NTFS or FAT 32

[Dan]

Can someone please explain to me (in laymen terms) the difference between
the two. I presently have three hard drives, 2 are NTFS and the third
(external) is FAT 32.
Is one better than the other and if so can you tell me how to set the hard
drives up the best way.
Thanking you in advance.

 

[Al Dykes]

Can someone please explain to me (in laymen terms) the difference between
the two. I presently have three hard drives, 2 are NTFS and the third
(external) is FAT 32.
Is one better than the other and if so can you tell me how to set the hard
drives up the best way.
Thanking you in advance.

Give this a read:

http://www.ntfs.com/

 

[Tim Slattery]

Can someone please explain to me (in laymen terms) the difference between
the two. I presently have three hard drives, 2 are NTFS and the third
(external) is FAT 32.

They are vastly different file systems. NTFS can handle much larger
partitions than FAT32, can handle many more files in a directory, has
much better security capabilites, is much more robust, etc, etc.

Is one better than the other and if so can you tell me how to set the hard
drives up the best way.

Use NTFS.

 

[Anna]

They are vastly different file systems. NTFS can handle much larger
partitions than FAT32, can handle many more files in a directory, has
much better security capabilites, is much more robust, etc, etc.

Use NTFS.

Dan:
With one possible caveat, the recommendation given you by Tim is correct.
NTFS is considered the superior file system for XP. There's a slew of
technical information on various websites explaining the differences between
the two file systems. Do a Google search on "NTFS vs FAT32" or some such,
and you'll see many links to these sites which explain the differences.

I'll just mention one point about your external drive. Manufacturer's
USB/Firewire external hard drives are nearly always formatted FAT32. This is
to allow the use of the EHD with an OS using the FAT32 file system, e.g.,
Win98/Me. So if you're intending to use your external drive to say, backup
files or exchange data following a boot to those OSs, you would do well to
retain the FAT32 file system on that drive. Otherwise, NTFS, as Tim
recommends.
Anna

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Can someone please explain to me (in laymen terms) the difference between
the two. I presently have three hard drives, 2 are NTFS and the third
(external) is FAT 32.
Is one better than the other and if so can you tell me how to set the hard
drives up the best way.
Thanking you in advance.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, and a lot of wasted hard drive space
on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size. But your computing needs may
vary, and there is no hard and fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is
difficult, but has been handled quite well by Alex Nichol in the
article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

--

Bruce Chambers

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