Guidelines For Choosing a File System In Windows

Guidelines For Choosing a File System In Windows

By   20:01   No comments:

After you create the installation partition, Setup prompts you to select the file system with which to format the partition. Windows XP Professional can be installed on two file  systems:

File allocation table (FAT): Although Windows Setup references only file allocation table (FAT), there are actually two versions of FAT: FAT and FAT32. FAT is a 16-bit file system used in older versions of Windows. FAT32 is a 32-bit file system supported by Windows 95 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Service Release 2, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

Volume size:  Volumes from 512 MB to 2 terabytes.In Windows Vista, you can format a FAT32 volume only up to 32 GB. Cannot be used on floppy disks.

File size: Maximum file size 4 GB

Files per volume: Approximately 4,177,920 

New Technology File System NTFS: The preferred file system for Windows XP, NTFS provides more security and flexibility than FAT32. Microsoft recommends that you always use NTFS unless there is a specific reason to use another file system (such as when you are installing more than one operating system on a computer and one of those operating systems does not recognize NTFS partitions). NTFS is supported by Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Seven, Windows 2003 Server and Windows 2008 Server.

Operating system compatibility:  A computer running Windows  7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP can access files on an NTFS partition. A computer running Windows NT  4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later can access files on the partition, but some NTFS features, such as Disk Quotas, are not available. Other operating systems allow no access.

Tip: Unless you are installing Windows XP Professional on a multiple-boot computer that also has an operating system that cannot access NTFS partitions (such as Windows 98), you should always use NTFS.

Using NTFS

Use NTFS when the partition on which Windows XP Professional will reside requires any of the following features:

• File- and folder-level security: NTFS allows you to control access to files and folders.
• Disk compression: NTFS can compress files to store more data on the partition.
• Disk quota: NTFS allows you to control disk usage on a per-user basis.
• Encryption: NTFS allows you to encrypt file data on the physical hard disk by using the Microsoft Encrypting File System (EFS).

The version of NTFS in Windows XP Professional supports remote storage, dynamic volumes, and mounting volumes to folders. Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, Windows Seven, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000, and Windows NT are the only operating systems that can access data on a local hard disk formatted with NTFS.

Volume size: Recommended minimum volume size is approximately 10 MB. Recommended practical maximum for volumes is 2 terabytes. Much larger sizes are possible.  Cannot be used on floppy disks.

File size: Maximum file size 16 terabytes minus 64 KB (244 minus 64 KB)

Files per volume: 4,294,967,295 (232 minus 1 files)

Read More

Difference Between FAT And NTFS | FAT Versus NTFS

Difference Between FAT And NTFS | FAT Versus NTFS

By   13:27   No comments:

File Allocation Table or FAT is a computer file system architecture now widely used on many computer systems and most memory cards, such as those used with digital cameras. FAT file systems are commonly found on floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital cameras, and many other portable devices because of its relative simplicity. Performance of FAT compares poorly to most other file systems as it uses overly simplistic data structures, making file operations time-consuming, and makes poor use of disk space in situations where many small files are present.

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

NTFS supersedes the FAT file system as the preferred file system for Microsoft’s Windows operating systems. NTFS has several improvements over FAT and HPFS (High Performance File System) such as improved support for metadata and the use of advanced data structures to improve performance, reliability, and disk space utilization, plus additional extensions such as security access control lists (ACL) and file system journaling.

Difference Between FAT And NTFS | FAT Versus NTFS:

Both FAT and NTFS come in several different variations, and in some cases, the type of device you are working with determines which variation is used. With FAT, the number of bits used with the allocation table determines the variant you are working with and the maximum volume size. You’ll find that USB flash devices and MP3 players with 4 GB or less of storage are usually formatted with the 16-bit version of FAT. FAT16, also known simply as FAT, defines its file allocation tables using 16 bits. FAT16 is used because it is the most efficient version of FAT for volume sizes of up to 4 GB.

If you use devices with removable storage that have storage larger than 4 GB, such as a removable hard disk, the device will in most cases use the 32-bit version of FAT, known as FAT32. FAT32 defines its file allocation tables using 32 bits, which allows you to have volumes larger than 32 GB. Devices with removable storage use FAT because it has no security controls, allowing you to access your data on multiple computers simply by connecting your device to those computers.

On the other hand, NTFS allows you to control access to files and folders by assigning permissions. At home, your computer will typically have file access permissions only for accounts configured on the local computer. At the office, your computer will typically have file access permissions for accounts configured on the local computer as well as accounts configured for your network. 

Although NTFS supports just about any volume size you’ll want to work with, you can’t necessarily move devices formatted with NTFS from one computer to another and gain access to all the data on these devices.

You may not be able to do this because NTFS access permissions are set using accounts that are specific to a single computer, to a network, or to both.

Read More