Choosing between NTFS, FAT, and FAT32

You can choose between three file systems for disk partitions on a computer running Windows XP: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. Use the information below to compare the file systems.

NTFS is the recommended file system for the following reasons:

• NTFS is more powerful than FAT or FAT32, and includes features required for hosting Active Directory as well as other important security features. You can use features such as Active Directory and domain-based security only by choosing NTFS as your file system.
• It is easy to convert partitions to NTFS. The Setup program makes conversion easy, whether your partitions used FAT, FAT32, or the older version of NTFS. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition). If you do not need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it is recommended that you format the partition with NTFS rather than convert from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition and allows you to start with a clean drive.

Whether a partition is formatted with NTFS or converted using the convert command, NTFS is the better choice of file system. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert and then press ENTER.

• In order to maintain access control on files and folders and support limited accounts, you must use NTFS. If you use FAT32, all users will have access to all files on your hard drive, regardless of their account type (administrator, limited, or standard.)
• NTFS is the file system that works best with large disks. (The next best file system for large disks is FAT32.)

There is one situation in which you might want to choose FAT or FAT32 as your file system. If it is necessary to have a computer that will sometimes run an earlier version of Windows and other times run Windows XP, you will need to have a FAT or FAT32 partition as the primary (or startup) partition on the hard disk. Most earlier versions of Windows cannot access a partition if it uses the latest version of NTFS. The two exceptions are Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later. Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later has access to partitions with the latest version of NTFS, but with some limitations: It cannot access files that have been stored using NTFS features that did not exist when Windows NT 4.0 was released.

For anything other than a situation with multiple operating systems, however, the recommended file system is NTFS.

Important

• Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT or FAT32. You will need to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data including programs and personal files on the partition.

The following table describes the compatibility of each file system with various operating systems.

NTFS	FAT	FAT32
A computer running Windows XP or Windows 2000 can access files on an NTFS partition. A computer running Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later might be able to access some files. Other operating systems allow no access.	Access is available through <NOBR>MS-DOS</NOBR>, all versions of Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and OS/2.	Access is available only through Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

 

The following table compares disk and file sizes possible with each file system.

NTFS	FAT	FAT32
Recommended minimum volume size is approximately 10 megabytes (MB). Volumes much larger than 2 terabytes (TB) are possible. Cannot be used on floppy disks.	Volumes from floppy disk size up to 4 gigabytes (GB). Does not support domains.	Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB. In Windows XP, you can format a FAT32 volume up to 32 GB only. Does not support domains.
File size limited only by size of volume.	Maximum file size is 2 GB.	Maximum file size is 4 GB.

Note

• Some older programs may not run on an NTFS volume, so you should research the current requirements for your software before converting.

NTFS file system

An advanced file system that provides performance, security, reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails, NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, NTFS also provides advanced features such as file and folder permissions, encryption, disk quotas, and compression.

See also: FAT32, file allocation table (FAT), file system

 

file allocation table (FAT)

A file system used by MS-DOS and other Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. The file allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when you format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows stores information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later.

See also: FAT32, file system, NTFS file system

 

FAT32

A derivative of the file allocation table (FAT) file system. FAT32 supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT, which results in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes.

See also: file allocation table (FAT), NTFS file system, volume

 

volume

An area of storage on a hard disk. A volume is formatted by using a file system, such as FAT or NTFS, and has a drive letter assigned to it. You can view the contents of a volume by clicking its icon in Windows Explorer or in My Computer. A single hard disk can have multiple volumes, and volumes can also span multiple disks.

 

NTFS

Some of the features you can use when you choose NTFS are:

• Domains, which are part of Active Directory, and which you can use to fine-tune security options while keeping administration simple. Domain controllers require NTFS.
• File encryption, which greatly enhances security.
• Permissions that can be set on individual files and on folders.
• Sparse files. These are very large files created by applications in such a way that only limited disk space is needed. That is, NTFS allocates disk space only to the portions of a file that are written to.
• Remote Storage, which provides an extension to your disk space by making removable media (such as tapes) more accessible.
• Recovery logging of NTFS meta data, which helps you restore information quickly in the event of power failure or other system problem. This allows access to the volume immediately after restarting the computer without waiting for chkdsk.exe to run.
• Disk quotas, which you can use to monitor and control the amount of disk space used by individual users.
• Better scalability to large drives. The maximum drive size for NTFS is much greater than that for FAT, and as drive size increases, performance with NTFS doesn't degrade as it does with FAT.

The Setup program makes it easy to convert your partition to the new version of NTFS, even if it used FAT or FAT32 before. This kind of conversion keeps your files intact (unlike formatting a partition).

Setup begins by checking the existing file system. If it is NTFS, conversion is not necessary. If it is FAT or FAT32, Setup gives you the choice of converting to NTFS. If you don't need to keep your files intact and you have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it is recommended that you format the partition with NTFS rather than converting from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition and allows you to start fresh with a clean drive.

However, it is still advantageous to use NTFS, regardless of whether the partition was formatted with NTFS or converted. A partition can also be converted after Setup by using Convert.exe. For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. In the command window, type help convert, and then press ENTER

To Convert

To convert a volume to NTFS from the command prompt:

1. Open-Start/run/cmd [return]
2. In the command prompt window, type

convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs

For example, typing convert D: /fs:ntfs would format drive D: with the ntfs format.

Notes

• To open command prompt, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
• You can convert FAT or FAT32 volumes to NTFS with this command.