Skip to main content

How do you Format a USB Thumb Drive to Store a System Image Backup on?

Thread needs solution

I'm using Windows 7, Acronis True Image 2016, a 128gb USB thumb drive.

I wish to store a whole system image backup on to a USB thumb drive.

How do I format this separate usb device to place a system image backup (of *.tib files) on?

What should the "Allocation Unit size" be set at? 8192 bytes or 4096 kilobytes, 32,768 kilobytes or default allocation sizes?

Do you recommend "Optimize for performance"?

Is there a Knowledge base article about it?  Should the device be formatted in NTFS or FAT32 (what the USB device comes formatted in)?  I have looked online, on youtube and at Acronis.com but haven't been successful.  My subscription has run out too.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

0 Users found this helpful

Wirth, I think this has been answered in your other forum topic: can i place a system image iso file on the same usb drive as the rescue media builder is located?

The answer given on the other forum topic only addresses certain aspects of the question like size of the drive and kind of drive.  I still don't see the answer to:

1)What should the "Allocation Unit size" be set at? 8192 bytes or 4096 kilobytes, 32,768 kilobytes or default allocation sizes?

2) Do you recommend "Optimize for performance"? 

Anyone know the answer to the above questions, that would be great.  Thanks.

Wirth, take a read at webpage: Default cluster size for NTFS, FAT, and exFAT which may help you answer your question here.  Personally, I just use the default sizes offered when formatting a drive.

See also webpage: Make your USB Drive or External Media perform faster in Windows which is the same as "Optimize for performance" as far as I can tell, i.e. using write caching but which then needs the use of 'safe removal' to ensure any cached data is flushed to the drive before removing / unplugging it.