difference between NTFS and FAT?

Question

as a user, what's the difference between using NTFS or FAT32 file system? i'm currenly using NTFS, so i want to know what's the difference when using FAT32?

will i be still able to backup my files as normal on a FAT32 like what i did with a NTFS? and can i restore files stored on a FAT32 onto a NTFS?

i'm asking this because i realise that most networked HDD (NAS) mostly come in FAT32 formats. And I couldn't find one with NTFS. which is why, i'm considering to use FAT32 and i want to know what's the difference in experience using the two. will FAT32 be noticeably slower?

Answer 1

File Allocation Table (FAT16)
FAT32
New Technology File System (NTFS)


FAT16
FAT16 (originally just FAT) is the 16-bit file system widely used by DOS and Windows 3.x. FAT16
tracks where files are stored on a disk using a file allocation table and a directory entry table. The
disadvantages of FAT16 are that it supports partitions only up to 2GB and it does not offer the security
features of NTFS. The advantage of FAT is that it is backward compatible, which is important
if the computer will be dual-booted with another operating system, such as DOS, Unix, Linux, OS 2,
or Windows 3.1. Almost all PC operating systems read FAT16 partitions.
FAT32
FAT32 is the 32-bit version of FAT, which was first introduced in 1996 with Windows 95, with
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Service Release 2 (OSR2). With FAT32, disk partitions
can be as large as 2TB (terabytes). It has more fault-tolerance features than FAT16 and
also improves disk-space usage by reducing the size of clusters. However, it lacks several of the
features offered by NTFS for a Windows XP or Windows 2000 system, such as local security,
file encryption, disk quotas, and compression.
If you choose to use FAT, Windows XP Professional will automatically format the partition
with FAT16 if the partition is less than 2GB. If the partition is over 2GB, it will be automatically
partitioned as FAT32.

NTFS
NTFS is a file system designed to provide additional features for Windows NT, Windows 2000,
Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 computers. Some of the features NTFS offers include
the following:
The ability to set local security on files and folders.
The option to compress data. This feature reduces disk-storage requirements.
The flexibility to assign disk quotas. Disk quotas are used to limit the amount of disk space
a user can use.
The option to encrypt files. Encryption offers an additional level of security.

Answer 2

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

Answer 3

FAT 16 is an old file system used in DOS and 3.x. A FAT 16 partition can be a maximum of 4GB. FAT 32 is a revised version of FAT 16 and can be used in larger partitions. FAT 32 was used in Windows 98. Both FAT 16 and FAT 32 has weak error recovery and file security. NTFS is more secure and is used by Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, and Windows Vista. You'd be better off with NTFS unless you need backwards compatibility with older OSes like Windows 95 or 98.

Answer 4

here is a really easy answer NTFS is the better file system and the only reason you would use fat32 in a windows 2000/xp enviroment as if you needed to be able to access these files from a windows 9x enviroment

so just to keep it extremely simple if you are using 2000/xp use ntfs

Answer 5

you wont notice a difference.

its just a different filing system, NTFS is faster and newer and is usually used with win xp

Answer 6

Here's a detailed comparison chart > http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm