Advanced Format
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Most recent computer operating systems (OSs) have been designed to work effectively with Advanced Format (AF) hard drives supporting 512 emulation (512e). AF 512e hard drives may deliver superior performance as compared to legacy 512 byte per sector drive models when properly configured with the host file system. In PC applications, the host file system is primarily determined by the OS installed on the computer.
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Toshiba offers the Paragon Alignment Tool for Toshiba AF 512e Drives to align partitions on Toshiba AF 512e hard drives for optimal system and application performance. This free downloadable tool is available to licensed single system users of Toshiba hard drives.
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Partition Alignment and Toshiba AF Hard Drives
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Properly configured Advanced Format (AF) 512e hard drives1 may deliver superior performance as compared to legacy 512 byte-per-sector drive models. However, some computer operating systems (OSs) and application programs expect to operate with 512 byte sector disk drives. To provide compatibility in such cases AF 512e drives automatically convert 512-byte data blocks from the host and store them in a 4K block on the AF 512e drive. However, for optimal performance it is important to have proper partition boundary alignment between logical 512 byte data and the physical 4K sectors of the AF drive. Otherwise, the misalignment increases the time required to complete the 512 byte emulation writes to the disk which may result in a noticeable impact on system performance.
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The Paragon Alignment Tool for Toshiba AF 512e Drives (PAT) has been specially optimized for Toshiba AF 512e hard drives. The PAT utility generally needs to be run once during the lifetime of the PC. However, should the OS or hard drive be changed, or if additional partitions are created on the hard drive, or if applications are used that bypass the OS when writing to the disk then it may be beneficial to rerun the PAT utility to help maximize system, application and drive performance.
Refer Table of OS to PAT Usage Guidlines for Toshiba AF 512e Drives
The Table below outlines which OSs are designed to establish proper 4K partition alignment for AF 512e drives and which can benefit from the assistance of an alignment utility for AF 512e drives.
| Operating System | PAT Usage Guidelines |
|---|---|
| Microsoft® Windows 7 Family (32- or 64-bit) – factory installed | Not necessary* |
| Microsoft Windows 7 Family (32- or 64-bit) – non-factory installed | Recommended in case of upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7 from Windows XP family.* Recommended when installing Windows to partitions pre-created with 4K-unaware third-party application (i.e. if not creating partitions using Windows 7 distributive DVD).* |
| Microsoft Windows Vista® Family (32- or 64-bit) – factory installed | Not necessary* |
| Microsoft Windows Vista® Family (32- or 64-bit) – non-factory installed | Recommended in case of upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista® from Windows XP family.* Recommended when installing Windows to partitions pre-created with 4K-unaware third-party application (i.e. if not creating partitions using Windows Vista distributive DVD).* |
| Microsoft Windows XP Family (32- or 64-bit) | Recommended* |
| Microsoft Windows 2003 Family | Recommended* |
| Microsoft Windows Home Server | Recommended* |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 | Not necessary* |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 | Not necessary* |
| Other Microsoft Windows OSs not listed above | Upgrading to an OS listed in this table is recommended if using AF drives |
* Periodic usage of the Paragon Alignment Tool for Toshiba AF 512e Drives (PAT) on systems where software and/or computer programs may issue misaligned, non-buffered writes to the hard drive may improve the speed at which data is written by these applications. Once encryption of a hard drive or individual partitions has been performed, periodic use of PAT is not recommended due to the risk of data loss.
Subject to Change: While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, specifications, configurations, system/component/options and availability are all subject to change without notice.
Linux is a register trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Preparation before download PAT
PROTECTION OF STORED DATA
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BACK UP ALL DATA ON ATTACHED TOSHIBA AF DRIVES PRIOR TO RUNNING THIS PROGRAM.
ALTHOUGH PARAGON HAS TAKEN EVERY PRECAUTION TO ENSURE THAT THE PROGRAM DOES NOT AFFECT THE DATA ON ANY TOSHIBA AF DRIVE, THE PROGRAM COULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF ALL DATA IF INTERRUPTED WHILE OPERATING.
NOTE: WHEN ENCRYPTING THE CONTENTS OF AN ENTIRE HARD DRIVE OR INDIVIDUAL PARTITIONS, THE CREATION AND ALIGNMENT OF PARTITIONS SHOULD BE PERFORMED PRIOR TO DEPLOYING AN ENCRYPTION SOLUTION. THERE IS A RISK OF DATA LOSS IF PAT IS USED TO ALIGN ENCRYPTED PARTITIONS.
TOSHIBA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGE RESULTING FROM FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE PARAGON PARTITION ALIGNMENT TOOL PRODUCT. WHEN COPYING OR TRANSFERRING YOUR DATA, BE SURE TO CONFIRM WHETHER THE DATA HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COPIED OR TRANSFERRED. TOSHIBA DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR THE FAILURE TO COPY OR TRANSFER THE DATA CORRECTLY OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA.
Export Control Terms
Any downloading or use of software from this server involves products and/or technical data that is subject to U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export Administration Act and its associated regulations, and may be subject to export or import regulations in other countries. By downloading or using any software from this server, you are agreeing to comply strictly with all such regulations and acknowledge that you have the responsibility to obtain licenses to export, re-export, or import Software.
Toshiba Liability Disclaimer
The Paragon Alignment Tool provided was developed and is licensed through Paragon Software Group. Be sure to read the terms of the end user license agreement provided by Paragon to be informed of your rights. Toshiba will not be liable for any damage or loss of data, or any other damage resulting from failure or malfunction of the Paragon Alignment Tool software. Toshiba disclaims any liability for the failure to copy or transfer the data correctly or for any loss of data. Use of any software made available for download from this system constitutes your acceptance of the Export Control Terms and Toshiba’s liability disclaimer.
Installation Guidelines
To Determine if Your Computer Contains a Toshiba AF 512e Drive
You can use the free Paragon Alignment Tool for Toshiba AF 512e software to determine if a Toshiba AF 512e drive is installed in your computer. Once started, the Paragon Alignment Tool finds the hard drives installed in the computer system and displays them on the screen, so the user can then select a Toshiba AF 512e drive to align and begin the alignment process (for more information, download the Paragon Alignment Tool User Manual).
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Before you align any AF 512e Drives, please consider the items listed below.
- Save your data. Back up your data and application files to another drive. While the Paragon Alignment Tool has been designed to optimize data protection, it is possible for data to be corrupted if power is lost or file system errors are encountered during the alignment operation.
Note: When encrypting the contents of an entire hard drive or individual partitions, the creation and alignment of partitions should be performed prior to deploying an encryption solution. There is a risk of data loss if PAT is used to align encrypted partitions. - Download and review the Paragon Alignment Tool User Manual. It is important that the user become familiar with the Paragon Alignment Tool and the Linux® Recovery CD Utility software before starting any alignment procedure.
Note: The Paragon Alignment Tool is compatible with 32- & 64-bit Windows® XP and later Microsoft operating systems which support NTFS and FATxx file systems. The Paragon Alignment Tool employs techniques to keep data safe, but certain events, including power failure to the Windows machine can cause irretrievable data loss. For this reason, Toshiba advises that you back up all the files on the source drive to another drive before you use the alignment tool software. Toshiba also recommends that you create the Linux Recovery CD as a further safeguard against possible data loss due to interruption of the alignment process. - Detach any external USB storage devices. In general, external USB-attached hard drives do not need to be aligned using the Paragon Alignment Tool. Most external USB storage devices using AF drives are already designed for optimum partition alignment.
- Close all data files and applications.
- If a pop-up blocker is installed, it may need to be disabled before the Paragon Alignment Tool software can be downloaded.
- If you plan to use the Linux Recovery CD Utility to create a bootable recovery CD, which can be used to boot up your system in the event of system error during the partition alignment process, please:
- First download, install and run the Linux Recovery CD Utility to create a bootable recovery CD PRIOR to starting the Paragon Alignment Tool.
- Refer to the User Manual for information on how to use the Linux Recovery CD Utility.
- You are now ready to download and install the Paragon Alignment Tool on a Windows-based PC system.
- Download the Paragon Alignment Tool to your Windows system. The Paragon Alignment Tool offers ten language options. The alignment tool download file is a Windows installer file.
- Download the installer file to your desktop.
- Double click on the new installer file icon on your desktop, and follow the directions provided by the installer to install the Paragon Alignment Tool software on your computer.
- Once the Paragon Alignment Tool is installed, double click on the new Paragon Alignment Tool icon on your desktop to launch the software.
- Follow the directions provided by the Paragon Alignment Tool software to confirm the settings and start the alignment process.
NOTE:
Toshiba recommends that you do NOT change the Paragon Alignment Tool default settings for Data Projection or for Checking File System Integrity. The default settings provide the best protection against possible data loss. Consult the Paragon Alignment Tool User Manual for more information about PAT settings. For additional protection against possible data loss, a free downloadable Linux Recovery CD Utility is available (see item 6 above). This creates a recovery CD that can be used to boot the computer should the normal system boot files on the hard drive become inoperable due to an interruption of the alignment process. For more information, consult the Recovery CD Utility information in the Paragon Alignment Tool User Manual.
While Running the Paragon Alignment Tool Software to Align a Toshiba AF 512e Drive:
Do NOT interrupt the alignment operation once started.
- If an interruption occurs during the alignment process, restart the Paragon Alignment Tool application. If the interruption occurred during the alignment of the boot partition and the computer will not reboot into Windows, the user may need to use the recovery CD to boot the system and resume the alignment process in order to restore normal boot capability. For more information see the Paragon Alignment Tool User Manual.
The length of time required for the alignment process depends on the storage capacity of the hard drive and the amount of stored data.
You may need to restart your computer to complete the alignment process.
Subject to Change: While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, specifications, configurations, system/component/options and availability are all subject to change without notice.
Linux is a register trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
| Downloads | |
|---|---|
| User Manual | |
| Paragon Alignment Tool* | |
| Recovery CD Creation Tool* |
*Please note that the tools are currently available in select European languages
The PAT utility generally needs to be run once in the lifetime of the PC. However, in the event that the OS or hard drive is changed, additional partitions are created on the hard drive, or applications that bypass the OS are used, it may be beneficial to rerun the PAT utility to help maximize performance from your system and/or Toshiba 512e hard disk drive.
Toshiba employs industry-standard methods for emulation in our AF 512e hard drive products. These standards enable compatibility between AF 512e hard drives and applications coded for 512 byte-per-sector architectures. However, responsiveness of data which has been written to the AF 512e hard drive by software, virtual environments and other computer programs that issue un-buffered writes or otherwise bypass the OS may also be enhanced when optimally aligned by using PAT.
Run time can vary based on data conditions and drive configuration; this includes the amount of data fragmentation, the type and file sizes of stored data, as well as cache size and rotational speed of the drive itself. In general, one minute per stored gigabyte (GB) is needed to complete partition alignment, or about 20 minutes for 20GB of data stored on the drive. Toshiba places emphasis on data integrity and therefore has enabled Safe Mode (with Total Data Protection) as the default PAT setting. Run with no data protection in Very Fast Mode, 20GB of stored data will align in about 10 minutes, or approximately 30 seconds per GB.
Toshiba does not recommend using Very Fast Mode since no data protection is provided under this setting. However, before running PAT in any mode, Toshiba strongly recommends backing up the drive and all user data. Usage of PAT in Data Protection after data back-up helps Toshiba PAT users protect their data.
Several alignment modes are offered by PAT. Toshiba recommends using the Total Data Protection mode to guard against data loss event in the event of a complete power outage during the realignment process. Toshiba is not responsible for any failure to back up data or data loss.
Depending on the point at which power was interrupted, there is a potential that data on the hard drive could have been corrupted or otherwise compromised. Toshiba strongly recommends backing-up all data before starting the alignment operation. Toshiba offers the Canvio® series of external storage solutions for purchase that are particularly suited for this purpose.
There are no known limitations to the number of partitions that can be aligned.
There is no need for PAT to support extended partitions. Extended partitions serve as containers for logical partitions. Logical partitions are supported.
Yes, GPT disks are fully supported by PAT. GPT disks are used in Microsoft® Windows operating systems; see the “Table -- Operating Systems and Paragon Alignment Tool Usage Recommendations” for PAT usage guidelines with Toshiba AF 512e hard drives.
No, all partitions on Toshiba AF 512e hard drives will remain aligned if an already created and aligned partition is reformatted.
Yes, PAT supports these file systems. The file system used by the OS does not change the way PAT functions. See the Table - Operating Systems and Paragon Alignment Tool Usage Recommendations for specific OS-related guidelines.
PAT aligns all sectors which belong to files as well as file system metadata during the alignment process on Toshiba AF 512e hard drives.
No, an MBR is not required for PAT to run. PAT works on UEFI-based (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) systems and understands GPT partitioning schemes.
This largely depends on what application is used to perform the resizing. Any “4K-aware” application will have no affect on the partition alignment of an aligned, 512e drive. If the application does not change the Start partition location during the re-sizing, partition of an aligned drive will also not be affected.
This also depends on what application is used to recreate the partition(s). Usage of 4K-aware programs and applications will automatically align the drive partitions properly. However, if legacy applications are used that assume the drive sector to be 512 bytes in length, PAT should be run to maintain optimal system performance.
The Linux® Recovery CD (RCD) is an important tool to recover the OS, drive partition(s), system boot functionality, and/or data in the event of an issue during drive alignment. The RCD can be used to recover from any of these issues. The RCD checks for operation completion status and automatically completes any operation that was in process prior to the interruption event.
No; PAT for Toshiba 512e Hard Drives is only intended for usage on single, licensed systems. Utilities for drive alignment across multiple systems are available from several vendors.
The start address will be set at sector 4096. This is the industry-standard start address for AF 512e hard drives.
If your system is not equipped with a CD/DVD device, the Recovery CD any be run on an external USB-enabled CD/DVD device that is plugged into the computer system’s USB port. For those instances where alignment is operating within a virtual environment, the virtual system can boot directly from the Recovery CD ISO file.
This largely depends on what application is used to write data to the drive. For PC applications, the OS will direct how the downloaded data is written to the disk drive; (see Table – Operating Systems and Paragon Alignment Tool Usage Recommendations.)
Running PAT to align an encrypted hard drive is not recommended due to the possible exposure to unrecoverable data loss. For this reason, PAT should always be run prior to encrypting the Toshiba AF 512e hard drive. To align a Toshiba AF 512e hard drive that has been previously encrypted, the drive should first be decrypted before the alignment operation is performed. The drive can then be re-encrypted and the data stored on the aligned Toshiba AF 512e drive. It is important to follow this process to avoid exposure to an unrecoverable data loss situation when the data stored on the AF 512e hard drive is encrypted.
No, the utility Toshiba offers on its web site is specifically designed to operate on Toshiba AF 512e hard drives.
Subject to Change: While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, specifications, configurations, system/component/options and availability are all subject to change without notice. |