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55846
May 15th, 2015 06:00
Is full format required on RAID 10?
Hi,
Yesterday night (about 12 hours ago) I reconfigured one of my servers to use RAID 10.
It is a Dell R720, with a PERC H710 and eight HHD of 2 TB each.
So I build a RAID 10 with 8Tb of storage using GPT.
I created a 200Gb partition for Windows OS and I put the second partition (7,3TB) on full format.
After 12 hours it is still at 10%. It will propably take 120 hours to complete :emotion-6:
Should I keep it going or can I just cancel it and make a quick format? Does it make a difference? This server was running a linux system with RAID5 before...
Thanks!
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pcmeiners
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1.8K Posts
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May 15th, 2015 10:00
Should I keep it going or can I just cancel it and make a quick format? Does it make a difference?
You can cancel it, and do a quick format.
Todays new disk are already tested for errors/formatted. A full format is equivalent of erasing a disk and running a disk check program. In a perfect world it would be nice to do a full format on all disks as one last check for errors on media before use, but not always practical. You could do a chkdsk later, which is relatively fast, if errors appear then a chkdsk /r , which is exceedingly, agonizingly slow
support.microsoft.com/.../302686
rafaelgrecco
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May 19th, 2015 13:00
Ok, thanks :)
rafaelgrecco
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May 15th, 2015 14:00
Thank you for your answer, pcmeiners. Let's see if anyone else have a different view on this.
I have read many articles online with many different opinions, so I want to make sure what I should do.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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May 15th, 2015 15:00
Differing opinions on what? Performing a quick format instead of full? Stopping a full format in the middle? Are you talking about an OS-level format or the initialization of the array?
If it helps, I agree with PC. Full format is not typically necessary. Windows only performs a quick format when installing the OS. And stopping a full format is ok to start a quick format.
If we are talking about initializing the RAID array, it will take days for that large of a volume, but you don't need to wait for it to complete before using it (you can't and should not stop it).
rafaelgrecco
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May 18th, 2015 06:00
Hello!
Differing opinions on whether is necessary to perform a full format or not on OS level.
When I built the array, the initialization was fast, I didn't see any option to choose between fast or slow init. That is why I am in doubt I if should perform a full format.
After reading both your comments, I tried to cancel the format operation, but for some reason I couldn't. I click on "Cancel Formating" on Computer Management but nothing happens. It is currently at 60%.
It is also a remote server, so I don't think I´ll mess around with it. I´ll just let it finish. I have 3 more servers to do this, I´ll do a quick format next time.
Thanks.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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May 19th, 2015 10:00
What OS are you installing?
rafaelgrecco
5 Posts
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May 19th, 2015 12:00
Windows Server 2012 R2 to run Hyper-V
theflash1932
11 Legend
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16.3K Posts
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May 19th, 2015 13:00
So you are doing a full format from diskpart in the Command Prompt prior to installation? No need. Just install.