On 07/12/2012 11:36 AM, goltoof wrote:
>
> I simply want to format with ext4 and partition my 2TB drive! 2 days
> searching, and this couldn’t be any more elusive to me.
>
> Step-by-step-how-to… does such a thing exist?
>
> Here’s the error I get running fdisk:
>
> Code:
> --------------------
>
> linux-l89o:~ # fdisk -l
>
>
> Disk /dev/sdb: 2000.4 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
> 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders, total 3907029168 sectors
> Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
> Disk identifier: 0x000bf99c
>
>
> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
> /dev/sdb1 63 3904293014 1952146476 83 Linux
> Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.
>
>
> linux-l89o:~ # fdisk /dev/sdb
>
> The device presents a logical sector size that is smaller than
> the physical sector size. Aligning to a physical sector (or optimal
> I/O) size boundary is recommended, or performance may be impacted.
>
>
> Command (m for help):
>
> --------------------
>
>
> I don’t care about the partition already there… I just want it gone,
> drive reformatted properly, set as a single partition, mount it, and
> start over with my friggin life…
You are using too old a version of fdisk. Your 2 TB driver is certain to have
4096 byte sectors, and starting partition 1 in sector 63 will give you lousy
performance because every write will be split across a physical sector and
require 2 writes.
My suggestion is that you cownload the latest System Rescue CD from
http://www.sysresccd.org/Download, burn and boot it. You will get a version of
fdisk that knows about 4K sectors. In addition, you will get a copy of Gparted,
which gives you a GUI. If you have questions about partitioning, you should also
read the partitioning tutorial at
http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-Partitioning-EN-Introduction-to-disk-partitioning.