NTFS or FAT 32

lordneeko · June 17th, 2002

Well asking questions here has gone so well I think I'll continue

I have two hard drives. One with Winxp and the other is used JUST for files and programs. There is no op system on that drive.
Which file system would be more appropriate? NTFS or Fat32. I am sharing the files over a network and the internet so I want it to be fairly secure. But, I also understand that NTFS sometimes has a problem with fragmentation. Please help

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Ultragunner · June 17th, 2002

might as well go for ntfs if you want security. for me i'll stick with win98se's fat32.

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Badaro · June 17th, 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by lordneeko
Well asking questions here has gone so well I think I'll continue

I have two hard drives. One with Winxp and the other is used JUST for files and programs. There is no op system on that drive.
Which file system would be more appropriate? NTFS or Fat32. I am sharing the files over a network and the internet so I want it to be fairly secure. But, I also understand that NTFS sometimes has a problem with fragmentation. Please help

IMHO, unless you want to make a dual-boot with a Win9x system, you should always use NTFS.

[]s Badaro

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Raqia · June 17th, 2002

You save drive space and it's secure. OS' on NTFS partitions never seen the scandisk screen if you shut down improperly.

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**kairi00** · June 17th, 2002

You can also enforce user-level security on NTFS, something you can't do in FAT32.

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ebola · June 17th, 2002

fat32 is a faster access system than ntfs.

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**Xeven** · June 17th, 2002

Iirc, this is only the case if the cluster size is set to 512 instead of 4K, otherwise NTFS is generally faster. NTFS is also faster in "finding" files off the disk due to it's clustered index system. I dont think of any benefit of using FAT32 unless you are booting multiple o/s's.

**Shiori** · June 18th, 2002

NTFS5 on the XP partition, FAT32 on the data partition. That way you have some sort of backdoor, a good example is when you need to flash a new BIOS. It's always better to flash it from the hard disk and NOT from a floppy.

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"...And when I finally meet you again, I want to ask you - have you found what you were looking for? Because that's what I felt you were doing, all these years. And I want to hear you answer, "Yes, I have, thank you for asking," and we'll be together again, until the end of our days..."

Ninjaa · June 18th, 2002

Woah! It's evil Shiori!

Anyway, I have a similar setup. I use NTFS on my XP drive, and FAT32 on my data drive. (partition in my case). The reason being that I like to be able to read my fat32 partition from linux.

Alias · June 18th, 2002

yeah NTFS can read a FAT32 partition, but not vice versa. Ninja's approach is probably the safest bet b/w performance and compatability.

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Esturk · June 18th, 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Ninja
Woah! It's evil Shiori!

Anyway, I have a similar setup. I use NTFS on my XP drive, and FAT32 on my data drive. (partition in my case). The reason being that I like to be able to read my fat32 partition from linux.

Same here Ninja. 35Gb NTFS Windows XP partition and 5Gb FAT32 Data partition. I keep all my progs which I don't need to install like emu's and stuff on the data partition.

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reaper-x · June 18th, 2002

NTFS partition support large volumes (more than 10 TBytes supported on NTFS volume) and FAT32 only support only to 2 TBytes and the maximum file size is 4 GB

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Esturk · June 18th, 2002

Like any normal person has a Hard Disk that big.

j/j

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Allnatural · June 18th, 2002

lordneeko--> If you are sharing files from your system drive you'll need to use FAT32. As others have said, Win9x systems won't be able to access NTFS hard drives.

I personally prefer using FAT32. I like having DOS access if something terrible happens.

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Badaro · June 18th, 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Allnatural
lordneeko--> If you are sharing files from your system drive you'll need to use FAT32. As others have said, Win9x systems won't be able to access NTFS hard drives.

I personally prefer using FAT32. I like having DOS access if something terrible happens.

Just to clear things up...

If you're sharing files throught a network, it doesn't matter if your file system is FAT32 or NTFS. It's only important if you have two different OSes in the same machine.

[]s Badaro

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Allnatural · June 19th, 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Badaro

Just to clear things up...

If you're sharing files throught a network, it doesn't matter if your file system is FAT32 or NTFS. It's only important if you have two different OSes in the same machine.

[]s Badaro

Gotcha.

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reaper-x · June 19th, 2002

the best thing to do is by combining FAT32 and NTFS

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June 17th, 2002	#1 (permalink)
lordneeko Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 46	NTFS or FAT 32 Well asking questions here has gone so well I think I'll continue I have two hard drives. One with Winxp and the other is used JUST for files and programs. There is no op system on that drive. Which file system would be more appropriate? NTFS or Fat32. I am sharing the files over a network and the internet so I want it to be fairly secure. But, I also understand that NTFS sometimes has a problem with fragmentation. Please help __________________

June 17th, 2002	#4 (permalink)
Raqia Ah! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Evanston Il Posts: 546	NTFS hands down! You save drive space and it's secure. OS' on NTFS partitions never seen the scandisk screen if you shut down improperly. __________________ Laptop: 1.6@2.13 Dothan 2MB (Pinmod), 2 GB 533mhz DDR2, GeForce 6800 360/730 256MB, 100 GB 5400 RPM, 17" UXGA+

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June 17th, 2002	#2 (permalink)
Ultragunner Trans-Am Mode Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 997	might as well go for ntfs if you want security. for me i'll stick with win98se's fat32. __________________ PC Specs:

June 17th, 2002	#5 (permalink)
kairi00 Puchiko-nyu! Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: 49° 11' N 123° 10' W Posts: 2,854	You can also enforce user-level security on NTFS, something you can't do in FAT32. __________________ "Not every ejaculation deserves a name." --- George Carlin

June 17th, 2002	#6 (permalink)
ebola Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Chanhassen, MN Posts: 900	fat32 is a faster access system than ntfs. __________________ .: Cythraul Design :: MBA-Forums :.

June 17th, 2002	#7 (permalink)
Xeven A BIG BAD BATARD™ Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 5,517	Iirc, this is only the case if the cluster size is set to 512 instead of 4K, otherwise NTFS is generally faster. NTFS is also faster in "finding" files off the disk due to it's clustered index system. I dont think of any benefit of using FAT32 unless you are booting multiple o/s's.

June 18th, 2002	#8 (permalink)
Shiori :3 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seoul, South Korea Posts: 10,121	NTFS5 on the XP partition, FAT32 on the data partition. That way you have some sort of backdoor, a good example is when you need to flash a new BIOS. It's always better to flash it from the hard disk and NOT from a floppy. __________________ "...And when I finally meet you again, I want to ask you - have you found what you were looking for? Because that's what I felt you were doing, all these years. And I want to hear you answer, "Yes, I have, thank you for asking," and we'll be together again, until the end of our days..."

June 18th, 2002	#9 (permalink)
Ninjaa Banned Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Soviet Canuckistan Posts: 7,778	Woah! It's evil Shiori! Anyway, I have a similar setup. I use NTFS on my XP drive, and FAT32 on my data drive. (partition in my case). The reason being that I like to be able to read my fat32 partition from linux.

June 18th, 2002	#10 (permalink)
Alias >_< Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 924	yeah NTFS can read a FAT32 partition, but not vice versa. Ninja's approach is probably the safest bet b/w performance and compatability. __________________ >_<

June 18th, 2002	#12 (permalink)
reaper-x Reaper-X Rulez !!! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: GMT +7 Posts: 158	NTFS partition support large volumes (more than 10 TBytes supported on NTFS volume) and FAT32 only support only to 2 TBytes and the maximum file size is 4 GB __________________ System Spec : Amd Athlon XP 1800+, DDR Crucial 256, EPoX 8KHA+ VIA KT266A VMod, Coolermaster HHC 001, Simbada c750 Med Case, Enermax 340, Creative SB Audigy 2, Creative Inspire 6.1 6600, Asus V8460 Ultra Deluxe TI4600, Creative IR 52X, ASUS CRW4816A, JLMS XJHD15H CH11, Quantum lct 08 8.3GB ATA 66, Quantum lct 20 40GB ATA 100, SyncMaster 753s, Windows XP Pro SP1

June 18th, 2002	#13 (permalink)
Esturk Registered User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Posts: 6,958	Like any normal person has a Hard Disk that big. j/j __________________ Necrosaro: Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP2 \| Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache \| Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel P45 Chipset, Socket 775 \| 4GB Kingston PC5300 DDR2 \| Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, 1024MB \| Creative SB X-Fi Fatality Edition \| Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, 150Gb, SATA, Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500GB, SATA \| LG 16x DVD-RWx2 SATA.

June 18th, 2002	#14 (permalink)
Allnatural No preservatives™ Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Toledo, OH. USA Posts: 965	lordneeko--> If you are sharing files from your system drive you'll need to use FAT32. As others have said, Win9x systems won't be able to access NTFS hard drives. I personally prefer using FAT32. I like having DOS access if something terrible happens. __________________ Videogame Gifs

June 19th, 2002	#17 (permalink)
reaper-x Reaper-X Rulez !!! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: GMT +7 Posts: 158	the best thing to do is by combining FAT32 and NTFS __________________ System Spec : Amd Athlon XP 1800+, DDR Crucial 256, EPoX 8KHA+ VIA KT266A VMod, Coolermaster HHC 001, Simbada c750 Med Case, Enermax 340, Creative SB Audigy 2, Creative Inspire 6.1 6600, Asus V8460 Ultra Deluxe TI4600, Creative IR 52X, ASUS CRW4816A, JLMS XJHD15H CH11, Quantum lct 08 8.3GB ATA 66, Quantum lct 20 40GB ATA 100, SyncMaster 753s, Windows XP Pro SP1