User manual LACIE D2 HARD DRIVE SERIAL ATA

[. . . ] LaCie d2 Hard Drive Serial ATA User's Manual How To Use This Manual How To Use This Manual In the toolbar: Previous Page / Next Page Go to Previous View / Go to Next View Go to Contents Page / Go to Precautions Page On the page: Click on the text within the Contents page to jump to information on that topic. Click on any red text to automatically jump to more information about that topic. Printing: While optimized for onscreen viewing, the pages of this manual are formatted for printing on 8 1/2" x 11" and A4 sized paper, giving you the option to print the entire manual or just a specific page or section. To Exit: From the Menu bar at the top of your screen, select: File > Quit. Icons Used In This Manual Italicized paragraphs feature an icon describing the type of information being given. Important Info: This icon refers to an important step that must be followed. Tech Note: This icon refers to tips to help maximize performance. Caution!This icon indicates a potential hazard, and gives tips on how to avoid them. LaCie d2 Hard Drive Serial ATA User's Manual Table of Contents page 2 Table of Contents Foreword Precautions 1. [. . . ] Mac OS Extended (HFS+) Mac OS Extended refers to the file system used by Mac OS 8. 1 and later. HFS+ represents an optimization of the older HFS file system by using hard disk space more efficiently. With HFS+, you are no longer limited by block size. MS-DOS File System (FAT 32) This is the Microsoft file system, more typically known as FAT 32. This is the file system to use if you are going to be using your LaCie Hard Drive between Macs and Windows operating systems. Important Info: If you will be sharing the hard drive between Mac and Windows operating environments, you will want to follow these guidelines: Mac OS X prefers that all partitions be the same format, therefore only the first FAT 32 partition is guaranteed to mount. Mac OS 10. 1. x - · Works reliably with FAT 32 partitions less than 32GB Mac OS 10. 2. x - · Works reliably with FAT 32 partitions less than 128GB · Does not mount FAT 32 partitions greater than 128GB Mac OS 10. 3. x - · Mounts any FAT 32 drive of any size · Mounts NTFS volumes as READ-only Tech Note: Mac OS 10. 3. x Users UNIX File System This is the file system based on UNIX, and is preferable for users developing UNIX-based applications within Mac OS 10. x. Unless you have a specific reason to use the UNIX File System, you should instead format your drive using Mac OS Extended (HFS+), because it provides Mac users with a more familiar operating experience. - Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Under Panther, Apple introduced journaling to the Mac OS Extended file system, which helps protect the file systems on Mac OS volumes. When journaling is enabled, file system transactions are maintained and recorded continuously in a separate file, called a journal. In the event of an unplanned shutdown, the OS uses the journal to restore the file system. Journaling is also backward compatible, and all volumes with journaling enabled can be fully used by computers not running Mac OS 10. 3. x. For more information, please visit Apple's Web site. LaCie d2 Hard Drive Serial ATA User's Manual 5. 1. 2. File System Formats ­ Windows Users 5. Tech Tips page 26 There are basically two file system formats for Windows: FAT 32 and NTFS. The following information will hopefully make choosing one or the other a little easier. FAT 32 FAT is an acronym for File Allocation Table, which dates back to the beginnings of DOS programming. Originally, FAT was only 16 bits, but after the second release of Windows 95 it was upgraded to 32 bits, hence the name FAT 32. In theory, FAT 32 volume sizes can range from less than 1MB all the way to 2TB. It is the native file system of Windows 98 and Windows Me, and is supported by Windows 2000 and XP. When FAT 32 is used with Windows 2000 and XP, though, volume size is limited to 32GB (by the Windows partition utility, i. e. Disk Manager), and the individual file size is limited to 4GB. NTFS This acronym stands for New Technology Filing System, and it is the native file system for Windows NT, Windows 2000 and XP. NTFS offers several features that are not available with FAT 32; i. e. file compression, encryption, permissions, and auditing, as well as the ability to mirror drives and RAID 5 capabilities. [. . . ] This process of dividing up the hard drive is called partitioning. A partition is just one section of the hard drive that will contain either special data put there by Silverlining or other files and data. Peripheral ­ A generic term applied to printers, scanners, mice, keyboards, serial ports, graphics cords, disk drives and other computer subsystems. This type of peripheral often relies on its own control software, known as a peripheral driver. [. . . ]