Initializing a Data Disk Greater Than 2 TB in Windows (Windows Server 2008)

Scenarios

This section uses Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard 64bit to describe how to initialize a data disk whose capacity is larger than 2 TB. In the following operations, the capacity of the example disk is 3 TB.

The maximum disk capacity supported by MBR is 2 TB, and that supported by GPT is 18 EB. Therefore, use the GPT partition style if your disk capacity is larger than 2 TB. For details, see Initializing a Data Disk Greater Than 2 TB in Windows (Windows Server 2008). For details about disk partition styles, see Introduction to Data Disk Initialization Scenarios and Partition Styles.

Prerequisites

• A data disk has been attached to a server and has not been initialized.
• You have logged in to the server.
  • For how to log in to an ECS, see the Elastic Cloud Server User Guide.
  • For how to log in to a BMS, see the Bare Metal Server User Guide.

Procedure

1. On the desktop of the server, click Start.

   The Start window is displayed.

2. Right-click Computer and choose Manage from the short-cut menu.

   The Server Manager window is displayed.

   Figure 1 Server Manager (Windows Server 2008)
   

3. Disks are listed in the right pane. If the new disk is in the offline state, bring it online before initialize it.

   In the Disk 1 area, right-click and choose Online from the shortcut menu.

   When the Disk 1 status changes from Offline to Not Initialized, the disk has been brought online.

   Figure 2 Bring online succeeded (Windows Server 2008)
   

4. In the Disk 1 area, right-click and choose Initialize Disk from the shortcut menu.
   The Initialize Disk dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 3 Initialize Disk (Windows Server 2008)
   

5. In the Initialize Disk dialog box, the to-be-initialized disk is selected. In this example, the disk capacity is larger than 2 TB. Therefore, select GPT (GUID Partition Table) and click OK.
   The Server Manager window is displayed.

   Figure 4 Server Manager (Windows Server 2008)
   
   

   The maximum disk capacity supported by MBR is 2 TB, and that supported by GPT is 18 EB. Because a data disk currently supports up to 32 TB, use the GPT partition style if your disk capacity is larger than 2 TB.

   If you change the disk partition style after the disk has been used, the data on the disk will be cleared. Therefore, select a proper disk partition style when initializing the disk.

6. Right-click at the unallocated disk space and choose New Simple Volume from the shortcut menu.
   The New Simple Volume Wizard window is displayed.

   Figure 5 New Simple Volume Wizard (Windows Server 2008)
   

7. Follow the prompts and click Next.
   The Specify Volume Size page is displayed.

   Figure 6 Specify Volume Size (Windows Server 2008)
   

8. Specify the volume size and click Next. The system selects the maximum volume size by default. You can specify the volume size as required. In this example, the default setting is used.
   The Assign Drive Letter or Path page is displayed.

   Figure 7 Assign Driver Letter or Path (Windows Server 2008)
   

9. Assign a drive letter or path to your partition and click Next. The system assigns drive letter D by default. In this example, the default setting is used.

   The Format Partition page is displayed.

   Figure 8 Format Partition (Windows Server 2008)
   

10. Specify format settings and click Next. The system selects the NTFS file system by default. You can specify the file system type as required. In this example, the default setting is used.
    The Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard page is displayed.

    Figure 9 Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard
    

    

    The partition sizes supported by file systems vary. Therefore, you are advised to choose an appropriate file system based on your service requirements.

11. Click Finish.
    Wait for the initialization to complete. When the volume status changes to Healthy, the initialization has finished successfully, as shown in Figure 10.

    Figure 10 Disk initialization succeeded (Windows Server 2008)
    

12. After the volume is created, click and check whether a new volume appears in Computer. In this example, New Volume (D:) is the new volume.
    If New Volume (D:) appears, the disk is successfully initialized and no further action is required.

    Figure 11 Computer (Windows Server 2008)