MyPage is a personalized page based on your interests.The page is customized to help you to find content that matters you the most.


I'm not curious

Choosing the Right File System: FAT and NTFS

Published on 09 December 15
0
0

Windows offers the choice between two file system families: FAT andNTFS. When formatting new media, you can have a question as to which one is the better file system. As usual, there is no single definite answer. Both file systems can serve you better under a variety of circumstances.

Choosing the Right File System: FAT and NTFS - Image 1

The Better File System

Of the two file systems, NTFS is the most advanced by a large margin. Vastly increased durability and reliability, transaction-based access, alternative data streams, support for on-the-fly file compression and data encryption, access control rights management and many other features that are not available in any incarnation of the FAT file system make NTFS technically superior. However, this superiority comes at a price.

The Price of Technical Superiority

With NTFS being so much “better” than FAT, why is anyone using the simpler, older file system? The answer lies in the price you pay for this technical superiority.

In order to deliver the increased durability and reliability provided by transaction-based, fully logged access, NTFS maintains a transaction journal that stores (even if for a very short while) information about each write access operation. In some configuration, every read operation also causes a write to store information about last access time. This means two things. First, the file system needs space on the disk to store the transaction journal. This also means a vastly increased number of write operations per transaction, which in turn slows down performance of write-stranded media such as USB flash drives and memory cards. In addition, increased write load leads to much shorter lifespan of flash-based media such as SSD drives, flash and memory cards.

So, in a word, NTFS is a better file system, technically; but the superiority comes at a price of bloated system areas and heavier write load. Simply said, you’ll get less free space when you format a disk with NTFS, and you’ll get shorter life from a solid-state storage device.

Compatibility and Portability

While both file systems are developed by Microsoft, NTFS is viewed as a more “closed” file system compared to FAT. Windows PCs are pretty much the only thing that fully supports NTFS-formatted disks. Digital photo cameras, MP3 players, smartphones, most non-Microsoft tablets do not and will not support NTFS if for no other reason but legal restrictions and licensing costs, let alone the increased footprint and the much more difficult technical implementation in portable devices with low computation power.

FAT: The Lighter File System

Initially, such manufacturers as Corsair, Hitachi, Kingmax, Seagate, Sony used FAT as a universal file system for all drive types. Today, it can be viewed as an extremely simplified version of a file system. Does that mean that FAT is a “better” file system? Again, this is not the case. While, indeed, FAT has a much smaller footprint compared to NTFS, the older file system does not offer any of the perks provided by NTFS. No durability under heavy load, no file access restrictions, no this and no that may not mean much when talking about a memory card or USB flash drive, but can be a whole world of a difference if you’re about to format a system drive or a disk to hold important data.

Simply put, there are used for both. You will use NTFS under certain circumstances, while you’ll use FAT in other cases.



Post a Comment

Please notify me the replies via email.

Important:
  • We hope the conversations that take place on MyTechLogy.com will be constructive and thought-provoking.
  • To ensure the quality of the discussion, our moderators may review/edit the comments for clarity and relevance.
  • Comments that are promotional, mean-spirited, or off-topic may be deleted per the moderators' judgment.
You may also be interested in
 
Awards & Accolades for MyTechLogy
Winner of
REDHERRING
Top 100 Asia
Finalist at SiTF Awards 2014 under the category Best Social & Community Product
Finalist at HR Vendor of the Year 2015 Awards under the category Best Learning Management System
Finalist at HR Vendor of the Year 2015 Awards under the category Best Talent Management Software
Hidden Image Url

Back to Top