I just got a new Seagate 5TB hard drive and noticed some unusual factory files on it. Before doing any reading or writing, I set a password using the Seagate Toolkit. The drive comes formatted as exFAT, and I plan to use it mainly with Windows but might also connect it to Android later. I'm curious if the stats look okay and whether I should reformat the drive to a different file system. Here are some links to the stats and factory contents for reference: Crystal Disk Info: [link], Factory Contents: [link], Crystal Disk Mark (1 test): [link], Crystal Disk Mark (3 tests): [link].
2 Answers
Those files like `Start_Here_Chromebook.pdf` and `Warranty.pdf` are pretty standard and not weird at all. They contain important info about your drive, especially if you have a Chromebook. If you're seeing hidden files like `Autorun.inf`, that's normal too; you can check them if you know how to unhide files. Don't worry, formatting the drive won't mess anything up, but those files won't be there after the format.
As for the file system, exFAT is a decent choice because it's compatible with both Windows and Android. But if you're sure you'll only use it with Windows, NTFS might give you better performance for larger files. Just make sure to back up anything you care about before formatting!
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