What file and partition size limits does the FAT32 file system have?

Fat32 File System FAT32 offers the best compatibility for PC and Mac operating systems, including cross-platform compatibility with the MAC OS X. However, FAT32 has inherent limitations in regards to file size, partition size, and performance.

Limitations under Windows, Mac OS 9, and Mac X:

  • A file cannot be transferred to a FAT32 partition if the file is larger than 4GB.
  • Apple’s Time Machine backup utility will not store data on FAT32 partitions.

Limitations under Windows 2000/XP/Vista:

  • A FAT32 partition cannot be created that is larger than 32GB.
  • A file cannot be transferred to a FAT32 partition if the file is larger than 4GB.
  • FAT32 file system performs more slowly than NTFS (Windows) or Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus, Mac).

Using an external hard drive with Windows:

Note: When using an external drive with Windows 2000/XP/Vista it is recommended that you reformat the drive to the NTFS file system.

Using an external hard drive on a Mac:

Note: It is recommended that you format the drive in the Mac OS Extended file system (HFS Plus).

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Computer Forensic Tool: EnCase Forensic

Computer Forensic Tool: EnCase ForensicEnCase Forensic is for forensic practitioners who need to conduct efficient, forensically sounds data collection and investigations using a repeatable and defensible process. EnCase Forensic lets examiners acquire data from a wide variety of devices, unearth potential evidence with disk level forensic analysis, and craft comprehensive reports on their findings, all while maintaining the integrity of their evidence.

How EnCase® Forensic Works:

1) Obtain Forensically Sound Acquisitions
EnCase® Forensic produces an exact binary duplicate of the original drive or media, then verifies it by generating MD5 hash values for related image files and assigning CRC values to the data. These checks and balances reveal when evidence has been tampered with or altered, helping to keep all digital evidence forensically sound for use in court proceedings.

2) Save Valuable Time with Advanced Productivity Features
Examiners can preview data while drives or other media are being acquired. Once the image files are created, examiners can search and analyze multiple drives or other media simultaneously. EnCase Forensic also features a case indexer. This powerful tool builds a complete index in multiple languages, allowing for fast and easy queries. Indices can also be chained together to find keywords common to other investigations. This Unicode-supported index contains personal documents, deleted files, file system artifacts, file slack, swap files, unallocated space, emails and web pages. In addition, EnCase has extensive file system support, giving organizations the ability to analyze all types of data.

3) Customize EnCase® Forensic with EnScript® Programming
EnCase forensic features EnScript® programming capabilities. EnScript, an object-oriented
programming language similar to Java or C++, allows users create to custom programs to help
them automate time-consuming investigative tasks, such as searching and analyzing specific
document types or other labor-intensive processes and procedures. This power can be harnessed by any level of investigator by using one of Forensics tools, such as the “Case Developer” or one of the numerous built-in filters and conditions.

4) Provide Actionable Data, Report on it, and Move on to the Next Case
Once investigators have bookmarked relevant data, they can create a report suitable for
presentation in court, to management or to another legal authority. Data can also be exported in multiple file formats for review.

EnCase Forensic is trusted by corporations, law enforcement, and government. EnCase Forensic is fast, powerful, forensically sound, and proven in courts worldwide.

EnCase Forensic Related Links:

Website: http://www.guidancesoftware.com/forensic.htm
Resource: EnCase® Forensic for Law Enforcement (PDF)

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Hard Drive PCB Replacement

Hard Drive PCB Recovery data from dead hard drives which do note that disassembling a hard drive is not recommended and can result to permanent data loss and further damage to your drive.  If your data is business critical, please seek professional help.

The green board on the bottom of the hard drive is known as Hard Drive Printed Circuit Board (HDD PCB).  The main function of the PCB is to supply power to the hard drive, maintain speed and rotation of the spindle, and control all internal operations through its firmware.  Essentially, PCB is the brains of the hard drive that all components are heavily dependent upon.  Hard drives that do not spin up after the power has been supplied can be diagnosed as PCB failure.

First, we should find the matching PCB:

Western Digital – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with 2060-
Seagate – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with 100…; If you can’t find the number on the PCB(Old Models), you should find the same Main Controller IC
Maxtor – same Main Controller IC
Hitachi – same information on the small white label.
Samsung – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with BF41-

Remove the PCB from both hard drives with star screwdriver. Replace the fautly PCB with replacement one. If you HDD spins up, but can’t be recognized, you should also exchange the BIOS on the PCB.

You should know the hard drive failures are not always caused by PCB failure. Swap PCB can not guaranteed to fix your hard drive.

Article by HDDZone.comSecond hand hard disk drive PCB supplier!

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G003235B Toshiba PCB Circuit Board

HDD Printed circuit board (PCB) with board number G003235B is usually used on these Toshiba hard disk drives: MQ01ABD100, AB01/AX0R2J, HDKEB77E0A02 T, Toshiba 1TB SATA 2.5″ Hard Drive; MQ01ACF032, AA00/AV001C, HDKCC01H2A01 T, Toshiba 320GB SATA 2.5″ Hard Drive; MQ01ABF050, AA00/AM002C, HDKCB06H0A01 S, Toshiba 500GB SATA 2.5″ Hard Drive; MQ01ABD100, AB00/AX0R2J, HDKEB77E0A01 T, Toshiba 1TB SATA…

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Windows – Hosts File not working correctly

I’m having some issues with my hosts file. 127.0.0.1 localhost127.0.0.1 whatever127.0.0.1 sub.localhost127.0.0.1 example.com localhost and whatever both work. However the others have weird behaviour. Ping sub.localhost c:>ping sub.localhostPinging sub.localhost [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data: Ping example.com C:>ping example.comPinging example.com [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data: All seems ok, but browsing example.com will open the…

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