25.8 Disk Setup (GParted)
The easiest way to back up your data is not to offload it to a cloud, as is always suggested, but to back it up using a locally attached disk.
Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as using any hard drive. Not every operating system can mount all hard disk formats. And unfortunately, it is also the case that a hard disk formatted with operating system A may not work with operating system B. This is not primarily a problem of the ArchivistaBox, but is due to the fact that, due to closed systems, file formats were not disclosed or these could not be legally used for licensing reasons.
In the meantime this problem no longer exists. In most cases, a hard disk formatted under Windows can be used for both data exchange and backups. With a restriction however. If Windows formatted hard disks with the type FAT32 are used, individual files can have a maximum size of 4 GByte. However, ArchivistaDMS will exceed this size quite soon.
Hard disks formatted with FAT32 are highly problematic, because it cannot be guaranteed that the data can be correctly saved.
Therefore, those who reformat purchased hard disks before using them with ArchivistaBox are on the safe side. Therefore, in the Start menu (Windows key or click on icon at the bottom left) under 'System tools' there is the tool 'Set up data medium (GParted)'. Start the program.
Enter the root password. You will now find the window with the first active disk of ArchivistaBox.
To reformat an external hard disk, select the last entry in the hard disks at the top right.
Newly mounted hard disks are always designated with a higher letter. Here is an example: /dev/sda (system partition), therefore /dev/sdb is usually the first mounted hard disk. Note that ArchivistaBox mounts hard disks attached via USB directly on the destkop whenever possible. However, actively accessed disks cannot be formatted. Mounted hard disks can either be deactivated on the desktop by clicking the right mouse button and selecting the 'unmount' menu item, or directly in GParted (right mouse button, also menu item 'unmount').
The first hard disk must never be touched, otherwise the ArchivistaBox data itself will be destroyed.
After selecting the last hard disk, the layout of the selected disk is displayed. The right mouse button can be used to cleanly initalize the data carrier with 'Delete'.
It goes without saying that any data on the medium will be destroyed.
After deleting the medium, the hard disk must be reinitialized (partitioned). This can be done with the right mouse button and the entry 'New'.
It is central to the ArchivistaBox that only one partition exists, as backups are always made on the first partition. This ensures that the maximum space of the disk is available for the backups. With many manufacturers it can be however that at the beginning a small (usually hidden) partition exists (contains partly software of the manufacturers) and only on a further partition the data find place. Such formatted disks must be reformatted.
After partitioning, format the disk.
Select either 'ext4' (classic Linux format) or 'ntfs' if the disk is to be read by another operating system (e.g. Windows).
Formatting under Linux with 'ntfs' was rather bad for a long time. Meanwhile 'ntfs' works reliably. The native 'ext4' format is nevertheless recommended for hard disks that are only to be used for backup with the ArchivistaBox. Quite pragmatically, this is only because it prevents the disk from being quickly 'filled up' elsewhere under Windows, without noticing that the ArchvistaBox backup later has too little free space.
In GParted, all steps are taken first. Before changes become effective, the actions must be confirmed. To do this, go to the 'Edit' menu and select 'Execute all operations'.
After a control confirmation, the hard disk is set up again.
During the setup process, some status information occurs. At the end of the process there is a status message if all operations were correct.
If this is the case, the hard disk can be used immediately.
In order to check whether the hard disk is working correctly, it can be briefly disconnected from the USB cable and then reconnected. If it appears on the ArchivistaBox desktop, it will also work correctly in the data backup.