QUESTION - FAT OR NTFS

MY PEOPLE, WHICH IS THE MOST COMFORTABLE TO USE WHEN MAKING A NEW INSTALLATION ON WINDOWS XP. IS IT FAT OR NTFS AND PLS FOR WHICH EVER ANSWER GIVEN PLS AND PLS STATE YOUR REASONS (THE IMPORTANCE OF UR ANSWER)...

THANKS MY PEOPLE...

reasons for not using FAT32 for win xp :

• Clusters cannot be 64 kilobytes (KB) or larger. If clusters are 64 KB or larger, some programs (such as Setup programs) may incorrectly calculate disk space.
• A FAT32 volume must contain a minimum of 65,527 clusters. You cannot increase the cluster size on a volume that uses the FAT32 file system so that it contains fewer than 65,527 clusters.
• The maximum disk size is approximately 8 terabytes when you take into account the following variables: The maximum possible number of clusters on a FAT32 volume is 268,435,445, and there is a maximum of 32 KB per cluster, along with the space required for the file allocation table (FAT).
• You cannot decrease the cluster size on a FAT32 volume so that the size of the FAT is larger than 16 megabytes (MB) minus 64 KB.
• You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.

When you attempt to format a FAT32 partition that is larger than 32 GB during the Windows XP installation process, the format operation fails near the end of the process, and you may receive the following error message:

Logical Disk Manager: Volume size too big.

why NTFS for Win xp?

Security
FAT32 provides very little security. A user with access to a drive using FAT32 has access to the files on that drive.

NTFS allows the use of NTFS Permissions. It's much more difficult to implement, but folder and file access can be controlled individually, down to an an extreme degree if necessary. The down side of using NTFS Permissions is the chance for error and screwing up the system is greatly magnified.

Windows XP Professional supports file encryption.


Compatibility
NTFS volumes are not recognized by Windows 95/98/Me. This is only a concern when the system is set up for dual or multi-booting. FAT32 must be be used for any drives that must be accessed when the computer is booted from Windows 95/98 or Windows Me.

An additional note to the previous statement. Users on the network have access to shared folders no matter what disk format is being used or what version of Windows is installed.

FAT and FAT32 volumes can be converted to NTFS volumes. NTFS cannot be converted to FAT32 without reformatting.


Space Efficiency
NTFS supports disk quotas, allowing you to control the amount of disk usage on a per user basis.

NTFS supports file compression. FAT32 does not.

How a volume manages data is outside the scope of this article, but once you pass the 8GB partition size, NTFS handles space management much more efficiently than FAT32. Cluster sizes play an important part in how much disk space is wasted storing files. NTFS provides smaller cluster sizes and less disk space waste than FAT32.

In Windows XP, the maximum partition size that can be created using FAT32 is 32GB. This increases to 16TB (terabytes) using NTFS. There is a workaround for the 32GB limitation under FAT32, but it is a nuisance especially considering the size of drives currently being manufactured.


Reliability
FAT32 drives are much more susceptible to disk errors.

NTFS volumes have the ability to recover from errors more readily than similar FAT32 volumes.

Log files are created under NTFS which can be used for automatic file system repairs.

NTFS supports dynamic cluster remapping for bad sectors and prevent them from being used in the future.

ARANI THANKS A MILLION BUT IN NTFS CAN U ACCESS ALL DOS COMMANDS?

ofcourse you can,
here's a list of commands you can execute from windows xp command line:

www.fsref.com/pr/dosxp.shtml

ARE U SAYING THAT IF U WERE TO MAKE AN INSTALLATION U WILL PREFER TO USE NTFS? AND CAN U GET INTO FDISK TO EITHER CREATE OR MAKE A PARTITION IN NTFS?

instead of using fdisk manually for ntfs, i would suggest, using the windows installation disk to create or edit any partitions. it's pretty straightforward, and it will let you change any partition structure right at the beginning of the installation. the entire module is a combination of fdish and format commands, so it not only will let you design your partition structure, but also let you format them into whatever file system you would want each of them to be.

for further info try this link :

support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348

and do me a favour, lose the caps lock when you post a message, it's becomming a bit annoying :lol: