FAT, FAT32 and NTFS File system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the

data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. There are three standard types of system file for Hard Disk, Pen Drive, Flash Drive and etc which are FAT, FAT32 and NTFS. FAT - File Allocation Table FAT is a primary computer file system for various operating systems used by MS-DOS and other Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. FAT is a data structure that Windows creates when you format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. FAT is also used for removable flash drives and memory cards and it is supported by all the other operating systems. It is simple, reliable, and uses little storage. FAT32 supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT which results in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes. Windows stores information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later. NTFS - New Technology File System NTFS is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008. NTFS is intended for use in Windows system drives (Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives). NTFS has several improvements over FAT such as improved support for metadata and the use of advanced data structures for reliability, and disk space utilization, plus additional extensions such as security access control lists and file system journaling. NTFS replaced Microsoft's previous FAT file system, used in MS-DOS and early versions of Windows. NTFS has several improvements over FAT such as improved support for metadata and the use of advanced data structures to improve performance, reliability and disk space utilization plus additional extensions such as security access control lists and file system journaling. The exact specification is a trade secret of Microsoft. FAT 32: 1) Fat 32 Allows access to win 95, 98, win Millennium, win2k, XP on local partition. 2) Maximum size of partition is up to 2 TB. 3) Maximum File size is up to 4 GB. 4) File & folder Encryption is not possible. Differences between FAT and NTFS NTFS: 1) Allows access local to w2k, w2k3, XP, win NT4 with SP4 & later may get access to some files. 2) Maximum size of partition is 2 Terabytes & more. 3) Maximum File size is up to 16TB. 4) File & folder Encryption is possible only in NTFS.

Notes for Flash Drives: Formatting the flash drive as NTFS will make it un-writeable on a Mac computer. Most Mac computers can read NTFS, but not write. NTFS is a journaled file system, this creates more read/write activities. Therefore, it MAY decrease life expectancy of your flash drive. Once the device is formatted as NTFS, you MUST use "Safely Remove Hardware" to remove your device.

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 domainbased 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 a large disk 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 is available all Windows versions

FAT32 throughAccess is available only through ofWindows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, NT,Windows Millennium Edition,

A computer running Windows XP or Windows Access

2000 can access files on an NTFS partition. A MS-DOS, computer running Windows NT 4.0 with Service Windows, Other operating systems allow no access. and OS/2.

Pack 4 or later might be able to access some files. Windows 2000, Windows XP,Windows 2000, and Windows XP. The following table compares disk and file sizes possible with each file system. NTFS Recommended minimum volume size approximately 10 megabytes (MB). possible. Cannot be used on floppy disks. File size limited only by size of volume. Maximum file size is 2 GB. Maximum file size is 4 GB. FAT up to 4 gigabytes (GB). FAT32 In Windows XP, you can format a FAT32 volume up to 32 GB only. Does not support domains.

is Volumes from floppy disk size Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB.

Volumes much larger than 2 terabytes (TB) are Does not support domains.