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Tech News & Commentary
Rick in Visalia, California listens to the podcast and is calling via the App told us: “I’ve got a Windows 7 64-bit OS along with a server, 2008 R2 that I’m trying to bo backups to an external 4TB hard drive and I’m finding Windows won’t backup to a 4 TB drive. is there any software out there that will allow me to backup to a 4TB drive for a Windows OS?”
Rick, Windows 7 supports hard drives up to 2.1TB, anything above that tends to use 4096 bytes sector sizes rather than 512 sector sizes.
Some drives offer something called Advanced Format 512e or 512 emulation. 512e drives are actually 4096 drives that tell the operating system that they’re not, so that the full size of the drive can be used.
They do that at the expense of performance, but for many it’s worth it.
Now, if your drive doesn’t do that, you MAY be able to format the drive as GPT (GUID Partition Table) as opposed to MBR (Master Boot Record). MBR is from the 80s partitions have just grown beyond it’s ability to manage them, GPT should be able to handle them just fine. The downside here is that re-partitioning your drive means wiping it clean, given that you want to back up, you may need to do that before you go wiping things.
If you can’t do that, Windows 7 will not understand how to write onto something that large and software doesn’t directly interact with the hard drive, it goes through the operating system, so any backup software you try to use will only see what Windows can show it, and it will only save what Windows can write.
That means that unless you run backup software from outside of Windows itself (for example, using a live USB to clone the hard drive at boot time, which wouldn’t be an automatic and seamless thing) any backup software you run will be as limited as Windows is.
If you are trying to run the backup from the server, however, Windows Server 2008 R2 should be able to create NTFS partitions up to 256TB (less some small amount of space for overhead).
This will likely be using a 64K cluster size, not 4K, so disk space allocation won’t be as efficient if you have lots of small files. But when we’re talking hundreds of terabytes, are we REALLY concerned with 64 KILOBYTES per file being wasted? I know that I’m not.
Using a larger cluster size should work, assuming we’re talking about Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 64-bit latest version, regardless of the drive’s sector size. It may not make a bootable volume, but I didn’t get the impression that’s what you were asking about.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Consumer Reports Feature:
If you’ve followed the news about Anthem insurance, Chick-Fil-A, Sony, and Home Depot, it can seem like cyberattacks only happen to corporations, but in reality hackers also target individuals. At home, you’ve got to take on the role of IT department and security chief — and it pays to be paranoid, so says Consumer Reports. The magazine’s electronics spokesman James McQueen is here with some simple, common sense steps that will boost your cyber security.
The “Into Tomorrow” team discussed the latest apps that they have been playing with recently.
• Mark recommends: Viggle, FREE
- “If you’re a couch potato slug like me, and your idea of exercise is having to get out of your chair long enough to track down a missing remote, then boy do I have an app for you. It’s called Viggle, and the premise behind the app is dead simple. Viggle has deals in place with certain networks and TV shows, mostly second tier stuff like HGTV (which I’ve already admitted to binge-watching), and if you open the app while you’re watching that network and one of those shows, Viggle records that and gives you points for every second you stay tuned in. When you accumulate enough points you can redeem them for fairly nice prizes. Now, full disclosure time. We’re talking about a LOT of points here. To get something really nice, you’re going to have to watch hundreds of hours of TV. On the other hand, I resemble that profile, so I’m Viggling my way to prizes. Viggle is free in the iTunes App Store.” — Mark
What are your favorite Apps? Let us know at 800-899-INTO and we’ll feature them in this segment!
- Tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast for more details
Guest Segment:
Karl Volkman, Chief Technical Officer – SRV Network, Inc
Joshua in Sparta, Tennessee listens on WTN 99.7 asked: “I lost a battle with my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone, I crushed it up against the wall so the screen is black but I can still receive phone calls– the screen is shot otherwise. I was wondering if you thought it was worth fixing? As well as my Sanyo television, the HDMI plug in the back is starting to cause trouble. It’s probably a 9-year old television, I was wondering if that would be worth repairing?”
Joshua, We’re extremely sorry to hear about your recent troubles with electronics! Be gentle with them. Tech is your friend! That must really cause plenty of inconveniences, especially the way you’re limited to not being able to make phone calls on your own. Just being forced to take calls from telemarketers and bill collectors must be a nightmare!
Now, your best bet is definitely not to get another phone as it will likely be way more costly than just repairing this one, and to do so, you will probably need to visit a local repair shop and have them take a look at your phone. Prices will vary depending on the issue and what the particular repair shop charges– but it seems like that would help, because you’re still able to receive calls, meaning your phone is not entirely dead and could likely — hopefully — be fixed.
The more tedious but pocket-friendly solution is to order a repair kit for your phone, finding good instructions and doing it yourself. It may sound difficult, but plenty of people — including me — have been able to save money by doing this. Our intern had an issue previously with a broken phone screen and before paying $100 to a repair shop to fix it, his father was able to order a repair kit on Amazon that came with instructions and after it arrived– it was fixed within an hour. He thinks that if his father, was able to fix a phone, just about anyone could do it too!
About your TV, you’re probably better off not fixing the port, a 9 year old TV is probably not worth an awful lot today. If you have another working HDMI port, you could buy an HDMI switcher and just use that to plug in whatever was connected to the dead port.
We’ve seen estimates of about $150 to replace a broken HDMI port, a switch can cost you as little as $5.
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
Michael in Colona, Illinois listens on Stitcher called in to help another listner who can’t hear his phone, by suggesting the use of a smartwatch.
Thank you, Michael!
For more information tune in to Hour 1 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
Education.Com: Several “Brainzy” 12-month codes for online early-learning programs for math and reading. If you’ve got Kids … you WANT one of these!
PhoneSoap: Several Antibacterial – All Natural Touch Screen Polish (Ad lib: sorta like Cap Stick for your Phones & Tablets)
NanoTech: Several UltraFlix Gift Cards for 4K Content, like movies and a ton of other cool stuff. Let us know if you have a 4K Ultra HD TV!
iLuv: A pair of ReFashionOlogy Canvas Exterior, Collapsible Headphones with a Titanium Diaphragm
Westinghouse: Unplug Wireless Bluetooth Sound System