Thinkpads Forum

I'm running Ubuntu 7.10 on my T60p (no dual-boot, just Linux) and I have a hard drive in the ultrabay. My main drive format is ext3 (along with swap) but the ultrabay drive is ntfs. I used to have a dual-boot setup, hence the ntfs ultrabay drive.

My question is, is this ok? Should I reformat the ultrabay drive in ext3 or ext2 format?

I should mention that I've been using my current setup for a while now without any major issues (sometimes I'm unable to open files after renaming, particularly mp3s). I'm curious if there would be any benefit to changing it. One thing holding me back is the fact that I do use Windows XP in a virtual machine and I need access to the ultrabay drive when doing so. For example, I use Quicken in Windows (Probably the only reason I still rely on Windows!) and I store the Quicken data on a secure portion of the ultrabay drive. Would there be an issue with Quicken/Windows if my ultrabay drive were suddenly in a different format? I'd like to know before I start moving around 60+ GB of important data, only to find out that it was all a waste of time.

As I write this I realize I have another question: Can I format a Truecrypt container as ext3? That's what I use for my quicken data and if it can't it may not even be worth it to change my ultrabay drive's format.

Any thoughts? Thanks

Superego wrote:I have a hard drive in the ultrabay. My main drive format is ext3 (along with swap) but the ultrabay drive is ntfs. I used to have a dual-boot setup, hence the ntfs ultrabay drive.

My question is, is this ok? Should I reformat the ultrabay drive in ext3 or ext2 format? Can I format a Truecrypt container as ext3?

I have messed around with Ubuntu and using it to access NTFS files in a dual boot configuration worked well. I simply kept my documents on a 3rd partition that was accessable by either Linux or Windows. Don't worry, be happy...You're fine.

On the TrueCrypt question, you may need to check their site, or user forum for that info. Most of the time, encryption programs are operating system specific.

If you want some security for your quicken files, why not set up a hard drive password for the ultrabay which is independent of any operating system and asks for the password on bootup or out of hibernate only.

For that matter, you could also put in a hard drive password for your main drive, too. It is reasonable security and would defeat the average creepy thief.