What partition table use for a hard drive containing only media data?

Question

I have a 250 GB hard drive that I'm going to use exclusively to store media data like videos, images and musics. I'm not going to load any OS on it.

So I've completely wiped its content and it currently contains only zeroes. I was going to create a partition table for it with gparted but I don't know which one to choose. Default for < 2TB HDD is msdos (MBR) and default for > 2 TB is gpt. So I was choosing msdos but the gparted documentation indicates :

To use a disk without a partition table, choose loop to create a virtual partition that spans the disk. Then format to the desired file system.

So is it a good idea to create a disk without a partition table and therefore select loop ? Or should I just use msdos ?

Answer 1

To access your media data your operation system expects a partition table to be able to to read and write content on your partitions.

Partition sizes over 2 TB (assuming 512 byte sector size) require GPT. A legacy system like Windows XP is unable to decipher the GPT structure, it needs the legacy structure labeled "msdos".

You should be aware of which operating system you will use when accessing your data disk when taking the decision.

GPT is a more recovery-friendly structure.

With your disk size of 250GB (<2TB) you are free to use "msdos" or "GPT". If your operating systems understands GPT I would recommend GPT, otherwise use "msdos".

User "Tonny" does not focus on your question when talking about GPT boot support (not needed for your data drive) and his statement "GPT does NOT require an extra driver." is wrong.

Answer 2

GPT or MBR: You can use eithe one, but this is only important if you expect to need more than 4 partitions. If more use GPT. MBR is fine if you just make one big parition.

No partition table is technically possible but is niche usage. There is no practical benefit in your use case and just complicates the setup.

You choice of filesystem and blocksize/cluster size is more important:
Media-files, especially video, are typically fairly large. A 4K or even 8K cluser size can be benificial in that case, for filesystem efficiency.

If the filesystem needs to be readable by Windows. (Removable disk or shared disk in a dual boot setup) format it as exFat (if your Linux supports it) or NTFS (usually a little slower).
FAT32 is depreciated. It can't handle files larger than 4GB and that is a limit you will hit quickly with video.
If it is only used by Linux use whatever Linux FS you prefer.

Answer 3

You must have a partition table. Specialist systems, and some databases, will work without but for standard operating systems, you need one: it's what tells the operating system how to start finding directories and files.

If you are sure you will be sticking with Windows, or perhaps upgrading to a Linux system, then keep to FAT32 (which I presume is what you are referring to as "MSDOS").

GPT is good and fine but more than you need and not worth having the extra driver in memory for your needs.

If your typical file size will be over 180KB, I recommend a block size (aka cluster size) of 8KB. That is likely an option somewhere on the software you are using and doing so will make things a little more efficient for saving and retrieving graphics, and give you more up-scaling options in the future. If your typical file is over 300kb, consider a block size of 16KB, though that can waste quite a lot of space if you have many files under 60KB.