NTFS or FAT32!?

[Cyber101]

What is better on your hard drive?! Why?

[Sterling_Aug]

NTFS is more efficient using smaller clusters and it has file security.

FAT32 is more generic and can be read by older Windows versions and Linux.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Fat 32 is much easier to get around in case of a nuclear meltdown/plague of killer bees/PC screwup because its recognised by DOS. Having said that is fragments much more than NTFs and lacks the added security features NTFS has.

However if your not on a LAN these security features wont matter much and FAT 32 is the better idea if you dual boot with win 9x as 9x cannot read NTFS

--Jakk

[Fluke87]

I have found through many benchmarks that Fat32 is faster than NTFS , but it does fragment more.With NTFS you're less likely to lose data on an unexpected shutdown / restart.

[tony_j15]

I use NTFS, feel it is more reliable.

[rmanet]

Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa
Fat 32 is much easier to get around in case of a nuclear meltdown/plague of killer bees/PC screwup because its recognised by DOS. Having said that is fragments much more than NTFs and lacks the added security features NTFS has.

However if your not on a LAN these security features wont matter much and FAT 32 is the better idea if you dual boot with win 9x as 9x cannot read NTFS

--Jakk

my vote's for FAT32 - all that other stuff doesn't mean much when you have an XP meltdown (I've had two) and was able to make sure I got to my important files using DOS

now I run 2 HDDs and back up to the second about once a week - seems a little weird to have the most "stable" OS according to MS (the w2k guys would argue with that for sure, and my w2k machine at work doesn't ever lock up or have problems like I've had with XP) - just have a tendency to switch around components between machines at home, and some of them couldn't find w2k drivers, and the NT ones wouldn't work........

[Swordfish]

FAT32.

[fluffycow]

well, fat32 is more generic, like if ntfs system wont boot into windows ur low on choices(boot disks can't read ntfs if i remember right)

saying that, ntfs seems faster. It also recovered my files after i had some corruption.

windows detected the copprupted files, put them on my desktop, then scheduled scandisk to run at next restart

this worked, it successfully recovered all of my files on restart

the journal in ntfs(a journaling file system) provides better corruption protection

i vote ntfs cuz it saved my files

if u get viruses a lot(run shady programs, dont get updates ect...) stick with fat so you can fix windows with dos and a dual boot to 9X

[bluemoon]

NTFS is not for persons who only has one machine and one hard drive.

During normal use,I love NTFS.
When I run into ntldr missing,I love fat32.

NTFS gives false sense of security and I like it.