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File system NTFS and FAT32. What to do if the data is missing

NTFS, FAT or EXFAT are completely different file systems that can be used to store data on various media. Both are created in Microsoft and are mainly used for Windows, but support in the Linux kernel for them is also there.

Most often, NTFS is used to install Windows operating system or Windows partitions for files, while FAT is often used on flash drives or other external drives. Also, FAT can often be used as a basic file system for Android. In this article, we will consider the differences in Fat and NTFS, we will analyze in detail what they differ and why are needed.

File system establishes the basic rules how data will be organized when recording onto the carrier, regardless of what it is hDD or flash drive. The file system describes how the folders will be organized.

A certain part of the data called the file is posted in necessary region drive The file system performs all the necessary calculations, and also determines the minimum indivisible size of the data block, maximum size File, follows fragmentation. There are many different types of file systems, this, for example, file systems for installing OS, for external media for optical disks, Distributed File Systems. But in this article we will only perform a comparison of FAT and NTFS.

What is FAT file system?

FAT32 and NTFS file systems are very different. Fat is decrypted as File Allocation Table. This is a very long-standing file system in the history of computing systems. Her story began in 1977. Then an 8-bit file system was developed, which was used in the NCR 7200 based on Intel 8080. It was an input terminal that worked with flexible disks. The file system was written by Microsoft employee, Mark McDonald after discussing her concept with Bil Gates.

The FAT file system began to be used in the MDOS operating system for the Z80 platform. A few years later, new versions were issued, such as FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32.

FAT32 increased the maximum volume size of up to 16 TB, compared with FAT16. The file size is also increased to 4 GB. File Allocation Table 32 bits emerged in August 1995 for Windows 95. But this file system can still be used to install heavy applications or storage. big files. Therefore, Microsoft has developed a new file system - NTFS, which is deprived of such flaws.

FAT32 is an excellent external media file system if you need to transmit files the size of no more than 4 GB. It is supported by the set various devices, such as cameras, cameras, music players. All versions of Windows and Linux distributions fully support FAT32. Even Apple MacOS supports it.

What is the NTFS file system?

For its new Microsoft systems has developed a new file system - New Technology File System or NTFS. It appeared in 1993, in Windows NT 3.1. NTFS removed many limitations on files and disk. Its development began back in 1980, as a result of combining Microsoft and IBM to create a new file system with improved performance.

But the cooperation of companies lasted long, and IBM released HPFS, which was used in OS / 2, and Microsoft created NTFS 1.0. The maximum size of one file in NTFS can reach a 16 exam, which means that even the largest files will be placed in it.

NTFS 3.1 was released for Windows XP and received many interesting improvements, such as supporting sections reduction, automatic recovery and symbolic references, and the maximum disk size with the file system is increased to 256 TB. This is despite the maximum file size of 16 eb.

From others interesting functionswhich have been added later, you can mark the deferred record on the disk, defragmentation support, configuring disk quotas, tracking links and encryption at the file level. With all this, NTFS retains compatibility with previous versions.

Now it is a journaling file system, all file steps are entered into a special magazine, with which the file system can be very quickly restored during damage. NTFS is supported in Windows XP and later versions. If you compare FAT or NTFS, then the latter in Linux is not fully supported, recording and recovery is possible during damage, and only reading is supported in MacOS.

What is the EXFAT file system?

The EXFAT file system is another Microsoft project to improve the old file system. It can be used where FAT32 does not fit. It is much easier for NTFS, but supports files of more than 4 GB, and also often applied on flash drives and drives. When it develops, Microsoft used its search file search technology for hash, which greatly improves performance.

Most countries recognize the US patent right, so any implementation of EXFAT is not possible in any systems with a closed or open source. But Microsoft wants this file system freely extended and used. Therefore, the Fuse-based ExFat version was developed called Fuse-EXFAT. She gives full access Read and write. It also creates an implementation at the Linux kernel level in Samsung, which now also has in public access.

This file system also has the maximum limit on the file size of 16 EB, but it is much easier and has no additional features. If we talk about compatibility, it is fully supported in Windows, MacOS, Android and Linux.

Differences FAT and NTFS

And now consider the main differences in FAT and NTFS as a brief summary for each of the file systems:

FAT32.

  • Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Game Consoles, Almost all devices having USB port;
  • Pros: cross-platform, ease;
  • Minuses: The maximum file size is 4 GB and a 16 GB partition, not journaling;
  • Using: External media.

NTFS

  • Compatibility: Windows, Linux, Xbox ONE, and only reading in Mac;
  • Pros: journaling, large limits on the size of the partition and file, encryption, automatic recovery;
  • Minuses: limited cross-platform;
  • Using: To install Windows.

exFat.

  • Compatibility: Windows XP and above, MacOS x 10.6.5, Linux (Fuse), Android;
  • Pros: Large limit on the size of the partition and file, easy compared to NTFS;
  • Minuses: Microsoft limits its use by the license agreement;
  • Using: For external media and external hard drives.

conclusions

In this article, we compare Fat and NTFS. These are very different file systems. But it is difficult to understand which file system is better than FAT or NTFS, on the one hand, NTFS has much more opportunities, but FAT is lighter and supported wherever possible. For data sections in Linux, which must be available in Windows Best Use Fat, not NTFS because it is supported better. And in your opinion what is better than FAT or NTFS for Linux?

Many users face a misunderstanding of the basics of Windows file systems. It would seem why unnecessary theory? In fact, it is the knowledge of the deep functioning of various file systems that makes it possible to correctly select one or another file system for a particular information carrier. Sometimes an error in the choice can be critical later when solving the problem of recovering information or premature carrier wear.

The file system consists of a file management system and a set of files on a certain type of media (CD, DVD, FDD, HDD, Flash IT.D.). The file management system provides users and applications with the ability to access files, save them and support the integrity of their content. The most common long-term information carrier in modern computing systems is a hard drive - "Winchester". This term is applied to any sealed disk with the aerodynamic design of the reading magnetic heads.

File systems of modern operating systems are installed in the sections hard disk.

FAT 32. Easy and reliability.

There are three FAT file systems: Fat12 (for flexible disks FDD), FAT16, FAT32. They differ in the amount of bits (12, 16, 32) to specify the cluster number in the file management system. In FAT file systems, the logical disk space of any logic disk is divided into a system area and data area. Br - boot record Boot Record; RS - reserved sectors; FAT1, FAT2 - Tables 1 and 2 location of files; RDIR (root directory, root) - root directory. The data area is divided into clusters, which are 1 or several adjacent sectors. In the FAT table, clusters belonging to one file are binding to the chain. The data area of \u200b\u200bthe data area is, in fact, the file posting table (File Allocation Table - Fat) Each FAT table element (12, 16 or 32 bits) corresponds to one disk cluster and characterizes its condition: free, busy or is a failed cluster (Bad Claster) . To specify the cluster number in the FAT16 file management system, a 16-bit word is used, and 65536 clusters can be addressed.

The cluster is the minimum addressable disk unit allocated for the file. A file or directory occupies an integer cluster. Separating the data area to clusters Instead of using sectors, it allows you to reduce the size of the FAT table, reduce file fragmentation, reduces the length of the file chains, accelerates access to the file. The last cluster can be involved not completely, which will lead to a noticeable loss of disk space with a large size of the cluster. On a diskette, the cluster takes 1 or 2 sectors. On hard disk - 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 - sectors in one cluster. Each item has the following structure: File name, file attribute, backup field, creation time, date of creation, last access date, reserve, date of last modification, last modification time, FAT initial cluster number, file size.

In this example, the file named MyFile.txt is located starting from the 8th cluster and takes 12 clusters. Cluster chain for this case: 8.9, A, B, 15,16,17,19,1A, 1B, 1C, 1D. The cluster with number 18 is marked by the F7 code as bad. It cannot be used to place data. This code is set to the formatting and disc check utilities. 1D cluster marked with FF code as a finite belonging this file. Free clusters are marked with code 0. When highlighting a new cluster, the 1st loose cluster is taken to write to the file. Since disk files change, removed, move, increase and decrease, this rule Placement leads to fragmentation, i.e. The data of one file is not located in adjacent clusters, but sometimes very remote from each other. Food chain is formed. This leads to a slowdown in working with files. Since Fat is used when accessing the disk is very intense, it is loaded into rAM. The FAT32 system is much more efficient to spend disk space, as it uses smaller clusters compared to previous versions of FAT. Compared to FAT16, it gives savings 10-16%.

The directory element in the Attribute field can store the following values:

1) archive (installed when the file changes and removed the program executing backup files to another carrier);

2) directory;

3) Tom label;

4) systemic;

5) hidden;

6) read only.

Long names in FAT32 are provided by using multiple directory entry elements: for one file (one item is one entry for the name 8.3, and 24 records for the longest name, which can contain up to 256 characters. Therefore, it is not recommended to use long names.

The main disadvantage of FAT is slow work with files. When creating a file, the rule works - the first free cluster is highlighted. This leads to disk fragmentation and complex chains of files. From here it is to slow down work with files.

In principle, the FAT file system is what needs to be avoided today. Therefore, it is vital to choose a suitable that will allow you to avoid this file system.

NTFS: Convenience and high speed.

One of the main concepts used when working with NTFS is the concept of volume. It is possible to create a fault-tolerant volume that occupies several sections, that is, the use of RAID technology. NTFS divides all useful volume disk space to clusters - data blocks addressed to as data units. NTFS supports cluster dimensions from 512 bytes to 64 KB; 2 or 4 KB disk are discharged under the MFT zone - the space that can occupy, increasing in the amount, the main service metafyle MFT. Data entry to this area is not possible. The MFT zone is empty so that the service file (MFT) cannot be fragmented if possible with its growth.

MFT (Total File Table) is a centralized directory of all other disk files, including yourself. MFT is divided into fixed size in 1 Kbyte, each entry corresponds to any file. The first 16 files are of official nature and are not available to the operating system - they are called metafiles, and the very first metafile - the MFT itself. These first 16 MFT elements are the only part of the disk having a strictly fixed position. A copy of the same 16 records is stored in the middle of the volume for reliability, as they are very important. The remaining parts of the MFT file can be located in arbitrary disk places - it is possible to restore its position using it itself, "clinging" for the most basis - for the first element MFT. Each file in NTFS is represented by streams, it does not have data, and there are "streams". One of the streams - file data. For one file, you can define multiple data streams.

Main features NTFS:

Work on the discs of large volume is effective (much more efficient than in FAT);

There are means to restrict access to files and catalogs;

NTFS sections provide local security both files and directories;

An entered transaction mechanism in which file operations are logged;

A significant increase in reliability;

Many restrictions on the maximum number of disk sectors and / or clusters were removed;

The file name in NTFS, in contrast to FAT and HPFS file systems, may contain any characters, including a complete set of national alphabets, as the data is presented in Unicode - 16-bit representation, which gives 65535 different characters. The maximum length of the file name in NTFS is 255 characters.

The NTFS system also has built-in compression tools that can be applied to individual files, entire catalogs and even volumes (and subsequently cancel or assign them at their discretion). The NTFS directory is a special file that stores links to other files and directories.

NTFS provides security at the file level; This means that access rights to the volumes, catalogs and files may depend on account The user and those groups to which it belongs. Each time the user refers to the file system object, its access rights are checked by the list of permissions. this object. If the user has a sufficient level of rights, its request is satisfied; Otherwise, the query deviates. This security model is used both with local user registration on computers with NT and during remote network queries.

The NTFS system also has certain self-healing means. NTFS supports various system integrity check mechanisms, including transaction logging, allow you to play file operations on a special system log.

The main disadvantage of the NTFS file system - service data occupy a lot of space (for example, each directory element takes 2 KB) - for small partitions, the service data may occupy up to 25% of the carrier volume.

Thus, choosing the type of file system, we choose not some abstract action, we accept a set of solutions that affect the entire system as a whole. Why know so detailed all the bottom fetful file system? It is necessary for its possible recovery, which we will tell in one of the following articles \u003d)

There are many ways to store information and programs on the hard disk. A very well-known system that saves various information in the form of files, grouping them in folders with the assignment of unique. However, few people wondered how actually physically saving information on the carrier occurs.

In order for the physical media to save the information, it must be prepared for use in the computer operating system. The operating system for saving information highlights the free disk area. To do this, share the disk on small containers - sectors. Disc formatting on a low level allocates a certain size for each sector. The operating system grows these sectors to clusters. Formatting at the highest level sets all clusters the same size, usually in the range from 2 to 16 sectors. In the future, each file is allocated one or more clusters. The cluster size depends on the operating system, the disk capacity, as well as the required speed of operation.

In addition to the area for storing files on the disk, there are areas necessary for the operation of the operating system. These areas are designed to store download information and information to compare file addresses with physical position on the disk. The boot area is used to start the operating system. After booting the BIOS, it is read and executing the bootable area of \u200b\u200bthe disk to start the operating system.

FAT file system

FAT file system appeared along with the operating room microsoft system DOS, after which it was improved several times. She has versions of Fat12, FAT16 and FAT32. The FAT name itself comes from using a file system a kind of database in the form of "File Placement Tables" (File Allocation Table), which contains an entry for each cluster on the disk. Version numbers refer to the number of bits used in the elements in the table. Thus, the file system has a limit on the supported disk size. In 1987, it did not support the disk of over 32 MB. With the advent of Windows 95 came out a new version FAT32 file system with theoretical support of disks with a capacity of up to 2 TB. Permanent problems with support for large-sized discs appear due to a fixed amount of elements bounded by the number of bits used in determining the position of the cluster. For example, the FAT16 version does not support more than 2 16 or 65536 clusters. The number of sectors in the cluster is also limited.

Another problem with big discs was the impossibility of using a huge space allocated for small files. Due to the fact that the number of clusters is limited, their size increased so that the entire capacity of the disk can be covered. This leads to ineffective use of space when storing most of the files, the size of which is not shorten the size of the cluster. For example, FAT32 allocates clusters of 16 KB for disk partitions in the range from 16 to 32 GB. To store a file of 20 kb, two clusters of 16 KB are required, which will occupy on a 32 KB disk. 1 KB files occupy 16 KB on disk. Thus, an average of 30-40% of the size of the disc capacitance disappears to store small files. The breakdown of the disk into small sections allows to reduce the size of the cluster, but for disks with a capacity of more than 200 GB in practice it does not apply.

Fragmentation of files is also not a small file system problem. Since several clusters may be required to host the file, which may not be physically located successively by each other, the time that is required to read slows down the operation of the programs. Therefore, it is constantly needed.

NTFS file system

In the early 90s, Microsoft began developing a completely new software designed for the environment with great resource consumption than ordinary home users. For the needs of business and the resource industry provided by the Windows operating systems based on DOS, it has become not enough. Microsoft Corporation with IBM worked on the OS / 2 operating system with the HPFS file system (High Performance File System - High Efficiency File System). Corporate development did not bring success and soon each company again went to its own way. Microsoft has developed various versions Windows NT operating system, based on Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Each of them uses its own version of the NTFS file system, which continues to develop.

NTFS (New Technology File System - "New Technology File System") is a standard file system for operating systems on windows-based NT. It was designed to replace FAT. NTFS is the most flexible compared to FAT. In its system areas, it is mainly stored files, and not fixed structures as in FAT, which allows them to change, expand or move during use. Simple example is the Master File Table (MFT) - "Home File Table". MFT is a kind of database with different file information on disk. Small sized files (1 KB and less) can be stored directly in the MFT. For large NTFS files, clusters allocate clusters, but unlike the FAT, the cluster size usually does not exceed 4 KB, and the built-in compression method eliminates problems with the unused place allocated under the files. And in NTFS you can use.

The NTFS file system is designed for a multiplayer environment and has built-in mechanisms for the protection and delimitation of access rights. For example, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems (except "home edition") allow you to set permissions to access individual files and encrypt them. However, the high level of safety complicates the work ordinary users with a computer. You must be extremely careful when installing passwords and file permissions in order not to lose important data.

FIX FILE ALLOCATION TABLE - File Placement Table) received its name thanks to a simple table, which indicates:

Directly addressed areas of the logical disk, allocated to place the files or their fragments in them;

Free areas of disk space;

Defective disk areas (these areas contain defective sections and do not guarantee reading and writing data without errors).

In the FAT file system, the disk space of any logical disk is divided into two areas (Fig. 6.1): system regionand data area.

Fig. 6.1. Logic disk structure in Fat

The system area of \u200b\u200bthe logic disk is created and initialized when formatting, and subsequently updated when working with a file structure. The logic disk data area contains ordinary directory files and files; These objects form a hierarchy subordinate to the root catalog. Catalog element


FAT file system FAT____________________________________________ 167

ha describes a file object that can be either a regular file or directory file. The data area, unlike the system area, is available through user interface operating system. The system area consists of the following components (located in the logical address space for each other):

Boot record (BOOT RECORD, BR);

Reserved sectors (Reserved Sectors, Ressec);

File Allocation Tables (File Allocation Table, Fat);

Root directory (root directory, rdir).

File Placement Table

File Placement Table is a very important information structure. It can be said that it is an address card of the data area, which describes the status of each area of \u200b\u200bthe data area, and belong to it to a particular file object.

The entire data area is divided into the so-called clusters.The cluster is one or more adjacent sectors in the logical disk address space (more precisely - only in the data area). The cluster is the minimum addressable disk unit, allocated to the file (or non-corneous directory). Clusters are entered in order to reduce the number of addressed units in the logic disk data area.

Each file occupies an integer cluster. The last cluster can not be activated that with a large size of the cluster can lead to a noticeable loss of disk space. On the diskettes, the cluster takes one or two sectors, and on hard disks Its size depends on the volume of the partition (Table 6.1). In the FAT table, clusters belonging to one file (or directory) are binding to chains. To specify the cluster number in the FAT 16 file system, a 16-bit word is used, consequently, you can have up to 2 10 \u003d 65,536 clusters (with numbers from 0 to 65 535).

Table 6.1.. The ratios between the size of the section and the size of the clusters in FAT16

Particle capacity, MB Number of sectors in cluster Cluster size, KB

Note that in Windows NT / 2000 / XP, the FAT file system sections may be of size up to 4097 MB. In this case, the cluster will unite 128 sectors.

The cluster number always refers to the area of \u200b\u200bthe disk data (space reserved for files and subdirectories). Cluster numbers correspond to ele-


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file placement tables. The first permissible cluster number always starts with 2.

The logical partition of the data area into clusters as a totality of sectors instead of using single sectors has the following meaning:

First of all, the size of the FAT table itself is reduced; - the possible fragmentation of files is reduced;

Accelerate access to the file, since several times the length of the chains of the disk space fragments selected for it are reduced.

However, too large cluster size leads to ineffective use of the data area, especially in the case of a large number of small files. As we just noticed, on average, about half of the cluster is lost on each file. From table. 6.1 It follows that with the size of the cluster in 32 sectors (the volume of the partition is from 512 to 1023 MB), that is, 16 KB, the average value of the file on the file is 8 KB, and with several thousand files 1 loss can be more than 100 MB. Therefore, in modern file systems, cluster sizes are limited (usually from 512 bytes to 4 KB), or the ability to choose the cluster size.

The idea of \u200b\u200bthe file system that uses the file laying table is illustrated, illustrates Fig. 6.2.

Fig. 6.2. Stock Illustration Basic Fat Concept

From the figure it is seen that the MyFile.txt file is located starting from the eighth cluster. Total MyFile.txt file takes 12 clusters. The cluster chain (chain) for our example can be recorded as follows: 8, 9,0A, 0V, 15,16,17,19,

1 For example, the number of 10,000-15,000 files (or even more, especially when small files) on a logical disk with a volume of 1000 MB occurs quite often.


FAT file system169

1A, 1B, 1C, 1D. The cluster with number 18 is marked with a special code F7 as bad (BAD), it cannot be used to place data. When formatting, the magnetic disk surface is usually checked, and those sectors, when the control reading from which errors occurred are marked in Fat as bad. The 1D cluster is marked with the FF code as the final (last in the chain) cluster belonging to this file. Free (unoccupied) clusters are marked with code 00; When you allocate a new cluster to record the file, the first free cluster is taken. Possible values \u200b\u200bthat can be attributed to the elements of the FAT table are shown in Table. 6.2.

Table 6.2.Values \u200b\u200bof Fat elements

Meaning Description

Ooooh free cluster

fFFOH-FFF6HReserved cluster

fff7h bad cluster

fffsh-ffffLast cluster in a chain

0002h-Ffefh number next cluster in the chain

Since disk files change (removed, moved, increase or decrease), then the mentioned rule of highlighting the first free cluster for a new portion of data leads to fragmentationfiles, that is, the data of one file can be placed in adjacent clusters, but sometimes in very remote from each other, forming complex chains. Naturally, this leads to a significant slowdown in files.

Due to the fact that the FAT table is used when accessing the disk is very intense, it is usually loaded into operational to vary (in I / O buffers or to the cache) and remains there as long as possible. If the table is large, and the file cache, on the contrary, is relatively small, only fragments of this table are placed in memory, which turned out to be recently.

Due to the extreme importance of the FAT table, it is usually stored in two identical instances, the second of which immediately follows. Updated copies of FAT at the same time, only the first instance is used. If for any reason it will be destroyed, then an appeal to the second instance will occur. For example, the scanning utility and recovery of the SCANDISK file structure from Windows 9X is detected when the initial and backup failure is detected, offers to restore the main table using data from the copy.

The root directory is different from the usual directory file because it also has a fixed number of elements in a fixed location of the logical disk. For each file and directory in the file system, information is stored in accordance with the structure presented in Table. 6.3.

To work with data on magnetic disks in DOS systems that have FAT file system, it is convenient to use the well-known Disk Editor utility from


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set of utilities Peter Norton. She has many advantages. First of all, it is compact, easily placed on the MS DOS system diskette, is equipped with a built-in prompt system and necessary reference information. Using it, you can save, modify and restore the boot record, restore the FAT table in case of damage, as well as perform many other operations. The main disabilities of this program today are limitations on the size of the disk and partitions and the lack of support for working with such common file systems as FAT32 and NTFS. Instead, now often use the Partition Magic utility, however best alternative This program today can be considered the utility of the ACRONIS disk administrator.

Table 6.3.Structure of the catalog element

Data field size, byte field content

11 File Name or Directory

1 File Attributes

1 Backup Field

3 Creation time

2 Date of creation

2 Last Access Date

2 reserved

2 Time of last modification

2 Latest Modification Date

2 Number of the initial cluster in Fat

4 File size

Structure boot record DOS.

The sector containing the DOS system loader is the very first on logical disk from:. Recall that on a diskette, the system loader is located in the very first sector; Its physical address is 0-0-1. The boot record consists, as we already know, from two parts: disc parameter block(Disk Parameter Block, DPB) and system boot(System Bootstrap, SB). The disk parameter block is used to identify the physical and logical formats of the logical disk, and the system loader plays a significant role in the DOS boot process. This information structure is given in Table. 6.4.

The first two bytes of the boot record occupies the unconditional transition command (JMP) to the SB program. The third byte contains the code 90n (NOP - no operation). Then there is an eight-bike system identifier, which includes information about the developer and version of the operating system. Then follows the disk parameter block, and after it is a system loader.

To work with the DOS boot record, as with other service information structures, it is convenient to use the already mentioned Disk Program


File system FAT____________________________________________ 171

Editor from the set of utilities Peter Norton. Using it, you can save, modify and restore the boot record, as well as perform many other operations. In detail, work with this utility is described in.

Table 6.4. Structure of boot records for FAT16

Field Offset, Field Length, Designation Field Content
Byte byte field

UN (0) 3 Jump 3EH unconditional transition to the beginning

system boot

OZH (3) 8 System identifier

Aries (11) 2 Sectsize Size Size, Byte

UN (13) 1 Clastsize Number of sectors in cluster

0Un (14) 2 Rescs Number of reserved sectors

10n (16) 1 FATCNT number of copies Fat

11N (17) 2 Rootsize Maximum number of RDIR elements

13N (19) 2 totsecs The number of sectors on the logical disk,

if its size does not exceed 32 MB; Otherwise 0000n

15N (21) 1 media carrier handle

16n (22) 2 Fatsize FAT Size, Sectors

18n (24) 2 TRKSECS Number of sectors on the track

1an (26) 2 HeadCNT number of work surfaces

1CH (28) 4 hidnsecs Number of hidden sectors

20n (32) 4 Number of sectors on logical disk,

if its size exceeds 32 MB

24N (36) 1 type of logical disk (UN is flexible,

80n - hard)

25N (37) 1 reserved

26N (38) 1 marker with 29N code

27N (39) 4 Serial number Tom 1.

2VN (43) 11 Tom label

36N (54) 8 File System Name

Xen (62) System Loader

1FEH (510) 2 Signatures (word AA55N)

1 volume (VOLUME) is a single logical address space. Tom can be an ordinary logical disk or several disk spaces.

Each of us at least once in life formatted a USB flash drive, an SD card, an external or inner hard disk and probably remembers that before the formatting of any of the above devices, the Windows operating system always sets the question - to which file system you want to format your device: FAT32 , NTFS or EXFAT?

Of course, most users do not know the difference between them, and usually choose the option that is set by default. And all because Windows, asking this question, does not explain the difference between them. We are in this article we will try to explain it to you and tell you what the FAT32 file system differs from NTFS and EXFAT.

FAT32. It is the oldest of the file systems under consideration and is most often used on portable flash drives - flash drives or SD cards.

NTFS Windows is used as the main file system for the disk on which this operating system is installed, and it is also great for other built-in disks and partitions of the computer's hard disk running Windows.

exFat. It is a more modern analogue of the outdated FAT32 system and it maintains more devices than NTFS, but still not so much as "classic" FAT32.

Now let's look at each of these file systems.

FAT32 file system

FAT32. It is the oldest file system from those considered in this article. She began to actively be used starting with Windows 95 and came to replace an even more obsolete system - FAT16.

A large age of this file system has its advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits in this case include the fact that FAT32 has become a kind of standard and is still used in all interchangeable media by default. If you buy a flash drive today or an SD card - "From the factory", the FAT32 file system will be installed on it. This is done first of all so that your replaceable carrier could maintain not only modern computers and gadgets, but also old devices and game consoles that have a USB port and know how to work only with FAT32 file system.

However, due to the age of this system, it has some drawbacks, the main of which is the limit on the size of the file and the entire volume. Each individual file in this file system cannot have a size of more than 4 gigabytes, and the entire partition with FAT32 file system cannot be more than 8 terabytes.

And if with the second minus it is still quite possible to terms (so far, few people use more than 8TB drives), then the limit on the file size is quite a major minus - most of the video in high quality are no longer stacked in size 4GB, especially if they are in modern format 4k.

However, so far this file system is still quite suitable for portable devices (like flash drives and SD cards on which many small files are placed), but for a hard disk of the computer, it is not at all suitable. First of all, it lacks some security features that are available in a more modern NTFS file system, and in part, because of this, you can no longer be able to install the modern version of Windows to disk with the FAT32 system, you will need to reformat it in NTFS.

Compatibility FAT32.

FAT32 file system devices are the most universal and compatible with all versions of Windows operating systems, Mac OS, Linux, any game consoles and in general, almost to all that has a USB port.

Restrictions FAT32.

The main disadvantages of this file system are limitations on the file size and volume - the maximum file size cannot exceed 4 GB, and the maximum partition size is limited to 8 TB.

Application FAT32.

The main area of \u200b\u200busing this file system is external data storage devices, which are not supposed to store large files and which requires maximum compatibility with as many variety of diverse devices.

NTFS file system

NTFS - This is a more modern and technological file system, which even decoding the abbreviation of its name - " new Technology File System ". Most of all, it loves the Windows operating system, which is generally not surprising - after all, both developed by Microsoft.

Starting from the version of the operating system from Microsoft called XP, in which the NTFS system for the first time and has become standard when installed Windows dialogue The window will definitely ask you to format the system partition to this file system. On the this moment It is believed that about the limitations of the NTFS file system to you, theoretically, there are no long-year worried.

In addition to the lack of serious limitations on the file size and section, NTFS has several additional advantages, such as: support for file access rights (to enhance data security), changes to logging (to restore the file structure in case of failure), encryption, disk quotas, rigid links , other modern functionsthat make NTFS perfect for the system disk.

That is why the section of your disk to which the Windows operating system is installed must be in formatted in NTFS. If you are going to install programs on other sections of the same disk or other hard drives, they must also have the appropriate file system.

Unfortunately, NTFS is not compatible with most other operating systems, as it has been developed under Windows requirements. It perfectly work with it all versions of Microsoft operating system starting with XP and ending with the last Windows 10, but other OS has significant restrictions when working with it.

For example, Mac OS can only read the data from the disks with the NTFS file system, but cannot write on them. Some rare Linux distributions may be able to write on disks with NTFS, but most are still limited only to reading information. None of playstation versions It can not work with NTFS, as well as the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, and only the new Xbox One supports this file system.

NTFS compatibility

This file system works great with all the latest Windows operating systems starting with XP, has restrictions on the Mac OS and Linux, and does not work with most other devices, except except Xbox One.

NTFS restrictions

Restrictions on the size of the faers or sections in NTFS for a long time should not last to the framework, so we can say that there are currently no.

Application NTFS

The use of this file system is reasonable only on hard drives and SSDs on which the Windows operating system is installed, since only this format only discloses all its advantages.

EXFAT file system

exFat. It was first introduced in 2008 and is the most modern of the file systems under consideration in this article, its support has been added to Windows starting from the XP version using OS updates.

The exfat file system was created and optimized for use on external drives - flash drives, SD cards and external hard drives, and is designed to replace the outdated FAT32 system. It is the easiest and simple file system due to the lack of various specialized features inherent in NTFS, as well as the almost complete lack of limitations on the file size and partition that FAT32 has.

Also, EXFAT has better compatibility with various operating systems than NTFS, and devices are perfectly read and overwritten both on Windows and Mac OS and on Linux (subject to installing some software).

Since EXFAT is supported by the Mac OS operating system by default, it is likely it will be supported by most of the other modern devices with which Apple devices are running, for example, digital cameras.

Modern versions gaming consoles, such as Xbox One and PlayStation 4, also support devices with the EXFAT file system, in contrast to them. previous versions (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3).

Exfat compatibility

exFat works great with all modern versions Windows (starting with XP) and Mac OS. To work with Linux, you will need to install additional software. This file system supports much more than various devices than NTFS, but some of them (mostly old versions) can still work with FAT32.

Exfat restrictions

Also, as in the case of NTFS, realistic limitations on the file size or partition in the ExFat system so far.

Application ExFat.

This file system is excellent for use on various removable media, the size of the files on which may exceed 4 GB ( external hard Discs, large volumes). If all the devices you work are modern, you may well refuse FAT32 on removable drives In favor of ExFat.

Summing up You can make the following conclusions: NTFS is excellent for a system hard disk with Windows OS, exFat is better Use on removable media information, and FAT32 is worth using only if you want to maximize compatibility with all the variety of your devices.