Difference Between FAT32 and NTFS

In this post, we will understand the difference between FAT32 and NTFS

NT File System (NTFS)

It is a modern file system, used by default by Windows OS.
The system drive is formatted with NTFS file system when Windows OS is installed.
It has file size and partition size limits which are very high, hence there is no chance of user running up against it.
It was first seen in consumer versions of Windows (XP).
It was originally known as Windows NT.
It has modern features that can’t be found on FAT32 and exFAT.
It supports file permissions for security.
It comes with a change journal that helps recover from errors quickly (in case of a computer crash).
It provides shadow copies for backups, encryption, disk quota limits, hard links.
It is compatible with all Windows versions.
It is read-only compatible with Mac OS.
It may not be completely compatible with Linux distributions.
It doesn’t have any realistic file-size or partition size limits.

It is known as File Allocation Table 32.
It is the oldest of the file system available to Windows.
It was introduced in 1995 to replace older FAT16 systems used by MS-DOS and Windows 3.
The individual files on FAT32 drive can’t be more than 4 GB in size.
A FAT32 partition would have to be less than 8 TB, which is considered a limitation, unless a very high capacity drive is required.
Modern versions of Windows can’t use a drive that has been formatted with FAT32.
They require NTFS.
It is compatible with all versions of Windows, Mac, Linux, game consoles, and basically anything that comes with a USB port.
It has a 4 GB maximum file size, and 8 TB maximum partition size limitation.

Published on 16-Apr-2021 07:39:00