NTFS vs Fat 32

[Rob]

Hi,

I had to upgrade my video card last week cuz my old one was fried. It has
been 2 yrs since I've needed any kind of change to my comp. whatsoever. So
along with upgrading a Plex 16/10/40 Burner I had to upgrade my video card
and I decided that a 'Clean Install' of Win XP Home - OEM was also in order.
Brought it to same shop that put my comp. together in first place.

Originally, my config was Win XP home, as above, without service paks and a
Fat 32 file system. All had run beautifully for the first 2 yrs. I had my 60
GB Harddrive partitioned:
40GB(C
05GB(E: Games)
05GB(F: Music)
10GB(G: Linux)
(D: and H: were for my DVD Rom and CD burner)

I remember specifically saying I Didn't Want any SP's for fear that some
periphs wouldn't install at all or possibly corrupt my system. I do play the
occasional game like NHL 2001 and 2003,(that had been on the previous config
in E and I have the Quake series of games as well.

As I went into Control Panel and clicked
System - General, I see that Service Pack 1 has also been installed. I also
noticed that NTFS was apparently the file system of choice(Not Fat 32).
Current Config:

C: - 50GB
D: - 05GB Games
E: - 05GB Music
F: - DVD Rom
G: - CD Burner

My question is, can I still play games like Quake and EA
NHL series under the NTFS file system and will the fact I have SP1 - (SP1a,
I believe) - hamper the install or function of other devices or Win XP
itself.?


Rob

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Rob,

The file system in use is inconsequential (doesn't matter) to the software
you install. Installation of a Service Pack should not impede the function
of your peripherals. Incidentally, not installing service packs opens your
system to some real security hazards, as without it you will be unable to
install some updates released after it.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Shenan Stanley]

My question is, can I still play games like Quake and EA
NHL series under the NTFS file system and will the fact I have SP1 -
(SP1a, I believe) - hamper the install or function of other devices
or Win XP itself.?

You will have no problem playing games in most cases. If you have some
limited account you use, you can use the administrator account to give
yourself any needed rights that arise.

SP1 (SP1a) will not hinder any functionality except under unusual
circumstances. It and the other critical updates are actually highly
recommended in order to maintain your system security and stability.

As a gamer, you should also consider turning off unneeded services,
uninstalling unnecessary applications and keeping your machine defragmented
and spy/ad/malware free. In general, if you keep your antivirus software
updated and firewall configured correctly - in addition to the gamer advice
before - you should run smoothly indefinitely. Also, as a gamer, you will
want to insure your video card drivers are updated via the card
manufacturer's web page - in the case of most GeForce cards, the drivers
from NVidia.com are superior to those shipped with the cards - and more
frequently updated/tweaked for your purposes.

 

[Peter]

....And your USB 2 would not work without SP1 installed, so don't worry be
happy. I do understand what you went thru after instructing the computer
guys what NOT to do and they did it anyway. Not surprised because the 1 time
i took my PC to a shop, were i had bought a new HD, they changed every cable
and moved all my burners and drives to different slots in the case and
really pissed me off. i told the guy he had a lot of nerve setting the case
to suit himself rather than respecting my setup (there was nothing wrong
with anything in the hardware hookup or placement, just my brand new hard
drive had crapped).. Forgive me, but he was very young, stupid and arrogant,
lost my business....

 

[Alex Nichol]

As I went into Control Panel and clicked
System - General, I see that Service Pack 1 has also been installed. I also
noticed that NTFS was apparently the file system of choice(Not Fat 32).
Current Config:

C: - 50GB
D: - 05GB Games
E: - 05GB Music
F: - DVD Rom
G: - CD Burner

My question is, can I still play games like Quake and EA
NHL series under the NTFS file system and will the fact I have SP1 - (SP1a,
I believe) - hamper the install or function of other devices or Win XP
itself.?

Unless the games are trying to go under the system to access hardware
direct (which XP would not allow anyway) it does not matter at all which
file system is in use for any partition (and they do not even need to be
the same). Nor will it affect devices. SP1 should improve system
stability - I would check though to make sure you still have the latest
video drivers, at the maker's site. If you had 'unsigned' ones before,
installing SP1 might have gone to an earlier - but signed - version