SATA FDISK: How to Benefit From the Protocol and Its Features

SATA fdisk is a BUS interface protocol used by computer’s hard disks or drives, CD-DVD drives etc. Fdisk is a command-line utility program, and its purpose is a disk partitioning.

It is used to partition hard drives like SATA. If you want to discover more on the topic, keep reading!

What Is SATA FDISK?

SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. This BUS interface was programmed to connect storage devices to the computer. It made its name in the market very rapidly and won sales by ATA. SATA, became so popular that it is still in use by many computer users and programmers and even computer hard drives or SSDs still use the its interface.

FDisk stands for Fixed/format disk and is a command-line utility program to make partitions in the drives. It makes partition tables to keep the data organized. Although in the past Fdisk was a part of Microsoft Windows, it is not anymore, but it is still used in every Linux-based distribution.

How Are FDISK and Its Commands Used?

Fdisk has multiple uses, including checking all the commands and available options for the disks. To make the program run smoothly, it is recommended to have high privileges, so it is best to use this disk as a root user. Following are the steps to take to check the commands on fdisk.

– Open FDISK Manual

For those who use Linux-based Operating Systems, “man” is a keyword to open the user manual of the fdisk program. Here, we can find all the options and parameters that can be used to work on the storage partitions of computer hard disks. Use the following commands to open the manual.

• Type in the shell “man fdisk”
• Fdisk’s manual will open up on the screen

– View the Current Partitions on SATA FDISK

To view the current storage partitions on our computer, we have to write the following command.

• Type “fdisk -l” or “fdisk -list”
• We will see existing partitions and their volume

– View All Commands for the FDISK

For selecting a specific partition of the disk and opening the file of all the given manipulation on the disk, follow the below steps.

• Type any disk name we saw from the list of “current partitions”
• Format type; “fdisk /dev/sda1”
• Once we have successfully selected the disk and opened it, we will be prompted to type “m” for further inputs
• Lastly, we’ll see all the possible available options for that particular disk

Why Isn’t SATA Drive Shown in the FDISK?

This problem usually arises when we have just plugged in the new SATA hard drive into our Linux system. Because of this action fdisk doesn’t show it or the system doesn’t read the drive. If it isn’t appearing as an external volume in the interface, the command “fdisk -l” may help. If even after this command, we still don’t see the new SATA drive in the list of all drives, we will try the following steps to fix the problem.

• Check if the drive is properly connected to the computer’s port
• Remove the SATA drive and check for any physical damage on it
• Check if the device is shown as an external device in our BIOS settings
• Make sure the software and SATA drive are compatible with each other and update any of the two if it isn’t updated
• Run command “lspci” to see if the SATA controller appears or not
• Switch between master and slave drives in the BIOS settings to see if the problem resolves

What Is the Best Way To Identify the SATA Drive?

Just by checking the ports on the drive, we can identify if the drive is SATA, PATA, ATA or SCSI. This is the fastest and easiest way to identify a SATA drive. The SATA ports look L-shaped, and they’re slim connectors with red cables, whereas PATA and SCSI have different physical interfaces. PATA drives have a multiple pins interface and wide ribbon cables, and SCSI drives have thin pins interface.

Which Is the Best SATA Drive

It depends on the needs of the user. But note that SATA drives with large storage capacities and higher transfer rates of the data are the best. For simple everyday home usage, affordable SATA drives with good capacity and data transfer fast speed are the best.

In case we are looking for raw performance on the SATA interface, it is best to ensure that the drive supports SATA before using it. Otherwise, it may damage the computer. SATA 3 is the best, fastest and latest interface available on SATA. And, lastly, be aware that it is better to use SSD rather than HDD because SDDs work faster.

Which Are Better: SATA SSDs or FDISKS?

Well, SATA-fdisks are much cheaper than SATA SSDs. So in terms of money, SATA drives are better, but SSDs are faster. Whereas SATA HDDs work manually and are made by using rotating magnetic disks\, SSDs don’t have any free moving parts in them and are made up of transistors entirely. This is why SSDs are way faster in speed than SATA.

And if we compare fdisk utility, then it works fine and in the same way on both SSDs and SATA HDDs. Fdisk can be used for partitioning SATA storage devices without causing any trouble. This utility program is versatile and works on many interfaces of the disk, regardless of its type.

FAQs

1. Does FDISK Work on Zsh Other Than Bash Shell?

Fdisk works perfectly on both ZSH and bash shell. It works fine regardless of the shell type the user is using and doesn’t affect its transfer speed rate or anything.

Using it on the ZSH or bash shell will be the same thing.

2. Does Windows 10 Support the FDISK?

No, Windows 10 does not support the fdisk program. Fdisks has no format functions to meet the requirements of formatting all partitions and allocating the files systems after partition. So, we have to find the alternative for the fdisk which is diskpart. In this case Diskpart is faster, more efficient and reliable than fdisk.

3. What Is FDISK Used For?

Fdisk is a utility program that is found in all versions of MS-DOS. It is used for formatting and preparing the hard disk drive to hold the data and to partition the disk logically. While partitioning the files in the storage device, it is mandatory to specify and name the major portions of the partition for different uses and easiness.

4. Does FDISK Erase Data?

No, fdisk does not erase the data from the storage device, it is just recommended to save the data for a backup in case something goes wrong or due to any virus or potential risks. Data is not erased, but it just makes the computer forget that the data exists. The data can be recovered by the company or professionals or even a hacker.

5. How Does FDISK Affect the File Systems?

Fdisk affects the files’ system while allocating them after the partition of the files in the storage drive. It becomes easier for the user and faster to transfer data from one file to another due to partitions. It becomes easier because each partition is specified and a name is allocated to them.

6. What Happens if the SATA Drive Is Not Recognized by the System Software?

If the SATA drive is not recognized by the system, the fdisk will not be able to catch any signals from the SATA storage drive. Fdisk will not show SATA once the file list is shown after typing the command “fdisk -l” on the interface.

The user will not be able to make any partitions on the SATA drive. This is because the system does not recognize the drive, so data cann’t be transferred from it. And if data can’t be transferred, then no partitions can be done.

There can be several reasons why the SATA drive is not getting recognized by the system software. They are stated below:

• Improper drive connection with the port
• Physical damage to the SATA storage device
• A problem with the driver
• Incompatibility issues of software and SATA-fdisk

7. What Happened to FDISK?

In all versions of the Windows operating system, Windows 2000 and onwards has removed and replaced the fdisk program with a more advanced tool known as “diskpart”. It is more reliable, works better and faster, and makes it easier for the user to use than it did while using fdisk.

Similar utilities exist for Unix-like systems like BSD disk label.

Conclusion

We now know what SATA is used for and how to work with SATA-fdisk using different commands on the interface.

Let’s have a quick recap of the article:

• SATA acts as an interface for the storage disks.
• Fdisk is the utility program used to create partitions on the disk drives.
• The Fdisk utility program works independently on the SATA interface.
• Users shouldn’t encounter any problem in using the fdisk utility regardless of the interface they’re using, SATA, SCSI etc.

After reading the article, you should have a solid understanding on the topic and be able to use the knowledge in practice.