The challenge intensifies when you hear the command: “Prepare exFAT NTFS drives 130 hold to keep existing cache.” This phrase, though cryptic, describes a critical enterprise workflow:
To prepare your drive while ensuring you and respect the 130 hold rule, follow these steps: 1. Initialize with Correct Alignment
You convert a drive to exFAT or NTFS without formatting (erasing) it if the drive is currently formatted as something else (like FAT32 or HFS+).
NTFS uses $MFT , $LogFile , and $Bitmap . A full mkfs.ntfs destroys cache. Under 130 hold: prepare exfat ntfs drives 130 hold to keep existing cache
For users utilizing specific disk utilities (such as those found in custom server performance tools or older partition managers), the command syntax often follows this structure: prepare_drive_v130 --type=NTFS --hold=cache /dev/sdb1 : Defines the target file system.
: Vendor-specific notes
To preserve 130GB of existing cache data without an external backup drive, you must use a partitioning strategy that keeps the cache "live" on one part of the disk while the new file system is prepared on the other. Super User 1. Preparation of the Current Drive Defragmentation The challenge intensifies when you hear the command:
if ! sg_inq $DRIVE | grep -q "130-HOLD"; then echo "Error: 130 hold not active on $DRIVE" exit 1 fi
Choosing between exFAT and NTFS depends largely on your hardware ecosystem and the level of data protection you require.
This is the "secret sauce" of the command. In many systems, "caching" involves building a database of the files on the drive so they load instantly when you plug it in. Using the -hold flag prevents the tool from wiping that database, saving you from a long re-scanning process every time you update your drive's contents. Why Use This? A full mkfs
sudo apt install exfatprogs sudo mkfs.exfat -s 128K /dev/sdX1 Use code with caution. Preparing an NTFS Drive (Via CLI) powershell
Format your USB drive to NTFS or exFAT on your PC.
#!/bin/bash # prepare_130hold.sh - Prepare exFAT/NTFS drive while holding cache
Follow these steps to format your drive correctly and lock in your files so your system stops rescanning from scratch. Step 1: Format the Drive Properly on Your PC