FAT32 or NTFS

[Guest]

Hi folks.
I have a system running XP Pro on one partition, which is formated with
FAT32 in a basic disk. Any hand out there:
1 - Shall I keep it that way or change to dynamic disk and NTFS system?
2 - What are the immediate benefits of NTFS over FAT32?
3 - On the same disk, I have another free partition formated with NTFS. It
used to show as volume D in OS but is no longer there. Any idea why and how
to bring it back?

Thanks
Yba

 

[S.Sengupta]

Here is a comparison chart which will help you to find why NTFS is
better than FAT32.
http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm

NTFS vs. FAT: Which Is Right for You?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_october01.mspx

regards,
ssg MS-MVP

 

[Guest]

security for 1. do you want to dual boot, say with 98? there is no real
reason to change.ntfs gives you better control over your folders as far as
permissions. plus some other things that are really not worth looking into.
IT DOESNT HURT TO STAY FAT!

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a system running XP Pro on one partition, which is formated with
FAT32 in a basic disk. Any hand out there:
1 - Shall I keep it that way or change to dynamic disk and NTFS system?

I would *not* use dynamic disk on any standalone machine. It is really
for servers, for making several physical disks act as if one. If you
make two physical disks act as one on a stand alone machine you just
expose both to loss if either has a disaster

2 - What are the immediate benefits of NTFS over FAT32?

See my page www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfs.htm

3 - On the same disk, I have another free partition formated with NTFS. It
used to show as volume D in OS but is no longer there.

Possibilities: Its drive letter has become hidden in Explorer, or the
partition itself has been marked Hidden in the Partition Table. To
check, Control Panel - Admin Tools - Computer Management, select Disk
Management and look lower right for the graphic of the drive. If it
shows a Drive letter, you can use TweakUI, My Computer page to unhide
it.

If it shows as 'Healthy - Unknown' then it is this hidden in the
Partition table; if you have Partition Magic that should handle the
point, if not use BootIT NG, from http://www.BootitNG.com ($35
shareware - 30 day full functional trial)

Download, to its own folder, extract from the zip, run the bootitng to
make a boot floppy.

Boot the floppy, Cancel Install, entering maintenance, then click on
Partition work. Highlight the partition, click Properties, if there is
an Unhide button click it and OK out