Should I Spit up an 8TB External Hard I bought?

0nard00

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Jan 15, 2015
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I just got an 8TB WD My Book for graduation, and I do Motion Graphics, 3D, and Graphic Design which is why I requested this drive when asked.

Now, I'm wondering if I should split it up in 2 different sizes just so I could use 1 for personal storage (2TB) and the other for work related things (6TB).

Overall right now, I have 900GB of files stored, while I already had to delete some files just to make sure I don't hit 1.5tb.

Any takes on this? Thanks
 
I don't really see a benefit to splitting that up.

Though not on topic, I hope this is a either the backup to your internal storage or you have (or plan to get) another drive for backup. That's a ton of data to risk losing.
 
You could just set up a Personal directory and a Work Directory and store the respective files in the proper directory. Is this external HDD a backup drive or is it the primary storage device for your files. External drives are more subject to failure than internally mounted drives, since they can be dropped, knocked off the desk, lost, stolen, etc., so in my opinion should only be used as a backup device, or a way to transfer files between computers. I know that was not your question, but wanted to offer that advice anyway.

Edit: Looks like JED 70 can type faster than I can!
 
As far as partitioning vs leaving it one large drive that is completely up to your preference as it really makes zero difference performance or longevity wise.
If you needed to transfer files from one partition to the other then it would take longer vs being 1 logical drive.

The much bigger quesiton is how are you going to backup the data on this?
It is staggering the number of individuals who think that if they store the only single copy of a file on an external drive then that means it is backed up (after all the drive says backup on the box).
 


If you have attempted to swallow the 8TB external hard drive, then yes, I would suggest spitting it up. They are not meant to be eaten.

If instead, you are wondering if you should split the drive up into multiple partitions, I guess it depends on how you are using it. The area near the start of a drive will actually offer better performance than the area toward the end, so if it were being used for anything that requires optimum performance, it might be worth setting aside a smaller partition near the start of the drive for those kinds of tasks. If for example, there were an OS on a drive, it might be good to keep it on a partition near the start, so that OS or application-related files don't end up scattered around between other files on the disk.

In your case though, it sounds like this is going to be an external drive used primarily for bulk data storage, so just keeping one large partition might be more convenient. You don't have to worry about resizing partitions if you find you need more space on one, which could be a very slow operation if it needs to shift around multiple terabytes of data. And if you need to move data from one partition to the other, it would also be much slower than moving it from one folder to another within the same partition, since it has to physically copy the files, rather than just reassigning what folder they should appear in. It might be better to just make separate folders for work and personal files.
 

ii
Yes, it's an external backup just for safety measures because, I lost an internal HDD already with 6+ years worth of files in it, so, I make sure I have redundancies since that happened.

Just to add, I have 2 SSDs, 1 m.2 for software, work files, a 2TB External Drive that's almost full, then this guy. Just so I can move stuff around if I fill up. It's in a pretty secure spot, so, I won't need to worry too much about.

That said, I think I'll stick with a single exfat partition.

Thanks Everyone!