridiusuk · 26 Dec 2012 at 12:21

just installed the 3tb drive i now have a 100gb partition and a 2.6gb partiton which is what i wanted but i went into disk manager and it says that both partitions are NFTS ? i thought thye had to be GPT for drives over 2.2gb ?

a have a P8 Z77-V Pro Motherboard

its just that when i come to format another 3tb drive as one partition i will have to select GPT will this be ok ? and will they work together ok

just strange

R088ieS86 · 26 Dec 2012 at 12:26

NTFS is the file system that Windows uses.
Other options are FAT or FAT32.

Think you mean MBR or GPT.

Your drive is ok

Meridiusuk · 26 Dec 2012 at 13:24

ahh thanks, must have gotten confused wiht the file system and the boot system.

so when i get a 3tb i just format the boot system as GPT and the filfe system will be NTFS wheres if it was a 2tb dirve you would use MBR boot system and NFTS as file sytem.

is this right ?

took some getting working but now my 3tb boot drive works now 1 partiton as a 100gb c: drive and the rest of the 2.6gb as a storage drive.

just got to take out my other 4 2tb samsungs out my htpc and put them in the server now.