Surely on some occasion you have formatted a USB memory in Windows 10, you have seen that you are offered the option to select the file system that you want to provide to said PenDrive after formatting. The options you can choose from are usually: NTFS, FAT, FAT32 and exFAT. But what are file systems and what is the difference between them?
Related: 3 ways to format a hard drive or USB memory.
All operating systems including Windows 10 use file systems such as FAT and NTFS in order to improve the organization of data and increase the efficiency with which this data is found and used. However, not all file systems are the same and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
What are FAT, FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS file systems?
NTFS and FAT are two file systems that represent a different data storage and organization technique on the hard drive or USB stick. These file systems also specify what kinds of attributes can be assigned to a file, such as: file names, permissions, or other attributes.
The NTFS and FAT file systems are used in most operating systems such as Windows 10. However, it should be noted that the NTFS file system allows storing large files and volumes as well as providing an efficient data organization compared to the others file systems.
FAT file system
FAT is the acronym for File Allocation Table. It is a simple file system originally designed for small hard drives and simple folder structures. In short, it is an organization mode, a file allocation table, found at the beginning of the volume. In the event of a fatal failure, two copies of the table will be preserved to protect the volume.
FAT32 it is the de facto standard. However, there is a limitation in this standard. Individual files on a USB drive with the FAT32 file system cannot exceed the 4GB size limit. Also, the FAT32 partition must be less than 8TB. This is the reason why FAT32 is considered suitable for USB flash drives or external drives, but not for an internal hard drive.
ExFAT file system
As you can guess from its name, exFAT is short for Extended File Allocation Table. It is a more current version of FAT32 that was created by Microsoft. It is similar to the FAT32 file system but does not have the limits of the FAT32 file system, ie; allows users to store files much larger than the 4 GB allowed by FAT32.
NTFS file system
NTFS was created primarily with the intention of removing the limitations of FAT file systems. In addition, it provides a much more robust security. As such, the NTFS file system prevents unauthorized access to the content of files by applying an encryption system called “Encrypting File System” that uses a public security key.
Beyond the above, the FAT file system cannot open files with names that use letters or characters that are not found in the English grammar. The NTFS file system removes this limitation as well. You can use any UTF character. As such, files can be easily named using even more rare or complicated languages.
Difference between NTFS, FAT, FAT32 and exFAT file systems
The FAT system, at most, supports files up to 4 GB in size. NTFS has the capacity to store files up to 16 TB. However, there are other differences which we detail below:
NTFS
– Capacity to support device or storage units of more than 40 GB up to 2 TB.
– Allows extended file names with support for multi-language characters.
– It has a poor maintenance system in chkdsk.
– Chkdsk is quite slow.
– Greater security with file encryption.
– Faster on drives under 40GB.
– Smaller groups of files, 4kb.
– Compression to reduce disk space.
– User permissions for files and folders.
– File copies can be “rolled back” by cleaning up the broken cluster.
– Small files are stored in the main File Table in front of the unit.
FAT
– Not compatible with the latest versions of Windows
– Drive support over 32MB up to 2TB
– Offers better and more interactive recovery functions.
– The Check Disc function is fast.
– Space only for the operating system to read the files.
– Faster on drives less than 10GB (FAT 16 cluster size is 32kb)
– Cluster strings that contain broken copy data are marked as corrupted.
– The main file table is separated from the files.
FAT 32
– Lacks security features like those found in the NTFS file system.
– Modern versions of Windows cannot be installed (since the files are large).
exFAT
– ExFAT drives can be accessed on Linux by installing the appropriate software.
– Works with all versions of Windows and modern versions of Mac OS X so these USB sticks can be used on both Windows and Mac OSX computers.
Well, once it is clear what they are and the differences between the different file systems, now you are the one who must decide which of them you want to use on your USB stick or hard drive.
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