DELL PowerStore volume takes a long time to format in Windows Server
I just deployed a brand new storage array on the customer site (DELL PS500T) with firmware 4.1.0.2. After successfull configuration i connected PS500T to the Windows Server 2025 DTC hosts and trying to format 25 TB volume to NTFS.
A PowerStore volume takes a long time to format due to the TRIM/UNMAP feature in Windows, which is enabled by default. To speed up the process, you can temporarily disable TRIM/UNMAP by using the fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify command in an elevated Command Prompt on the host server. After formatting, you should re-enable the setting to maintain disk space recovery capabilities.
Why does it take so long?
- TRIM/UNMAP with thin provisioning:
When TRIM/UNMAP is enabled on the host, formatting a large volume on a thin-provisioned PowerStore can result in significant wait times. This is because TRIM/UNMAP sends notifications to the storage array, which takes extra time during the initial format.
How to fix it:
- Open an elevated Command Prompt: On the host server that is connected to the PowerStore volume, open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
- Check the TRIM/UNMAP status: Run the command fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify to see if the setting is enabled (result of 0 means enabled) or disabled (result of 1 means disabled).
- Temporarily disable TRIM/UNMAP: Execute the following command to disable it for NTFS volumes: fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify NTFS 1
- Format the volume: Proceed with your quick format.
• 5. Re-enable TRIM/UNMAP: After the format is complete, run the following command to re-enable the setting and restore normal disk space recovery: fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify NTFS 0
