MBR or GPT for a external enclosure hard drive with a newer Widows 10 system with GPT

james2b · 10-26-2020, 03:02 AM

Should I format with MBR or GPT for a external enclosure hard drive with a newer Windows 10 system with GPT and UEFI, to then install and boot Mint and Mate linux? The newer computer is a store parts built system from 2018, and the drive enclosure is connected by eSATA.

syg00 · 10-26-2020, 03:21 AM

Doesn't matter unless it's a big drive. But the days of MBR are passing - so all-in-all always use gpt these days for everything.

mrmazda · 10-26-2020, 03:31 AM

Regardless of any distro of choice (with a few exceptions), if the PC supports UEFI, and Win10 is involved, you're best off using GPT and UEFI. Win10 doesn't like MBR much, resisting if not denying installation when UEFI is the BIOS type. Mixing MBR and GPT in the same PC can be problematic at best, and is best avoided by any but experts. Once understood well enough, using MBR on a UEFI supported PC doesn't make much sense, especially for multiboot. UEFI is more robust.

syg00 · 10-26-2020, 03:42 AM

I was presuming this was for Linux only - and maybe data sharing. Can Win10 even be installed on an external disk ?.

mrmazda · 10-26-2020, 01:18 PM

NAICT, eSATA doesn't look any differently on the SATA bus than any other SATA. Are any of these external?:

Code:

# lsscsi
[0:0:0:0]    disk    ATA      ST3750525AS      JC4B  /dev/sda
[1:0:0:0]    cd/dvd  TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L633J D200  /dev/sr0
[5:0:0:0]    disk    ATA      ST3500414CS      CA14  /dev/sdb

beachboy2 · 10-26-2020, 02:02 PM

james2b,

Definitely GPT and UEFI as advised by mrmazda.

This link may be handy:
https://www.zachpfeffer.com/single-p...nal-Hard-Drive

james2b · 10-27-2020, 01:02 AM

Okay thanks for the help. I did convert that external drive from MBR to GPT quick and easy with Windows 10 computer disk management, and since I had no files or Linux on it, I made sure it was just all unallocated space. The 10 is installed internal on a SSD, then I have a 1 TB hard drives both internal and in that external enclosure too. These newer drives all have that advanced format 4K with 512e emulation sector size, right? Are new systems using 4K native?

mrmazda · 10-27-2020, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james2b

These newer drives all have that advanced format 4K with 512e emulation sector size, right?

I don't know. I suppose drives targeted to consumers probably all do as long as they aren't bigger than 16TB.

Quote:

Are new systems using 4K native?

I doubt many but servers using giant and/or enterprise class drives are using 4k native.

colorpurple21859 · 10-27-2020, 05:16 AM

Are you going to be attaching the external drive to other computers?

james2b · 10-27-2020, 06:08 AM

No now that it is converted to GPT, the external eSATA will only connect to my newer system, since my other computer is an older 2012 Dell with Windows 7 and of course MBR drives.

colorpurple21859 · 10-27-2020, 06:45 AM

Quote:

since my other computer is an older 2012 Dell with Windows 7 and of course MBR drives.

to get it to connect to the dell, on the external drive create a 2MB empty/cleared partition and flag it as bios-grub.
install grub-pc, "sudo grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/<externaldrive>
In most cases this will allow you to boot the gpt drive on older systems