FAT32 vs. NTFS

[oalee]

== I just need to know, I'm sure I'll be needing the info in the future. ==

Whenever I install win2k over win98/ME or I start on a clean install of win2k/XP, I always choose FAT32. This is mainly because I'm familiar with it, and NTFS can't be seen on win98/ME when I last had a dual boot operating system. What's the difference between NTFS and FAT32? which is better? should I use NTFS over FAT32 on a win2k/XP system? can I view/share files from a computer with NTFS using a computer with FAT32 (meaning win98/ME) over a network?

Please enlighten me...

[caperjack]

No win 98 or ME will not see the NTFS ,NTFS is more stable and the single file size can be upto 2Gigs .thats the main difference to my knowledge.one way or the other it wouldn't matter what one you use ,thats my opinion !:)

[oalee]

so, based on your post, the only difference is that it can handle a single file up to the size of 2Gigs. what do you mean by more stable? stable in what way?
tnx. :)

[RC_Razor]

check this out.... NTFS vs FAT
this should be the info yous need your welcome :lol:

[RC_Razor]

Q: How does NTFS compared to FAT32 in Windows XP, and which is faster?

A: NTFS has much more built-in features than FAT, so generally it is a bit slower.

However it depends on many factors such as cluster size, average file size, etc.

For example, NTFS can keep small files inside MFT entry, so if the file size is less than cluster size, most likely it will be accessed much faster on NTFS than on FAT.

Generally speaking the performance of NTFS on large volumes is higher than performance of FAT32. NTFS performance on small volumes is lower than performance of FAT/FAT32.

[oalee]

Thank you very much for the info RC_Razor. what if my win2k crashes and I want to boot from a floppy? is there a bootdisk that can access an NTFS? if there is, then I'll probably have to repartition my HDD to NTFS since everything you've said sums up everything to the NTFS being way much better than FAT/FAT32.

[Jra2003]

not sure about the boot disk disk but to add more information on the difference between the two.

The biggest difference comes when you network and share files over a LAN,

FAT: you can specify only down to which folder to share, and you can add a password to it, but anyone on the LAN who has the password can get into it.

NTFS: You can share files down to a specific file and not a whole directory and you can type in which computers can access it. So if you want no one else but a certain computer to read the file over the LAN, you can set it to do so, but not in FAT

[oalee]

FAT: you can specify only down to which folder to share, and you can add a password to it, but anyone on the LAN who has the password can get into it.

Can you do that to FAT32 on win2k? I mean, share a specific file?

[Jra2003]

no, on fat32, you can only narrow down to the directory, either the whole directory or nothing at all. NTFS adds more flexibility so you are allowed to specify which files to share. It isn't really dependent on the OS just format type.

[RC_Razor]

things i didnt know ^ thanks... im also unsure about the boot disk .... and your welcome for the info...

[TallCool1]

Thank you very much for the info RC_Razor. what if my win2k crashes and I want to boot from a floppy? is there a bootdisk that can access an NTFS? if there is, then I'll probably have to repartition my HDD to NTFS since everything you've said sums up everything to the NTFS being way much better than FAT/FAT32.

Your new partitions should be NTFS. It's more reliable and can handle larger files. Contrary to earlier posts, it's FAT32 that has a 2GB-per-file limit, the limit for NTFS is much higher.

I generally reserve about a 10 GB partition for Windows, the rest for data. The data partition should be NTFS, too - but be aware that on a slower machine it's more overhead. There are ways to speed it up, see Disable the NTFS Last Access Time Stamp for an example.

http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm has a free-download floppy disk image that, when expanded to a floppy, creates a bootable disk that will allow you to copy files from an NTFS partition to a FAT32 partition (or another hard drive) or a network. The site has other utilities as well, both free and for pay. The Knoppix CD will allow you to do the same thing, if you're able to boot from a CD.

[RC_Razor]

I C all and powerful TALLCOOL1.. your knowledge is outstanding ... thanks..

[Roberdin]

Also, if you share your computer amongst multiple users, you can restrict access to certain files and folders to yourself only, for example.

[RC_Razor]

Your new partitions should be NTFS. It's more reliable and can handle larger files. Contrary to earlier posts, it's FAT32 that has a 2GB-per-file limit, the limit for NTFS is much higher.

I generally reserve about a 10 GB partition for Windows, the rest for data. The data partition should be NTFS, too - but be aware that on a slower machine it's more overhead. There are ways to speed it up, see Disable the NTFS Last Access Time Stamp for an example.

http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm has a free-download floppy disk image that, when expanded to a floppy, creates a bootable disk that will allow you to copy files from an NTFS partition to a FAT32 partition (or another hard drive) or a network. The site has other utilities as well, both free and for pay. The Knoppix CD will allow you to do the same thing, if you're able to boot from a CD.

i thought is was 4GB for FAT32 and unlimited for NTFS, this info from NTFS VS. FAT32.. not to offend anyone thats just what i thought....

[RC_Razor]

NTFS well limited only by the volume size...

[TallCool1]

I thought it was 4GB for FAT32 and unlimited for NTFS. Not to offend anyone thats just what I thought....

No offense taken. Actually there is often some confusion about this. As far as I have been able to determine, one bit is reserved for offset (used to indicate whether seeking forward or backwards in a file), which limits an individual file to 2 GB on FAT32.

[oalee]

No offense taken. Actually there is often some confusion about this. As far as I have been able to determine, one bit is reserved for offset (used to indicate whether seeking forward or backwards in a file), which limits an individual file to 2 GB.

is that 2 GB for FAT32 or NTFS???

[caperjack]

ntfs,which makes it good for video editing

[TallCool1]

is that 2 GB for FAT32 or NTFS???

2 GB limit for Fat32. 2 terabytes (the maximum volume size) for NTFS, either version.

[oalee]

thanks tall...

[caperjack]

Looks like I should have read these sites the other day Fat32
NTFS

[alc6379]

*bump*

Thought someone here could use this.
Keep in mind, that if you use NTFS, your recovery options will be SEVERELY limited in what you can do. You won't be able to use DOS, for one thing, to edit files, and make your system bootable again. What people fail to realize, though, is that NTFS was designed to be a government/industry-level secure filesystem. They probably intentionally designed it so you cannot access the filesystem in DOS.

It's kind of a balance. If you can forsee that something may go wrong with your system, and you might need access to your data outside of the OS, then you need to run FAT32. If you're more concerned about permissions and fault-tolerance than you are fixing things using DOS, then by all means run NTFS.

[aceb]

how do i format my external drive to ntfs?

[caperjack]

how do i format my external drive to ntfs?

one way ,hook it up ,go to mycomputer ,right click on the icon for the drive and chose format ,pick ntfs from the drop down box