what is the difference in fat32 and NTFS HDD formating???

[Deleted member 3]

Pretty accurate listing Silverel.

I personally prefer FAT32. It IS faster than NTFS (there is a small but benchmarkable difference) and also it is much easier to recover from disastrous OS-induced and/or hardware disk crashes simply due to availability of more robust tools and the evident FAT32 approachability.

NTFS is far superior when it comes to data safety, as when it comes to performance with large files. Just disconnect and connect a FAT32 USB drive a few times without using the remove button and then do the same to a NTFS drive. The FAT32 drive will be screwed while the NTFS drives requires a run of chkdsk at the most. I wouldn't safe anything I wish to keep on a FAT32 disk.

 

[trog100]

my fat32 isnt buggered up by not using the safe to disconnect thing.. i have three usb fat32 drives.. one has an on-switch.. the others i just unplug.. in two years of not using the safe to unplug thing i have never had a problem with any of them..

i never try and switch off if the things are doing anything thow.. i only use them as storage and sometime run films off em.. when i dont want them i unplug or switch off..

the only downside i find is the 4 gig limit.. the odd game iso kinda makes things award..

trog

 

[Deleted member 3]

And I never use a antistatic wristband, yet computer parts still die from static.

You care to claim that not using a wristband is safer because of those 2 facts? FAT32 simply is vulnerable to data loss, a lot more than NTFS is. The fact that you're lucky doesn't make it less true.

 

[AddSub]

my fat32 isnt buggered up by not using the safe to disconnect thing

Same here. FAT32 is not only easier to maintain and repair because of larger number of tools and their robustness but because it is a simple and well document file system. NTFS on the other hand is of course a fully proprietary file system that Microsoft is holding onto pretty tightly and its internals are relatively undocumented mostly because of obvious security concerns by Micosoft. Hence the lack of tools for it. Of course there is the super-ultra-light weight utility CHKDSK which does nothing more but round off the edges and keeps things simple (too simple for my taste) and can cause more trouble and data loss in every-day-user's hands. It is inferior to the ScanDisk utility in several respects. Also, the much vaunted compression, encryption, and similar features of NTFS are the things that slow it down to begin with. Speaking of NTFS security features, they are laughable. Like I said, anyone interested in data security should skip Windows operating systems and head straight into Unix territory.

 

[lemonadesoda]

The two most important parts of NTFS and why you should use it are:

1./ File system ACL. File and folder access read/write/modify control by user name.

2./ Data integrety methods. In 99% of cases, you will do no file damage if you just "unplug" the computer in the middle of a read/write. Not true with FAT

 

[trog100]

two years of regular usage with numerous external usb drives without problems aint luck dude.. its fact.. he he

but i do think anyone that "unplugs" during reading or writing is a wee bit foolish.. ntfs or not i wouldn't do it..

trog

 

[Deleted member 3]

two years of regular usage with numerous external usb drives without problems aint luck dude.. its fact.. he he

but i do think anyone that "unplugs" during reading or writing is a wee bit foolish.. ntfs or not i wouldn't do it..

trog

Well, you swear by FAT32 then, don't tell me I didn't warn you when shit hits the fan.

 

[lemonadesoda]

"unplugs" the PC... is not refering to unplugging a USB device, but system failure. Loss of power to PC, system crash, whatever. 99% of the time a NTFS system wouldnt even blink at such a problem whereas with FAT you've got file loss and possible directory corruption.

 

[trog100]

"Well, you swear by FAT32 then, don't tell me I didn't warn you when shit hits the fan."

i dont swear by fat32.. i simply state my own personal experience.. my shit did just hit the fan with a fairly new-ish NTFS 250 gig sata internal drive.. roughly two years old it just died on me.. i dont think hardrives are quite what they used to be.. period..

to be honest with an external drive i dont think it matters whats used.. most of them come formatted fat32.. the makers obviously have their own reason for doing that.. i assume its compatibility..

one thing i like about external drives (for films or bulk storage) is the fact they are not running or dont have to be most of the time.. assuming they dont get dropped i recon they will last a while longer than internal drives.. cant say as i have been so "lucky" with those.. he he he

trog

 

[lemonadesoda]

Same here. FAT32 is not only easier to maintain and repair ...

LOL.

I've NEVER had to repair an NTFS system. The time-wasted days of file-recovery and data loss on FAT partitions (that plagued Win98 and my "FAT32" windows 2000) are over.

I switched to NTFS on Win2000 on a new HDD install and was so impressed, both performance, security, ACL, and data integrity, that I switched ALL HDDs on ALL machines and USB devices to NTFS.

The ONLY data loss I've had in the last 4 years was due to a dropped portable USB HDD. Never again will I leave a USB HDD on a desk within reach of "butter fingers" women and children.

 

[cdawall]

i have to agree with dan/lemon i have expierenced a fat32 drive going crazy due to power loss it took me almost a month to fix that stupid thing!

tools that can work on NTFS
-maxtor maxblast
-norton ghost
-seagate power tools(IDk if thats the real name! but it sounds right)
-WD data tools(IDk if thats the real name! but it sounds right)
-M$ 2003 and later stuff
and those are just the ones i have used

 

[Deleted member 3]

i dont swear by fat32.. i simply state my own personal experience.. my shit did just hit the fan with a fairly new-ish NTFS 250 gig sata internal drive.. roughly two years old it just died on me.. i dont think hardrives are quite what they used to be.. period..

Hardware failure has nothing to do with the filesystem, so not really a relevant argument.

to be honest with an external drive i dont think it matters whats used.. most of them come formatted fat32.. the makers obviously have their own reason for doing that.. i assume its compatibility..

The reason is hotplugging. As stated earlier. And it does matter if you don't have backups.