Hard Disks are based on 512 byte sectors and access to it is addressed based on this unit. However, these days, hard disk manufacturers have started manufacturing hard disks having a sector size of 4096 bytes. These are called Advanced Format Disks, also called 4K Sector Drives or 512e drives.
What are Advanced Format Disks
The coming years will see the data storage industry move towards using this physical format of hard disk drives from 512-byte sectors to 4,096-byte sectors, also known as 4K or 4KB sectors.
Why? Changing this sector format convention to larger physical sectors allows more efficient use of the storage surface area especially for larger It also allows for enhanced data protection and correction algorithms, increased data reliability, and greater format efficiencies resulting in better user experiences. Check out this slide show to learn more about it.
What is the difference between 512n, 4Kn and 512e?
512n has a logical size of 512 and a Physical Sector size of 512. 512e has a physical sector size of 4K and it emulates 512 bytes’ sectors. 4Kn is the advanced format in which the physical sectors and logical sectors are both 4,096 bytes in size
For more information, resources, and links on Advanced Format Disks, head over to IDEMA.org. IDEMA (International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association) is a storage industry trade organization.
Now, when a 512-byte write is directed to such advanced format disks, it will require work and resources, which comes at the cost of performance and reliability. To avoid this additional work, applications must be updated to natively support writes that are based on the 4 KB sector granularity.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 now natively support Advanced Format Disks, including both 4Kn and 512e formats.
Native 512e drives are currently not supported with earlier versions of Windows. However, 512e drives are supported with recent versions of Windows, provided that you follow the guidance in KB2510009.
Microsoft has released an update to improve the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks, which is available at KB982018. This hotfix is only applicable to Advanced Format disks, which report themselves as having a 4 KB physical sector size and which emulate a logical addressing interface of 512 bytes.
