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LaCie Little Big Disk
User Manual
Tech Tips
5. Tech Tips
5.1. File System Formats
5.1.1. Mac Users
Mac OS 10.x Users:
The LaCie Little Big Disk with Triple Interface is pre-format-
ted as a Mac OS Extended volume. You may customize the
drive by reformatting and/or partitioning the drive with
separate file system formats. For optimal performance in
Mac OS environments, format and partition the drive as
one large Mac OS Extended volume.
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 Little Big Disk with Triple Interface between
Macs and Windows operating systems.
IMpOrTANT INFO:
If you will be sharing the
hard drive between Mac and Windows operat-
ing environments, you will want to follow these
guidelines:
Mac OS 9.x -
• Works reliably with FAT 32 partitions less than
32GB
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
TEChNICAL NOTE:
Mac OS 10.3.x Users
- 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.