Im looking for an external hard drive, and there talking about this format file? Whats the difference and whats better???
2007-12-30 06:00:53 · 5 answers · asked by daniel_2541 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
NTFS is more stable and is used for modern Windows OS. However all OS's can read FAT where as most OS's have only just began able to read NTFS.
Also FAT has a maximum file size of 4GB.
2007-12-30 06:07:45 · answer #1 · answered by sbraidley 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
an acronym standing for file allocation table. Introduced in 1981, FAT is ancient in computer terms. Because of its age, most operating systems—including Windows NT, Windows 98, MacOS, and some versions of UNIX—offer support for FAT.
The FAT file system limits filenames to the 8.3 naming convention, meaning that a filename can have no more than eight characters before the period and no more than three characters after the period. Filenames in a FAT file system must also begin with a letter or number and can't contain spaces. Filenames aren't case sensitive
Microsoft created the new technology file system (NTFS) to compensate for the features it felt FAT lacked. These features include increased fault tolerance, enhanced security, and so on. Now that you know a little about these file systems, let's compare their performance in various situations
type of file system to use on a partition, you must consider compatibility. If multiple operating systems will access the partition, you must use a file system that all operating systems can read. Usually, this means using FAT, because of its universal compatibility. Only Windows NT supports NTFS partitions.
Keep in mind, however, that this limitation applies only to the local machine. For example, if Windows NT and Windows 98 are loaded on the same machine and both operating systems require access to a common partition, you must format that partition as FAT. However, if Windows NT is the only operating system on the PC, you can format the partition as NTFS, even if computers running other operating systems will access the partition across the network.
2007-12-30 14:09:41 · answer #2 · answered by rob K 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the ntfs is supposed to be more stabler. windows 98,95,me used fat. all the nts and xps, vistas use ntfs.
2007-12-30 14:06:13 · answer #3 · answered by agello24 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NTFS is the newer system so thats the better one i would think.
2007-12-30 14:05:17 · answer #4 · answered by Alfred E. Newman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ntfs is better. your pc help and support will tell you about it if you look it up
2007-12-30 14:09:04 · answer #5 · answered by NONAME 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋