The Windows XP File Systems
- By Super Admin
- Published 27 August 2009
When installing Windows XP from scratch, it prompts you to select from two different file systems: FAT32 and NTFS. As expected, it gives no real reason why you should select one or the other, and defaults to NTFS.
FAT32
If you're installing on a dual-boot system where you
would have a FAT32 partition (default type for Windows
98 and SE for partitions over 2GB), you may run into
problems depending on your situation. The FAT32 file
system was created when the size of hard drives exceeded
2GB. The previous file system for DOS and Windows
95 was FAT16, which offered at most 2GB of allocation
on your hard drive. This of course is useless for
today's hard drives when you can't find anything under
10GB anymore. Where FAT16 allowed a 2GB maximum, FAT32
only allows a 32GB maximum. If your hard drive is
over 32GB, you'll have to split it into separate partitions,
or use NTFS.
NTFS
NTFS was introduced with Windows NT. Among the reasons
why it was introduced, it allowed partitions greater
than what's even offered today, and boasts better
performance and security. Focusing on security, it's
possible that while an NTFS hard drive is secure when
running Windows XP, there's no easy way to get back
into the hard drive if you boot from an emergency
floppy that only sees a FAT16 or FAT32 partition,
such as what you'd get from a 98 or ME emergency floppy.
The security in NTFS actually prevents you from circumventing
its own file system from a boot floppy. This means
that if for some reason your hard drive becomes unusable
and you need to move data off of it, the task won't
be as easy as it was when using Windows 95, 98, and
ME. The solution that the user has in this situation
is to boot from the Windows XP CD and run a repair
on the hard drive. This should fix any problems the
user had with the system and bring it back to a bootable
state. The other issue is in dual-boot situations.
Running under NTFS, you can see FAT16 and FAT32 partitions,
but if you boot back into Windows ME, you can't see
the NTFS partition. This is a problem if you downloaded
something to your XP partition and you want to move
it to your ME partition while running under ME. Also,
if you upgraded ME to XP and you convert your file
system from FAT32 to NTFS, you cannot go back to Windows
ME since ME can't run under NTFS. However, only NTFS
allows you to set permissions on individual folders
so that you can control who sees what.
Converting
from FAT32 to NTFS at a later time
If you want, under Windows XP you can convert your
FAT32 partition to NTFS using the following command
from your Command Prompt:
convert c: /fs:ntfs
Conclusion
With all this information, find what suits your needs
and go with it. If you're the kind of person that
backs up regularly, go with NTFS. Same if you want
to use a partition over 32GB without partitioning.
If you want to play it safe, or if you want the ability
to transfer files from one partition to another under
a dual-boot situation, stick with FAT32. If you want
to read more about these file systems, Microsoft has
an excellent article on their web site.
