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I have a 250 GB hard drive that I'm going to use exclusively to store media data like videos, images and musics. I'm not going to load any OS on it.

So I've completely wiped its content and it currently contains only zeroes. I was going to create a partition table for it with gparted but I don't know which one to choose. Default for < 2TB HDD is msdos (MBR) and default for > 2 TB is gpt. So I was choosing msdos but the gparted documentation indicates :

To use a disk without a partition table, choose loop to create a virtual partition that spans the disk. Then format to the desired file system.

So is it a good idea to create a disk without a partition table and therefore select loop ? Or should I just use msdos ?

Nicryc
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    Does this answer your question? [Uses of single-partition disk configuration](https://superuser.com/questions/1181320/uses-of-single-partition-disk-configuration) – Kamil Maciorowski Jan 14 '20 at 21:48
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    The typical PC operating system (e.g. Windows, Linux) expects high-capacity "disk" storage devices (i.e. HDD and SSD) to have a partition table. Optical and floppy disks are the exception, as well as USB flash drives (but Linux prefers a MBR on flash drives). That info in gparted that you quoted is for special use cases. The choice of partition table does not seem to be crucial for your situation. A MBR (msdos) should suffice, unless you intend to have many partitions. – sawdust Jan 14 '20 at 21:56
  • @Kamilmaciorowski So in the link you provided the last sentence of the answer says (if I understand correctly) that in case of a HDD in a USB enclosure it could give some benefits but don't give too much details. I did not specify but it will be my case, my HDD will be in an external enclosure connected via USB to my computer. Thanks to all the answers I understood having no partition table is for specific cases only and that anyway a partition table doesn't make it more complicated, it's conventional, people expect a hard drive to have one and it doesn't give any disadvantage so is it one ? – Nicryc Jan 15 '20 at 01:12
  • @Nicryc __Videos__ may be very large, __consider the size__ of the media you are placing there. Anything over 4.5 Gigabytes cannot be copied onto a MBR but NTFS formats can accept this size. – vssher Jan 15 '20 at 12:09
  • @vssher Partition table has nothing to do with it. It's about filesystem. NTFS is a filesystem. One can use NTFS with GPT *or* MBR (i.e. MSDOS partition table in MBR). – Kamil Maciorowski Jan 15 '20 at 12:15

3 Answers3

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To access your media data your operation system expects a partition table to be able to to read and write content on your partitions.

Partition sizes over 2 TB (assuming 512 byte sector size) require GPT. A legacy system like Windows XP is unable to decipher the GPT structure, it needs the legacy structure labeled "msdos".

You should be aware of which operating system you will use when accessing your data disk when taking the decision.

GPT is a more recovery-friendly structure.

With your disk size of 250GB (<2TB) you are free to use "msdos" or "GPT". If your operating systems understands GPT I would recommend GPT, otherwise use "msdos".

User "Tonny" does not focus on your question when talking about GPT boot support (not needed for your data drive) and his statement "GPT does NOT require an extra driver." is wrong.

r2d3
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GPT or MBR: You can use eithe one, but this is only important if you expect to need more than 4 partitions. If more use GPT. MBR is fine if you just make one big parition.

No partition table is technically possible but is niche usage. There is no practical benefit in your use case and just complicates the setup.

You choice of filesystem and blocksize/cluster size is more important:
Media-files, especially video, are typically fairly large. A 4K or even 8K cluser size can be benificial in that case, for filesystem efficiency.

If the filesystem needs to be readable by Windows. (Removable disk or shared disk in a dual boot setup) format it as exFat (if your Linux supports it) or NTFS (usually a little slower).
FAT32 is depreciated. It can't handle files larger than 4GB and that is a limit you will hit quickly with video.
If it is only used by Linux use whatever Linux FS you prefer.

Tonny
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    the exFAT spec has already be opened, so any Linux can support it. And it'll be safer to use GPT because it has checksums and another backup table which allows you to recover quickly – phuclv Jan 15 '20 at 01:59
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You must have a partition table. Specialist systems, and some databases, will work without but for standard operating systems, you need one: it's what tells the operating system how to start finding directories and files.

If you are sure you will be sticking with Windows, or perhaps upgrading to a Linux system, then keep to FAT32 (which I presume is what you are referring to as "MSDOS").

GPT is good and fine but more than you need and not worth having the extra driver in memory for your needs.

If your typical file size will be over 180KB, I recommend a block size (aka cluster size) of 8KB. That is likely an option somewhere on the software you are using and doing so will make things a little more efficient for saving and retrieving graphics, and give you more up-scaling options in the future. If your typical file is over 300kb, consider a block size of 16KB, though that can waste quite a lot of space if you have many files under 60KB.

Douglas Milnes
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    -1. You're confusing partition table with filesystem. FAT32 is a filesystem. MSDOS in the context of the question refers to partition table in MBR. In Linux I can create a superfloppy and use any supported filesystem without a partition table. A concept of cluster size belongs to filesystems. Partition tables have no clusters. – Kamil Maciorowski Jan 14 '20 at 22:43
  • GPT does NOT require an extra driver. That is non-sense. You can use either, makes no difference. – Tonny Jan 14 '20 at 22:46
  • @Tonny I don't use Windows much but do recall someone having an issue and having to install a new driver because they had GPT. So, if they are both catered for in the same driver these days, fine. But are you sure? – Douglas Milnes Jan 14 '20 at 22:52
  • @KamilMaciorowski, you really won't get anywhere without a partition with a standard operating system. You might have one single partition that has been created automatically but the disk still has a partition. – Douglas Milnes Jan 14 '20 at 22:59
  • @DouglasMilnes Windows supports GPT for data-disks out of the box since Windows 7. And as of Windows 8 it can also use if for system disk, however the computer BIOS must also support booting from GPT in that case, which requires an UEFI BIOS with GPT boot support. On many older computers that required a BIOS/UEFI update, but has NEVER required a driver in Windows. Many people confuse BIOS updates with driver updates. And with UEFI it is possible to install a UEFI driver via an update installed in Windows. Lots of room for confusion. – Tonny Jan 14 '20 at 23:04
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    Superfloppy is a real thing. [There may be problems](https://superuser.com/q/1060252/432690) and [it's better with a partition table](https://superuser.com/a/1181406/432690) but it's possible. Your answer still confuses two different things. – Kamil Maciorowski Jan 14 '20 at 23:12
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    obviously you need a driver to read GPT drives on Windows XP and earlier where GPT support is non-existent, otherwise a driver is never required – phuclv Jan 15 '20 at 01:58