Ntfs?

[FesteringGob]

I am wondering. I just reformatted my hard drive and installed with the NTFS and was wondering which one is better. Is the fat32 better than NTFS? What are the differences and what do you use?

Thanks
FesteringGob

 

[dotbatman]

well, there are a lot of differences.

i suppose the main one would be file and folder permissions. ntfs allows you to use much more powerful settings insofar as access by users and groups, whereas fat32 is tailored more toward performance, ie. access time, etc., but allows for less flexibility for permissions. some would argue that ntfs is less prone to fragmentation, but i think the differences in that respect are overblown.

i use ntfs, not because i need to, more just to learn by using.

there are other differences, which i will not go into because they are covered EXTENSIVELY by documentation (see the microsoft knowledgebase), but suffice it to say, i don't think using one or the other will make a huge difference to the average user, unless you are on a domain or are concerned about security and/or privacy.

 

[FireFalcon]

NTFS is far superior to FAT32

NTFS supports much more features and has better manageability. I could go into detail but I won't because FAT32 is definately on only a need basis.

Be aware if you are dual booting a 9x platform, the 9x platform will not be able to access your NTFS volume without a third party program loaded to do so

 

[dotbatman]

that's a good point about the dual boot, a lot of people are into dual boots lately.

but don't you think, as I said, "using one or the other will make a huge difference to the average user"?

 

[FireFalcon]

Originally posted by dotbatman
that's a good point about the dual boot, a lot of people are into dual boots lately.

but don't you think, as I said, "using one or the other will make a huge difference to the average user"?

Yes it will by-far

Any non-experienced user with NT permissions, I would not recommend using an NTFS volume unless forced to do so (35GB or >) but regardless of that fact NTFS is still a superior volume type by far over FAT32.

 

[dotbatman]

um, okay, 1st you say "FAT32 is definately on only a need basis."

then: "I would not recommend using an NTFS volume unless forced to do so".

I'm just trying to understand, not argue, but I still don't see why NTFS would cause problems for an inexperienced user. If they don't "mess around with it", so to speak, I believe they would never run into any issues with it. I have been using ntfs on my home machine for 3 years and have never run into a conflict with any software.

Do you have any examples to illustrate your point?