If you see garbled names or an empty folder, the cache is still present but the file system lost its pointers.
Mastering Drive Preparation: How to Handle exFAT/NTFS Drives and Keep Your Existing Cache
If you are managing a large library of media or games on an external drive, re-indexing can take forever.
Prevent the utility from wiping the temporary data or directory index that helps the operating system read the drive quickly.
: Ensure the partition is aligned correctly. Misalignment can reduce performance, especially on SSDs. Most modern operating systems align partitions correctly during formatting. prepare exfat ntfs drives 130 hold to keep existing cache
When running prepISO , if a dialogue appears asking to "update cache," skip it if you only added one game and want to "hold" the existing cache structure to save time. 3. Leveraging Webman MOD Install the full version of webMAN MOD .
exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) and NTFS (New Technology File System) are two popular file systems used for storing and managing data on external drives.
When managing large data transfers or preparing drives for specialized environments (like video editing workstations, NAS systems, or data migration tasks), the goal is often to maximize speed and minimize downtime.
Compare the read speeds and reliability of for your specific use-case. Let me know how you'd like to proceed! Share public link If you see garbled names or an empty
Holding specific buttons during the scan often prevents the tool from completely wiping and rebuilding the internal cache from scratch, which saves time if you have only added one or two new files. 1. Drive Preparation Requirements
Mount the drive and test file access times. If the cache was successfully held, access times for existing files should be instantaneous. Summary Checklist Bit-Level Copy Keep Existing Cache Use tools like Clonezilla, not drag-and-drop. Avoid Full Format Preserve Structure Full format destroys existing allocation tables. Check Disk Ensure Integrity Run chkdsk before starting the "hold." NTFS/exFAT Select Compatibility Choose NTFS for Windows journals; exFAT for portability.
Move your heavy files, ISOs, or data to the root of the freshly formatted drive.
partprobe $dev sleep 1
: Before formatting, ensure you have backed up any important data on the drive. Formatting erases all data on the drive.
Are you trying to preserve existing files, or just the file system structure/cache?
To prepare drives while maintaining an existing game cache—specifically for systems like the using tools like webMAN MOD