A better YouTube video explaining what must be done to format all 3TB+ WD HDDs

[copy of my suggestion submitted today to Western Digital Service and Support]

 

 

Allow me to suggest that WD prepare a longer YouTube video
which explains what must be done to format all 3TB+ WD HDDs **** i.e. that are larger than 2TB.

Lots of questions have arisen at various User Forums on the Internet,
and the answers being provided are not always accurate, or correct.

Matters that need to be addressed with a reliable WD video

include but are not limited to:

 

(1)  the major differences between MBR and GPT partitions;

(2)  whether booting is possible with 3TB+ HDDs under various scenarios;

(3)  whether VSS (variable sector sizes) will allow a MBR partition to address 3TB+;

does a VSS larger than 512 bytes render a partition UNbootable;

 

(4)  what are the functions and limitations that exist with HBA’s supplied by WD

e.g. Highpoint Rocket 620;

 

(5)  an ASRock program called 3TB+Unlocker is making the rounds,
but I have not been able to find any documentation written by ASRock;

perhaps WD could author its own software to help a Windows user

decide which course of action to take e.g.:

(a)  use GPT on a second HDD and continue booting from a MBR partition;

(b)  start with GPT when installing Windows using UEFI technology;

(c)  purchase a third-party x1 PCIe RAID controller like the Highpoint RocketRAID 620;

(d)  experiment with sector sizes larger than 512, and know what to expect;

(e)  what to do when the User still runs Windows XP

(6)  does Acronis True Image Western Digital Edition work with 3TB+ HDDs
and under what conditions will it not work e.g. 4K sectors;

(7)  and, your engineers will probably encounter other permutations
that should be addressed in a reliable video presentation.

At the end of a more accurate video, WD could also cite the URL
to a longer White Paper which explores the most common
permutations, with screen shot examples, using WD’s most popular

3TB+ HDDs.

 

As it is, the video I brought to your attention is a little embarrassing
because it did NOT end up formatting the entire 3TB, but defaulted
to less than 2TB after formatting.

That error was also noticed and mentioned in one of the Comments

posted at YouTube.

 

 

Thanks, WDC!