Formatting 64Gb Fat32 Partitions

[WizardStan]

On a 32+GB card, you could make the first partition a 1 or 2 GB FAT32 partition, and the rest EXT2. You'd have that small and fast partition you could slap into any Windows PC to get files off of and then copy across to your EXT2 partition. Of course this means copying things twice, but don't really have to worry about the second copy, just start it, close the lid, and wait. As an added bonus, you don't have to worry about Windows accidentally formatting your EXT2 partition because Windows has a "feature" of not even acknowledging multiple partitions on removable media, only the first partition.

 

[Prometheus]

Yes that's totally sane for when I want to grab some files off my mates computers

In my experience, it's not even sane on a Pandora yet - and I say that as someone who doesn't use Windows, and who knows no-one who does. I had to switch my Pandora-specific cards to FAT32 after problems with certain apps, and eventual corruption of my main card, when it was formatted as ext2.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

 

[Pleng]

true. until you need to copy a 2.2Gb file, and sods law tells you that if you set a limit of xGb, you're going to have a file that's x.2Gb that you need to copy. I've never ever had Windows accidentally format a partition!!!! And Windows 7 certainly DOES acknowledge multiple partitions, though I admit it will not let you actually create them.

Plus there was the issue I had with ext on the Pandora of everything grinding to a halt for a prolonged period of time if I had to reset the Pandora after a freeze up.

 

[DaMummy]

im working with a slightly bigger scale than 32gb here, already have a 1tb partition on fat32, debating what to make the other 1tb making sure ubuntu and win7 will not give issues

 

[Shaun]

So what's the best way someone could go about accessing wirelessly networked storage with a Pandora? And on that note, how long would the battery last with video streamed over Wi-Fi? Off-topic: I thought the video of wirelessly controlling Windows 7 was pretty cool.

Anyhow, I'm probably going to buy a 16GB card and an 8GB card. I've heard about the Linux filesystems I could format them to, but I will probably want to read the cards elsewhere at some point. Just how important is read/write speed really? For users who are mostly using their Pandoras to emulate old systems, I imagine having a low-class SD card or FAT32 formatting won't matter. Class 10 is great for a HD camcorder, but does it really make a difference with the Pandora?

 

[WizardStan]

So what's the best way someone could go about accessing wirelessly networked storage with a Pandora?

Setup the storage as a Windows share, use Samba (included with the codec pack) to mount that share as a directory on the Pandora across the network.

And on that note, how long would the battery last with video streamed over Wi-Fi?

About 5 hours of constant playback, according to the battery gauge on my Pandora.

Class 10 is great for a HD camcorder, but does it really make a difference with the Pandora?

No. A little extra speed never hurt, but I doubt you'll be writing things to the card at such a rate that you'd notice the difference between a class 4 and a class 10.

 

[Prometheus]

^ It's anecdotal, but I haven't even been able to tell a difference between a Class 4 and a Class 6 in normal usage (emulators, videos, and web-browsing, mainly - obviously, not much writing going on there).

 

[fearofshorts]

I don't know if it supports 64GB cards, but I still recommend the official SD Formatter (AKA the "Panasonic SD Formatter") designed by the SD Association specifically for SD cards.
It actually works wonders. I mean, I've personally have cards double in read and write speeds after a formatting from that utility

 

[Prometheus]

^ It's a shame that it only supports Microsoft Windows, and does not work under WINE, though.

 

[#1 GameMaster]

I don't know if it supports 64GB cards, but I still recommend the official SD Formatter (AKA the "Panasonic SD Formatter") designed by the SD Association specifically for SD cards.
It actually works wonders. I mean, I've personally have cards double in read and write speeds after a formatting from that utility

I know there are a few people who have a 64 GB SDXC Sandisk Ultra and they work but not in the format you receive them in which is exFAT but that is just because the Pandora doesn't support exFAT yet, so if you get one you will need to reformat it.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

Just how important is read/write speed really? For users who are mostly using their Pandoras to emulate old systems, I imagine having a low-class SD card or FAT32 formatting won't matter. Class 10 is great for a HD camcorder, but does it really make a difference with the Pandora?

When using your SD card to store data on it, a slow card will most likely suffice. When using it to run programs off of it, you most probably want at least a medium speed SD card. When using it as a boot device, you will want a fast SD card with high reliability, make sure that data integrity is assured (for instance by using a file system that creates checksums for data and metadata) and, depending on the importance of the data stored on the SD card, create good backups (don't forget to test restoring the data from the backups once in a while).

Keep in mind that whenever you're not using an SD card for something as simple as digital camera storage, the speed class rating will hardly say anything about its speed.