ReadyBoost Flash Memory - Fat32 or NTFS

[Retired Bill]

My machine has 1 gig memory. I got a 2 gig flash drive. I notice not all
the 2 gig is available, is there some volume info on the stick?
Should it be formatted as FAT32 or NTFS, which is faster access? My vista
machine is NTFS.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

I leave it in FAT file system because of compatibility issues. Most times
you might not use the entire Flash stick as Readyboost drive.

 

[Dustin Harper]

Use NTFS if it is only going to be on Vista or XP systems. If you plan on
using other systems, too, then go with FAT32.

 

[Retired Bill]

I formatted it in NTFS and it seems to work fine. But if FAT32 is faster
I'll reformat it to that.

Also, why would you have a compatibility issue if your Vista machine's hard
drive is NTFS? I'd think FAT32 would be incompatible.

 

[Dustin Harper]

Vista can read NTFS & FAT32. NTFS just can't be read by older file systems
(if you have a FAT32 system; Windows 98/ME, etc). That's the only
compatibility issue.

--
Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Well, I am exposed to a variety of systems such as Linux and Mac OS X, so my
2 GB SanDisk Readyboost thumb drive is in FAT which recognized by all the
systems.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Here is a great article we did on Readyboost Roundup:
http://www.activewin.com/reviews/hardware/memory/vista/readyboost.shtml

 

[Gary Mount]

You may be interested to know that you can use the convert command instead
of format to change a FAT32 file system to NTFS.
There is also a new format called exFAT that becomes available after
installing the Vista Service Pack.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

Hey Bill,

Here is an interesting article check out about Readyboost, FAT or NTFS:
http://miketan.blogspot.com/2006/09/vista-readyboost-fat-or-ntfs-what-flash.html

 

[Dustin Harper]

Ah. True. Thanks for adding that.

--
Dustin Harper
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.vistarip.com

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Also, why would you have a compatibility issue if your Vista machine's hard
drive is NTFS? I'd think FAT32 would be incompatible.

No, it makes no difference what file system the hard drive is. Windows
Vista, like Windows XP before it, can read and write any and all
combinations of NTFS, FAT32, FAT16, and FAT12, regardless of what file
system it itself is installed on.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

You may be interested to know that you can use the convert command instead
of format to change a FAT32 file system to NTFS.

Although that's true, it's pointless to convert an existing drive
unless there's something on it that needs to be kept.

And any time you do use the convert command, first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.

 

[Gary Mount]

I had the operating system on my hard drive, so I couldn't format it to
NTFS. I couldn't reload Windows because I only had the disks I made when I
first started the computer after getting it home from the store. These
recovery disks format the drive as FAT32.
If I want to copy a file larger than 4 GBytes, such as a TV show, I can't do
it. That is where convert is very useful, as format would wipe out the
operating system.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I had the operating system on my hard drive, so I couldn't format it to
NTFS. I couldn't reload Windows because I only had the disks I made when I
first started the computer after getting it home from the store. These
recovery disks format the drive as FAT32.

The subject under discussion here is changing flash memory, a *thumb"
drive, from FAT32 to NTFS. Thumb drives do not normally have anything
permanently needed on them, and that's especially true when you are
talking about thumb drives used for ready boost (as is the subject
here). Nobody--certainly not me--is suggesting that hard drives should
never be converted rather than reformatted.

If I want to copy a file larger than 4 GBytes, such as a TV show, I can't do
it.

Correct. The ability to use files larger than 4GB is one of the many
advantages of NTFS. As far as I'm concerned, except for drives that
have to be shared with non-NTFS-aware operating systems, there are no
good reasons for using FAT32, and all drives used on XP and Vista
should be NTFS.

That is where convert is very useful, as format would wipe out the
operating system.

And everything else. Again, I am not suggesting that the convert
command never be used. My point is that it makes little sense to
convert a thumb drive used for ready boost. Format is much easier.

And by the way, if you used the Convert command on your hard drive
without doing as I suggested and first reading
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm (or finding the same information
elsewhere), you have almost certainly ended up with 512-byte blusters,
and have taken a sizable hit in performance.