Email WD and tell them you want Netflix + 3TB hdd

[RMerlin]

Ahh, my bad.. Told you I'm a total weenie when it comes to Linux!

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zcat /proc/config.gz | grep CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION
CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION=y

I also did the kernel.config file, but I assume you don't want it thrown into a post because it's 32k. Looks like attachments are also disabled here.. Suggestion?

Just keep it on hand in case someone wants to dig through it.

BTW, I don't think EFI has much to do with partition size. >2 TB partition tables use the GPT format, which is handled by LVM under Linux if I remember correctly. An EFI partition is a partition that contains firmware data, as used by newer motherboards that are ditching the age-old 16-bit BIOS code in favor of UEFI.

[mad_ady]

Strange, I read some articles that indicated that that one was the indicator for kernel support of large drives (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-gpt/). It's stranger still that it's set to yes and 3TB drive don't work...

@TazNJ: do you have, by any chance a >2TB drive that you can play with? If you connect it you will most likely corrupt the drive...

[TazNJ]

No, sorry I don't. Everything I have is 2TB or smaller. My server's J: Drive has 10TB online, but it's 6x2TB in RAID-5.. No USB port on the RAID card..

[RMerlin]

Strange, I read some articles that indicated that that one was the indicator for kernel support of large drives (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-gpt/). It's stranger still that it's set to yes and 3TB drive don't work...

@TazNJ: do you have, by any chance a >2TB drive that you can play with? If you connect it you will most likely corrupt the drive...

Reading their description in that article, it seems the flag name is simply misleading, as the description does specify "EFI GPT". GPT is the partition table format that is required for drives larger than 2 TB to be supported.

Another factor is people must also partition their drive using a GPT partition table for this whole thing to work. If they partition it under WinXP, by default it will probably be MBR.

[mad_ady]

So, isn't this flag required for the kernel to be able to read these partitions? Everywhere I look, I find the same reference to the same flag:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/fdisk-unable-to-create-partition-greater-2tb.html
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/gpt-partition-support-in-linux-more-specifically-fedora-core-8-a-644804/
http://www.funtoo.org/wiki/GUID_Booting_Guide

@tazNJ: If you are still running that kernel, can you run these commands and post back the output? Otherwise, from the file you've saved, can you search through it for those strings?

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zcat /proc/config.gz | grep EFI_PARTITION
zcat /proc/config.gz | grep PARTITION_ADVANCED


If this isn't the flag we're looking for, I have no clue what it should be...

[RMerlin]

So, isn't this flag required for the kernel to be able to read these partitions? Everywhere I look, I find the same reference to the same flag:

It is. As I said, it was simply poorly named, so it wasn't clear to me that it actually took care of GPT support, not just EFI.

There are many variables in the whole equation howevers. For instance, don't forget that WD uses a pretty old kernel. Might be some additional patches are required.

Also, people trying to access their 3 TB HDDs never confirmed if their HDD were properly using a GPT partition table, or if it was a hacked MBR partition table with some trickery for backward compatibility.

[TazNJ]

Here's the output from those commands:



FWIW, I haven't switched it to the other kernel because so far I haven't run into any reasons to. Netflix works just fine on this one.. Don't know if that's helpful to you, I know the main gripe seems to be with the 3TB drives.

[MTYeClrL]

Is it ok to use 3TB hard drives with the 1.05.04_V_WDLXTV.COM_WDLXTV_LIVE-0.5.1.1.zip firmware for the WDTV Live (Not the WDTV Live Plus)?

I have been searching the forum for a couple hours and I have found that it is a bad idea to use the 0.5.1.1 firmware with the WDTV Live Plus, but I have found no definitive answer whether it is ok to use the 0.5.1.1 firmware on the WDTV Live with a 3TB Hard Drive.

Clarification on this would be greatly appreciated.

[mad_ady]

@MTYeClrL: Discalimer: I haven't tested 0.5.1.x with a 3TB drive on a live, so I don't know for sure, but from the discussions I've read the Live's kernel supports 3TB drives. The issues were with the Plus's kernel.

Try to make a backup before plugging in your drive, just to be sure.

[RMerlin]

0.5.1.1 Live should be fine in theory. Problem is, even people running the stock WD firmware are experiencing issues, which leads me to believe that WD's support for 3TB HDDs is broken in itself, therefore... I wouldn't trust it.