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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 18, 2022 14:47:01 GMT
Has anyone experience with mounting a disk/volume in an empty folder on another volume ? as per HEREIf I am understanding how this works, instead of assigning a separate drive letter to a disk(volume), I can instead "mount" it in a folder that resides under an existing drive letter --- correct ? And, with said disk mounted within said folder, then that disk would behave the same as any other folder on that drive --- correct ? In other words, use of the added disk would not be hampered with the limitations imposed when it has a drive letter - correct ? Reason I want to know = let's say I have a 2TB disk, drive letter "A", nothing but photos from years 2019, 2020, 2021; this disk is nearing the full point; --- by "mounting" another 2TB disk in a folder on drive "A", and naming said folder "2022", I would have effectively "enlarged" my existing 2TB disk to a 4TB disk --- correct ? I see this as a solution when drive letters are getting scarce; each time I add another disk, I lose two drive letters, the one assigned to the disk and the one assigned to it's back-up mate; so actually, 26 drive letters only equals 13 paired disks; deduct a few for card readers, DVD drives, and the like and you end up with even less. By the way, if I understood correctly, DVD drives and card readers and such can also be mounted in folders, thus freeing up drive letters. The powers that be at Windows claim only 26 letters are possible on account of compatibility with older software --- I see no reason double drive letters couldn't be employed to augment the single letters; the double letters being used for applications that could support them; all it is is a map down a path anyway. |
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pontiac1940
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Post by pontiac1940 on Mar 18, 2022 16:10:09 GMT
by "mounting" another 2TB disk in a folder on drive "A", and naming said folder "2022", I would have effectively "enlarged" my existing 2TB disk to a 4TB disk --- correct ? I am not sure I understand this. If I do then: no. Your 2TB disk is 2TB and can't be made larger. If I have a 5-gallon water pail and a 2-gallon pail I can't make the 5-gallon pail hold 7 gallons by putting the 2-gallon pail inside the 5-gallon pail. Perhaps I am missing your meaning. Oh, BTW, I own and use (on occasions) 15 different external hard drives ... one does not work anymore but its files are also elsewhere. My go-to drive is a new 8-TB WD Easy Store and has most of my photo life for the past few years. |
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Chris
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Post by Chris on Mar 18, 2022 19:10:54 GMT
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Post by Peterj on Mar 18, 2022 19:34:28 GMT
If I understand your desire, and you're running Win 10 using NTFS file system ... these limitations might come into play.
Maximum disk size: 256 terabytes Maximum file size: 256 terabytes
Maximum number of files on disk: 4,294,967,295
Maximum number of files in a single folder: 4,294,967,295
Reason I want to know = let's say I have a 2TB disk, drive letter "A", nothing but photos from years 2019, 2020, 2021; this disk is nearing the full point; --- by "mounting" another 2TB disk in a folder on drive "A", and naming said folder "2022", I would have effectively "enlarged" my existing 2TB disk to a 4TB disk --- correct ?
Limitations - a folder is nothing more than a specialized file.
I see this as a solution when drive letters are getting scarce; each time I add another disk, I lose two drive letters, the one assigned to the disk and the one assigned to it's back-up mate; so actually, 26 drive letters only equals 13 paired disks; deduct a few for card readers, DVD drives, and the like and you end up with even less.
Considering the above mentioned constraints: as each drive is added create a folder at the root level naming it the assigned letter then adjust your backup program to back up just the folder which contains all of the folders and files.
Good luck, Pete
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 18, 2022 21:02:17 GMT
Maybe my explanation is not very good.
I would be adding a new 2TB disk, a physical disk, not an imaginary one; however, instead of the machine recognizing the new disk as "new drive letter", it would be recognized as the named empty folder on the near-full drive/volume "A".
If I am understanding the process correctly, mounting a new volume into an empty folder on the existing disk, while not physically making the existing disk larger, would be making the existing "drive" larger by the amount of the new disk, instead of the new disk having to have a letter assigned and acting as a separate disk.
I have several empty 2TB WD-Black on hand; I think I will play around with this and see just how it plays out.
I may change my mind some day and start using larger capacity disks; but, the way I look at it, four 2TB disks are safer/cheaper than a single 8TB, and so forth and so on.
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Chris
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Post by Chris on Mar 19, 2022 9:43:50 GMT
Buckskin, when you connect a new external drive, Windows will automatically install a driver and assigns a drive letter. Without the drive letter, the drive will be "invisible", and while the operating system knows it's there, Windows Explorer will not be able to access any files. So the drive letter is important. If you wish, you can create a shortcut of your new drive or a folder from it, and copy it into the directory of your older drive. Open "This PC", right click your new drive and select create shortcut, and send to desktop. Then move that shortcut into your old drive to provide easier access to all your photos. I hope this helps. Kind regards Chris *PS when you connect a new internal drive, you probably have to format it before you can use it. www.windowscentral.com/how-format-new-hard-drive-windows-10 Drive Shortcut  |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 19, 2022 11:56:39 GMT
I have added, formatted, and partitioned numerous disks on my own and many other machines; I have always had to do this in Disk Management, or much better yet, EaseUS Partition Master. I believe the method where Windows automatically formats and assigns drive letters must be for the self-contained non-self-powered consumer external HDD that behave more or less like a flash-drive. There are many more possibilities available in Disk Management and with internal type disks used either internally or externally that have separate data and power connections. This text "You can use Disk Management to mount (make a drive accessible) in a folder rather than a drive letter if you want. This makes the drive appear as just another folder." is taken from HERE; if I am reading that right, no drive letter is assigned and the path to the new drive is through the existing letter. I intend to experiment with this "mount" business and see what actually happens. |
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Post by Andy on Mar 19, 2022 14:46:45 GMT
BuckSkin - Yes, you can mount a drive into a folder rather than as a drive letter. I've no experience doing it under Windows, as it is rather uncommon I think. I've done it plenty of times with Linux.
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Chris
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Post by Chris on Mar 20, 2022 12:17:22 GMT
This text "You can use Disk Management to mount (make a drive accessible) in a folder rather than a drive letter if you want. This makes the drive appear as just another folder." is taken from HERE; if I am reading that right, no drive letter is assigned and the path to the new drive is through the existing letter. I intend to experiment with this "mount" business and see what actually happens. Buckskin and Andy, thank you for your further comments. I read the link more carefully and you are correct. This is something totally new for me and I didn't previously think you could mount a drive without a drive letter. I tested this method of mounting a drive in an empty folder using a portable usb drive and it worked fine. There are 2 steps involved. 1- mount the drive in an empty folder. 2 (optional)- Remove the drive letter. Or do it the other way round. Then the drive is no longer visible in "This PC" but is only visible in Disk Management and can be accessed in the folder you chose to mount it in. That folder becomes like a secret door that opens up the new path to the drive. Every time that particular drive is connected it will automatically be mounted in that folder, unless you configure it back to the default settings in disk management. Thank you for sharing this information! Kind regards Chris In Disk Management after mounting in a folder but before removing the drive letter.  |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 20, 2022 18:35:59 GMT
I tested this method of mounting a drive in an empty folder using a portable usb drive and it worked fine.
I bet if I can mount the "new" "working" disk/drive in a folder that I can also mount it's back-up mate in a folder of the parent disk's back-up mate.
hmmmm....., I wonder if this process could be "daisy-chained"
Do you have a second machine where you can test the "mounted" drive and see how it responds when you just plug it in to another machine where it has not been mounted ?
Somewhere among all of this newfound information, I think I remember reading that neither Linux nor Mac use drive letters and basically just treat additional disks as another folder - providing they are mounted.
I have Mint Cinnamon in dual-boot configuration on one machine and Zorin on another; I even have them network-connected to all of my Windows machines; but, every time I play around in them, it is like someone has throwed me over in the deep end..... over my head. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 24, 2022 12:55:40 GMT
I wish I had learned this trick ages ago !
Mounting a drive in another drives folder is as simple as assigning a drive letter; no hoops to jump through and no magic need be performed.
I haven't yet stumbled upon any disadvantages as of yet; hopefully, I won't.
So far, all of my programs treat it as any other sub-folder.
Besides not using up a very limited supply of drive letters, mounting an HDD in another drive allows for seamlessly moving from one HDD to the other without the aggravation of having to choose between Copy and Move; in 99% of my drag/drop maneuvers, I am wanting to Move and this new deal makes that so much easier.
Having a large photo collection scattered across three or four drive letters is like having cattle scattered in widely separated farms, with rivers and highways in between.
Now that I have learned this trick, I am going to ditch the nagging plan to switch from 2TB HDDs to 4TBs or 8TBs; with this mounting business, I can make an existing drive capable of containing many many TBs and do it 2TB at a time.
Before you know it, I will have them stacked like stove-wood around here.
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Chris
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Post by Chris on Apr 2, 2022 14:23:49 GMT
Do you have a second machine where you can test the "mounted" drive and see how it responds when you just plug it in to another machine where it has not been mounted ?
Mar 24, 2022 at 2:55pm BuckSkin said:
I wish I had learned this trick ages ago !
Buckskin, I have not been able to test this, but I am quite sure that another computer will not recognise the drive the same way it was configured on the old computer. I'm quite sure that it's only the specific computer that stores the ID of the drive (whether usb or removable HDD) and will mount it according to the way you previously configured it when it's reattached. Thank you for starting this thread, I have learned something new. Kind regards Chris |
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Post by Andy on Apr 4, 2022 1:42:18 GMT
If you move the drive to a new computer Windows will assign a drive letter by default. It won't attempt to map it to a folder. If you don't want that, you can change it.
I hope that with all these drives you are keeping backups of each one.
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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 4, 2022 9:22:09 GMT
I hope that with all these drives you are keeping backups of each one.
I always buy HDDs in pairs, figuring one for working and the other for an identical backup.
I have intentions and it all worked out in my head, just waiting on the cash and the time to implement it, for building a "safe room" of sorts with a set of backups contained within. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Apr 6, 2022 13:49:56 GMT
I have intentions and it all worked out in my head, just waiting on the cash and the time to implement it, for building a "safe room" of sorts with a set of backups contained within.
I forgot to add that these backup disks in this future safe room will be cable-connected to the rest of the system so that their contents are always up to date.
This imagined safe room may start out as nothing more elaborate than a small concrete-walled box under the floor, with an always-on incandescent bulb to drive away humidity, or a fire-proof gun safe. |
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