JAUNT TO NTFS

Hi all!
I am here again with smth which’s quite different from my previous blog.
(Hey, don worry I would keep hopping between these two domains … “spirituality and science”)
This article is exclusively for those who don know when to use which file system during disk partitioning process on a system running Windows XP.

(Note: There are also some scopes for Linux Freaks… so u cant just ignore it !!!)

Here we’ve got three options: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32. Now the journey goes like this:

We prefer NTFS coz:

• It is more powerful than FAT or FAT32 as it includes features required for hosting Active Directory as well as other important security features.
  Note: We can use features such as Active Directory and domain-based security only by choosing NTFS as our file system.
• It is easy to convert partitions to NTFS. The Setup program makes conversion easy, whether our partitions used FAT, FAT32, or the older version of NTFS. This kind of conversion keeps our files secure (unlike formatting a partition).
  Note: If we do not need file-security and we have a FAT or FAT32 partition, it is recommended that we format the partition with NTFS rather than convert from FAT or FAT32. Formatting a partition erases all data on the partition and allows us to start with a clean drive.
  Now, whether a partition is formatted with NTFS or converted using the convert command, NTFS is the better choice of file system.
  For more information about Convert.exe, after completing Setup, click Start, then Run, and then type cmd. In the command window, type help convert and then press ENTER.
• In order to maintain access control on files and folders and support limited accounts, we must use NTFS. If we use FAT32, all users will have access to all files on our hard drive, regardless of their account type.
• NTFS is the file system that works best with large disks. (The next best file system for large disks is FAT32.)
  Now the question arises – what’s the need of FAT or FAT32 then?
  The answer is:
  It’s quite possible to have a computer that will sometimes run an earlier version of Windows and other times run Windows XP, then we will need to have a FAT or FAT32 partition as the primary (or startup) partition on the hard disk.
  Most of the earlier versions of Windows cannot access a partition if it uses the latest version of NTFS. The two exceptions are Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later. Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later has access to partitions with the latest version of NTFS, but with some limitations: It cannot access files that have been stored using NTFS features that did not exist when Windows NT 4.0 was released.

Conclusion:
For anything other than a situation with multiple operating systems, the recommended file system is NTFS.

Important

• 
  Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT or FAT32. You will need to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data including programs and personal files on the partition.
• Description about the compatibility of each file system with various operating systems:

NTFS:

1. A computer running Windows XP or Windows 2000 can access files on an NTFS partition.
2. A computer running Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later might be able to access some files.
3. Other operating systems allow no access.

FAT:

1. Access is available through MS-DOS, all versions of Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and OS/2.

FAT32:

1. Access is available only through Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

• Comparision between disk and file sizes possible with each file system:

NTFS:

1. Recommended minimum volume size is approximately 10 MB.
2. Volumes much larger than 2 terabytes (TB) are possible.
3. Cannot be used on floppy disks.
4. File size limited only by size of volume.

FAT:

1. Volumes from floppy disk size up to 4 gigabytes (GB).
2. Does not support domains.
3. Maximum file size is 2 GB.

FAT32:

1. Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB.
2. In Windows XP, we can format a FAT32 volume up to 32 GB only.
3. Does not support domains.
4. Maximum file size is 4 GB.

For more details about the NTFS file system, you can refer to these URLs:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

These are solely for Linux users:

http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/
http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/info/ntfs.html

That’s all for now.
Have fun!!!
Bye