exFAT vs NTFS for non-OS partitions

spectatorx · Aug 4, 2019

At the moment i have to format clean, empty internal hdd which i will be using for storing data on it and i'm wondering which partition format should i choose. I'm dual booting windows and linux. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to exfat over ntfs?

natr0n · Aug 4, 2019

Well exfat is better for flash based things/devices that arent OS.

Because exfat was designed for flash. NTFS has an overhead/cost of space basically.

rtwjunkie · Aug 4, 2019

spectatorx said:
At the moment i have to format clean, empty internal hdd which i will be using for storing data on it and i'm wondering which partition format should i choose. I'm dual booting windows and linux. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to exfat over ntfs?

I would stick to ntfs for that drive, or GPT. Leave exFAT for flash drives.

Shihab · Aug 4, 2019

Don't bother with exFAT, it was meant for mobile/removable media, not the big league storage. Compared to NTFS, you lose journaling and indexing, meaning less reliability and painfall file-searching process.

Space Lynx · Aug 4, 2019

I agree rtw, NTFS and GPS, don't think twice about it. Makes life easier

Mussels · Aug 4, 2019

exfat is a godsend for portable devices since more devices can read it - my TV and phone support EXFAT natively but not NTFS, for example

If you want the drive read and writeable with other OS's (linux, android, etc) then go with exfat. NTFS is fine if its just gunna be used in windows.

Shihab · Aug 4, 2019

Mussels said:
If you want the drive read and writeable with other OS's (linux, android, etc) then go with exfat. NTFS is fine if its just gunna be used in windows.

NTFS-3G?

Jetster · Aug 4, 2019

Simple answer No

spectatorx · Aug 4, 2019

Shihabyooo said:
NTFS-3G?

Yes and no. NTFS can be painful experience on linux, especially if someone is using fast boot on windows or just unplugged drive without save removal (again, on windows). I do not know how on that matter exfat works under linux, if it is better or not and as i am dual-booting then it is pretty important in my case.

Mussels · Aug 4, 2019

Shihabyooo said:
NTFS-3G?

and how do i install that to my TV and non rooted phone? Again, Exfat has its place. NTFS has its place. None are entirely universal or perfect.
iPad Pro supports exfat but not NTFS, as another example.

newtekie1 · Aug 4, 2019

If you plan to use the drive in Windows only: NTFS.
If you plan to use the drive in Windows and Linux: exFAT.

Yes, NTFS can work in Linux, but sometimes it is a pain and really not worth it over just using exFAT if you have the option, IMO.

R-T-B · Aug 4, 2019

spectatorx said:
I do not know how on that matter exfat works under linux

A fuse driver, same as NTFS, making the linux consideration moot. Exfat will have just as many issues as ntfs-3g.

NTFS is signifigantly more resilient to "interruptions" (ie, hotswapping durring a data op) it should be noted. That's because it is journaled where exfat is not.

Mussels said:
and how do i install that to my TV and non rooted phone?

Cool story but I thought we were talking OPs linux PC?

rtwjunkie said:
GPT

That's a partition table, not a filesystem...

lynx29 said:
GPS

...

Shihab · Aug 4, 2019

Mussels said:
and how do i install that to my TV and non rooted phone? Again, Exfat has its place. NTFS has its place. None are entirely universal or perfect.
iPad Pro supports exfat but not NTFS, as another example.

I didn't mean that for your use case or in general, I meant it specifically for the OP's.
I agree, for non-general-purpose/highly locked down computers it's no solution, but that's not the case here, right?

spectatorx said:
Yes and no. NTFS can be painful experience on linux, especially if someone is using fast boot on windows or just unplugged drive without save removal (again, on windows). I do not know how on that matter exfat works under linux, if it is better or not and as i am dual-booting then it is pretty important in my case.

I mentioned NTFS-G3 as an argument against Linux's inability to write on NTFS partitions (which was an issue in the days of old).
I admit that Windows' hibernation can make it annoying to use a drive over OSes, but isn't impossible per se. A simple batch file should do the trick (unmount drive then hibernate/shutdown with fastboot).

How one uses their computer does have a say in this. In my case, I don't need (and honestly, don't think it's clean or safe) to suspend one OS when switching to another and use a secondery partition. Too much can go wrong with that. Simple scenario: Consider a software with open handles to a file in the suspended OS, that you modify in anyway in the other OS. It wouldn't matter what FS you use in this case.

Yes, exFAT would bypass that issue, but again, you lose all the perks of a filesystem designed for desktops (on Windows at least. I hear Linux support still lacks some features).

rtwjunkie · Aug 4, 2019

R-T-B said:
That's a partition table, not a filesystem...

D’oh!!!

Sure enough is. I must have had a massive brainfart. SMH.

newtekie1 · Aug 4, 2019

R-T-B said:
A fuse driver, same as NTFS, making the linux consideration moot. Exfat will have just as many issues as ntfs-3g.

There is a kernal implementation for exFAT for LInux.

R-T-B · Aug 4, 2019

newtekie1 said:
There is a kernal implementation for exFAT for LInux.

As a module or what? Never seen it in the kernel.

EDIT: Ah, it appears there IS indeed one... with very sketchy legal status, mind;

Native Linux Kernel Module Is Out For Microsoft exFAT - Phoronix Forums

Discuss anything Linux related that doesn't fit into any of the other areas.

www.phoronix.com

No distro in it's right mind includes this, so nonapplicable.

newtekie1 · Aug 4, 2019

R-T-B said:
As a module or what? Never seen it in the kernel.

EDIT: Ah, it appears there IS indeed one... with very sketchy legal status, mind;

Native Linux Kernel Module Is Out For Microsoft exFAT - Phoronix Forums

Discuss anything Linux related that doesn't fit into any of the other areas.

www.phoronix.com

No distro in it's right mind includes this, so nonapplicable.

They probably won't use that one, but they'll probably use the free one Samsung developed and released under the GPL.

It can't be included in Linux distros(nothing exFAT or NTFS can be included by default because of Microsoft owning both). However, the Kernal implementation driver is a much nicer solution than any FUSE driver, and there are only FUSE drivers available for NTFS.

eidairaman1 · Aug 4, 2019

Man Fat 32 with a larger cluster was faster than ntfs. But then so was ntfs with clusters of 8 or higher

R-T-B · Aug 4, 2019

newtekie1 said:
They probably won't use that one, but they'll probably use the free one Samsung developed and released under the GPL.

Following the news surrounding that, it looks like they are actually one and the same and Samsung just threw in the towel when it was leaked. Point granted

ypsylon · Aug 4, 2019

If you move files between different platforms and OSes then clearly exFAT has giant advantage as being supported by any OS in existence without any additional drivers or 3rd party tools.

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exFAT vs NTFS for non-OS partitions

spectatorx

natr0n

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

Shihab

Space Lynx

Astronaut

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Shihab

Jetster

spectatorx

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

R-T-B

Shihab

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

R-T-B

Native Linux Kernel Module Is Out For Microsoft exFAT - Phoronix Forums

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Native Linux Kernel Module Is Out For Microsoft exFAT - Phoronix Forums

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

R-T-B

ypsylon

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