NTFS file format for HD?

[viking]

The bottom of specs http://www.archos.com/products/gen9/spe ... us&lang=en make it sound like gen9 is windows compatible, but mac and linux need some unincluded android file xfer software. So do I gather they dumped fat32 for file size freedom, but mac's are unloved again (like with a5a)?

[paulus3476]

NTFS support is only read only at present due to licensing, it would be painful to have a 250gb HDD and not be able to change / delete / rename anything, so I'm guessing ext file system

[viking]

If EXT, would it say linux can't access it without tools, but windows can?

Minimum system requirements
ÔÇó Microsoft┬« Windows┬« 7, Vista, XP or higher
ÔÇó Mac OS. X with Android Transfer Files application (not included)
ÔÇó Linux with android MTP tool (not included)
ÔÇó USB 2.0 interface

[paulus3476]

No, it wouldn't - but I can't beleive they will have ntfs read only,that would be a disaster - so a deal with microsoft for read/write ntfs or fat32 ?

[Dogbert45]

Is there any indication that there will be file size limits on the HD? It would defeat purpose of it being able to plya full 1080p MKV files - i have a couple over 25 gig each

[paulus3476]

There is already software supplied by archos to overcome the filesize limitations for larger video files, so although it may not be ideal, it isn't the end of the world if fat32 is the choosen system

[Hajile_Ibushi]

Couldn't they just let us reformat it to whatever we need?

[uboot]

MTP means that the HDD can't be accessed directly like an removable drive, but via Media Transfer Protocol and the G9 must have an MTP server/daemon/driver that allows access to the internal HDD via USB.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol

Therefore, the filesystem on the HDD does not make a difference... I guess it will be extfs.

For file transfer, you'll need an MTP client. Windows has one built into the Explorer, for Mac and Linux there are third party tools.

[viking]

Therefore, the filesystem on the HDD does not make a difference... I guess it will be extfs.

I think it does make a difference, and note how archos reverted to fat32 going from gen 7 to gen8. Some people find the human factors of an interface tool unpleasant, and others don't even have control over their pc so they can install such a tool. I played with the tool originally meant to interface Macs to gen7 and decided to skip that generation.

However you seem to have explained the wording of the spec which implied Windows doesn't need an additional tool. So no NTFS... just a little inconvenience for non Windows users.

[BenMars]

People asked for ntfs. Archos gave ntfs. People began to scream. Archos returned to fat32. Now people are unhappy and want ntfs.
Whatever is given to the consumer, he's unhappy and wants other thing.

[quindo]

I also noticed the MTP link instead of USB-Storage.
I suspect this has to do with the 4gb (or is it 2gb) filesize limit of fat32.
At this moment in time there is no universally available filesystem that can deal with >4gb filesizes.
Ext2/3/4 could do this and work very fast but is by default not supported on Mac/Windows.

By using MTP the internal filesystem is no longer relevant to the PC. I suspect that the internal filesystem will be ext4.

And MTP is supported on all Operating Systems.

With MTP and ext4 internal they eliminated the >4gb filesize problem, kept cross platform and made the system a lot faster.

[jiyong]

The advantage of MTP is also that it no longer disconnects storage from Android when you mount it on the other device.

[kramer28]

I'm with Viking; I say bring back NTFS. With the ability to playback 1080p it just makes sense from a convenience standpoint.

[quindo]

I'm with Viking; I say bring back NTFS. With the ability to playback 1080p it just makes sense from a convenience standpoint.

With MTP the filesystem is not important for connectivity so my vote goes to ext4, speed (see urukdroid), no license fees (ext4 is free NTFS is not) and max filesize is larger than the harddrive will be (16 tebibytes ).

[uboot]

IMO, MTP could have one drawback: speed.

But this depends on the hardware implementation of the HDD interface. If it is a native SATA interface and there is no USB interface chip, the CPU must expose the HDD to USB via some driver, no matter if MTP or USB mass storage protocol is used.

But if there is a dedicated onboard USB interface chip (like to be found in external hdd cases), the drive could be accessed via USB mass storage protocol directly, giving max speed (30..40MB/s).

I just remember that on my old Rio Forge MP3 player, MTP is way slower than USB mass storage.