NTFS v FAT32

Hello

I would be grateful for a little advice. I am getting a new PC built for me which will have 2 hard drives.
I will be running Windows XP ( HE/SP1 ) I was naturally going to use NTFS as this is the file system I use on my Laptop.

I have read various reports about this therefore now have a dilemma. I realise NTFS is more secure & also more efficient with file clusters etc BUT have also read that FAT32 is a lot more stable for the OS & program files. It was also stated that if the PC crashed then FAT partitions are easier to recover data from & get into with a rescue disc

This 'conflict' of information is the reason I am asking advice now. I certainly want stability but I also want an efficient file system for my new PC. I do not know whether to use both systems or just to use the one on both drives - if so which one ?

Thank you in advance for any further advice anyone can add.

miniB

 

Hi MinB,

If I wouldn't be dual booting 9X/XP, I would use NTFS. I would not mix the two. However, FAT32 is easy enough to convert to NTFS at a later time.

The following is from my manual Windows XP Inside/OUT by Ed Bott and Carl Siechert:

Quote
Security.
On an NTFS volume, you can restrict access to files and folders using permissions, as described in "Controlling Access with NTFS Permissions." With Windows XP Professional, you can add an extra layer of protection by encrypting files. On a FAT or FAT32 drive, anyone with physical access to your computer can access any files stored on that drive.

Reliability.
By design, an NTFS volume can recover from disk errors more readily than an otherwise identical FAT/FAT32 drive. NTFS uses log files to keep track of all disk activity. In the event of a system crash, Windows XP can use this journal to repair file system errors automatically when the system is restarted. In addition, NTFS can dynamically remap clusters that contain bad sectors and mark those clusters as bad so that the operating system no longer uses it. FAT and FAT32 drives are more vulnerable to disk errors.

Expandability.
Using NTFS-formatted volumes, you can expand storage on existing drive letters without having to back up, repartition, reformat, and restore.

Efficiency.
On partitions greater than 8 GB in size, NTFS volumes manage space more efficiently than FAT32. The maximum partition size for a FAT32 drive created by Windows XP is 32 GB; by contrast, you can create a single NTFS volume of up to 16 terabytes (16,384 GB) using default settings, and by tweaking cluster sizes, you can ratchet the maximum volume size up to 256 terabytes

Are you looking for a good reason to convert the drive that contains your Windows files from FAT32 to NTFS? System Restore takes full advantage of the NTFS file system in two ways:

First, your backed-up files are protected from accidental deletion by NTFS permissions. The restore files are saved in the hidden System Volume Information folder, where only the System account is authorized to access them. On FAT32 volumes, by contrast, any user can undermine the effectiveness of System Restore by accidentally or deliberately deleting restore points.

Second, the System Restore service uses NTFS compression to minimize the amount of space each restore point takes. This on-the-fly compression takes place in the background, when your system is idle, so it has no deleterious effect on performance.
end quote

Regards - Charles

 

BIG thank You Charlesvar

I am going to read this in detail BUT on scanning the info. you have provided from your book it looks like it is going to be immense help to me.

I am very with this info. I can see from first looks that the advantage lies with NTFS. I am so pleased you have provided this it is precisely the points I really need to be covered. I am sure this will help others too.

Many thanks miniB

 

Also access to ntfs drives is easy with the "recovery console "; boot off the CD and select "repair ", you will be asked for the admin password, and then you can do your repairs. NTFS is a journaling filesystem that is the only choice of professionals; FAT32 is very error prone and starts a scandisk/chkdsk because of its issues. It's important to remember that MS fired the entire 9x/ME dept., NT/XP has replaced all of it; DOS/9x/ME will haunt MS for years more to come, but we have something that is stable now.

 

Back your data and not to worry about crashes!

If a drive can be recognized, data can be recovered by slaving it to another machine. Plenty to NTFS machines around now!

 

Thanks to all !

I am convinced now that it will be NTFS - just had to ask on BBS and things are answered asap.

I really like to understand the reasoning behind decisions I have to make. I am a lot happier now that I can put the theory behind my choice

Thanks again ( I am sure I will be able to help someone else now with ' WHY NTFS ?' )