External SD Card Formats

- '''DISCLAIMER: Make sure to have a backup before attempting any changes to your filesystem. Do this at your own risk.''' -

Deciding which file system is right for your needs
The GCW Zero as of Firmware 2014-8-8 Supports both FAT32 and Ext4. FAT32 is a general purpose file system popular on flash drives and is compatible with almost all systems and devices. While this file system enjoys more widespread support than Ext4 it has a few drawbacks: Ext4 is a Linux based file system which boasts:
 * Maximum of 4 Gigabyte File Size limit
 * Requires more work on Windows OS to format the drive if it is larger than 32 Gigabyte
 * Windows has potential issues with FAT32 partitions over 127.5 Gigabyte
 * Enhanced performance
 * Lower fragmentation
 * Compatibility with the full range of permission systems common in modern Linux Distro's and
 * Faster access speeds in some situations
 * Partitions up to 1 Exbibyte and file sizes up to 16 Tebibytes

However Windows does not support Ext4 out of the box and you will need to use other methods or install additional software to copy data to the External SD Card.

Special Notes for Ext4 Users or people looking to use Ext4
While the GCW Zero can run with a normally formatted Ext4 drive, most formatters use "Lazy Initialization" when creating an Ext4 partition. Instead of fully Initializing all of its tables at the time of creation, they will be initialized over time. This leads to performance issues on the GCW Zero as it adds extra load reading and writing to the Micro SD.

To overcome this you can force the partition to be created fully initialized by putting this into your Linux terminal:

/sbin/mkfs.ext4 -b4096 -I128 -m0 -E lazy_itable_init=0,lazy_journal_init=0 -O large_file,^huge_file,^uninit_bg,^ext_attr /dev/???

??? Represents the location of your Micro SD, It should be something like SDB1

Please make very sure you pick the correct device or you can wipe the wrong drive.

Note: Some Linux distro's will require Root access to perform this operation as it is raw disk access, to get root access insert "Sudo " at the start of the command

- '''DISCLAIMER: Use of SUDO commands can potentially harm your Linux system. Do this at your own risk.''' -

Windows users will be best to use a LiveCD, Install a Linux Distro in Dual Boot or Install Linux in a Virtual Machine with direct USB access otherwise the setup method should be the same.

Ext4 Partitioned drives and Windows users
Windows users after formatting there drive to Ext4 may find it easier to keep a copy of Linux in a Virtual Machine, use "GCW Manager" or an FTP Client to transfer files to the external Micro SD, however it is possible to use some 3rd party Windows Ext4 support drivers but users mileage may vary