Initializing a Data Disk Greater Than 2 TB in Windows (Windows Server 2012)

Scenarios

This topic uses Windows Server 2012 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 sample 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.

The method for initializing a disk varies depending on the OS running on the server. This document is used for reference only. For the detailed operations and differences, see the product documents of the corresponding OS.

When using a disk for the first time, if you have not initialized it, including creating partitions and file systems, the additional space added to this disk in an expansion later may not be normally used.

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 in the lower area.

   The Server Manager window is displayed.

   Figure 1 Server Manager (Windows Server 2012)
   

2. In the upper right corner, choose Tools > Computer Management.

   The Computer Management window is displayed.

   Figure 2 Computer Management
   

3. Choose Storage > Disk Management.
   Disks are displayed in the right pane.

   Figure 3 Disk list
   

4. (Optional) If the new disk is in the offline state, bring it online before initializing it.

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

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

   Figure 4 Bring online succeeded (Windows Server 2012)
   

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

   Figure 5 Initialize Disk (Windows Server 2012)
   

6. 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 Computer Management window is displayed.

   Figure 6 Computer Management (Windows Server 2012)
   
   

   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.

7. 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 7 New Simple Volume Wizard (Windows Server 2012)
   

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

   Figure 8 Specify Volume Size (Windows Server 2012)
   

9. 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 9 Assign Driver Letter or Path (Windows Server 2012)
   

10. 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 10 Format Partition (Windows Server 2012)
    

11. 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 11 Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard (Windows Server 2012)
    

    

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

12. Click Finish.
    Wait for the initialization to complete. When the volume status changes to Healthy, the initialization has finished successfully, as shown in Figure 12.

    Figure 12 Disk initialization succeeded (Windows Server 2012)
    

13. After the volume is created, click and check whether a new volume appears in This PC. 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 13 This PC (Windows Server 2012)