Optimum XP Pro Ntfs\Raid-0 Cluster Sizes

[XPnut]

Win XP Pro\Gigabyte GA7vaxp\2 WD800JBs

1st debate.........Is it possible to benefit from Microsoft's recommended "fat 32 cvtarea flagging of the master file table/ then ntfs convertion" for windows XP Pro setup......with only c:\ partition.......

"5-10% performance increase over standard XP installation"

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/tech/storage/ntfs-preinstallP.asp

and the optimum raid-0\ntfs cluster size ratio......i have been reading about.........(16/16 best?)


Microsoft's article describes the /A:8 Oformat option which aligns clusters into 4k boundaries........"Important: Because sectors are 512 bytes, the OFORMAT command must be used with the /A:8 option to create a FAT volume that can be efficiently converted to NTFS."...........(size 4k).......whole article seems to revolve around importance of 4k clusters.

1.What is max defragable ntfs cluster size

2.Can these "recommended" MFT optimization commands be modified to create larger than 4k clusters?

3.Do you have to choose one or the other? And if so, what is the best............ratio, ect.

4.This article confuses me even more......which claims promise fasttrak 100 runs best at 64k stripe size..........(but only benched with 4k ntfs clusters)

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.html?i=1491

And Finally........Onboard Raid or Old Fasttrak 100 pci card?
Apparently they are both just software raid controllers......one and the same.

[krazykatz911]

What that article is saying, if your format your Fat32 drive that way, it sets the Boot files/mft area up in such a way that if you convert to NTFS later on, it will allow to have 4096 bytes. Which is the fastest performance under NTFS.

If you format your drive normally with FAT32, and then convert to NTFS, it will only convert it to 512k bytes and that is very slow.



Disk Partioner 7.0 can do both for you on demand.

oops, thanks Bill, I do mean PartitionMagic 7.0, I have this and it does wonders with cluster size(Fat32) and does great for converting back and forth.

[BipolarBill]

I think he means Partition Magic. I know that version 8.0 can convert cluster sizes.

[XPnut]

Are 4k Clusters really the best? Or should they match a larger stripe size ........what is best ratio? 4k\64k.........64k\64k?
Is 64k the largest defragmentable cluster size?

I believe the most crucial part of the article is the strategic placement of a contiguous MFT 3 Gigabytes in from the beginning of the drive. And only having 1 partition.

Summary:

"Microsoft strongly encourages system manufacturers to manufacture single NTFS volumes on all systems where a 32-bit version of Windows XP is preinstalled,

using the tools described in this article."

1. Disk-Layout Optimizations

"Microsoft implemented certain disk-layout optimizations in Windows XP. To perform this optimization, during idle time Windows XP moves pages used for

booting the system and launching frequently used applications to ensure these files are laid out contiguously on the hard disk. The contiguous disk layout of

these pages results in reduced disk seeks and improved disk I/O, contributing to improved boot time and application launch time."
"Windows XP does not perform these optimizations across volumes. Therefore, for this optimization to be available to users, the hard disk must be partitioned

as a single volume."

2. MFT Optimization for NTFS Volumes

"When a volume is formatted with NTFS, a Master File Table (MFT) and other special file system metadata files are created. The MFT is an important data

structure for NTFS, consisting of many 1K MFT entries that define all items in the file system. All information about a file—including its size, time and

date stamps, permissions, and data content—is stored within or described by MFT entries."
"In Windows 2000 and earlier versions of Windows NT, the MFT was typically placed at the start of the disk space available to the file system. In Windows XP,

the NTFS format utilities place the MFT 3 GB further into the disk space, which has been found to improve system performance by 5 to 10 percent."

What I am seeking are commands to do the Ctvarea convert installation but end up with a cluster size that matches the optimum raid cluster size....whatever

it is.......................???????????>

[krazykatz911]

I have always been a big fan of Fat32, but keep in mind, this file system will eventually be phased out. That is why everything is based on NT or XP.

The preferred file system for XP is NTFS, for security, as well as less disk errors and most errors can correct themselves without that constant Diskcheck on bootup.


I would recommend doing a full install with NTFS at 4096bytes.

If you use a disk defragment utility such as PerfectDisk or Diskeeper, BUT I prefer perfectdisk 5.0, this utility will move the MFT as well as the pagefile to the middle of the drive, so it will boost performance 10% minimum.

As hard drives keep getting bigger and faster, Fat32 cannot keep up. As far as your first question about 64k? NO way. The most you should do on a Fat32 system is 32. BUt your best bet for compatibility, safety, security and performance with large drives is NTFS all the way. Believe me, I was as skeptical as you, and even switched my drives back and forth from Fat32 to NTFS, but now I have seen the advanatages of NTFS and will stick to it.


The only way I would stay with FAT32, if you want to boot to Different OS systems, or need to use DOS programs.


Let me know bud!

[rangeral]

I wouldn't rule out fat32 yet although xp is selling super well with 2k in second place 98 is not that far behind in sales enough so that ms decided to extend support to it for another year and at that time he still may not be able to let it go, millions are still being sold.

[XPnut]

So stick with 4k Ntfs Clusters, they are best?


How bout Raid-0 Stripe Size.......Gamin\Multimedia\GraphicsBurnin Machine>

Been using Diskeeper for year now. Ready to try out Perfect Disk.

How do they compare?