Difference Between FAT32 & NTFS

FAT32 { File Allocation Table }

The File Allocation Table (FAT) file system is a simple file system originally designed for small disks and simple folder structures. The FAT file system is named for its method of organization, the file allocation table, which resides at the beginning of the volume. To protect the volume, two copies of the table are kept, in case one becomes damaged. In addition, the file allocation tables and the root folder must be stored in a fixed location so that the files needed to start the system can be correctly located.

A volume formatted with the FAT file system is allocated in clusters. The default cluster size is determined by the size of the volume. For the FAT file system, the cluster number must fit in 16 bits and must be a power of two.

FAT32 is a derivative of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system that supports drives with over 2GB of storage. Because FAT32 drives can contain more than 65,526 clusters, smaller clusters are used than on large FAT16 drives. This method results in more efficient space allocation on the FAT32 drive.

The largest possible file for a FAT32 drive is 4GB minus 2 bytes.

The FAT32 file system includes four bytes per cluster within the file allocation table. Note that the high 4 bits of the 32-bit values in the FAT32 file allocation table are reserved and are not part of the cluster number.

Operating System Supported --> All version of Windows upto XP

Limitations

Max Volume Size--> 32Giga Bytes for all OS & 2Tera Bytes for some Operating Systems.
Max Files on Volume--> 4194304.
Max File Size--> 4Giga Bytes minus 2 Bytes.
Max Clusters Number--> 4177918.
Max File Name Length--> Up to 255.

File System Features

Unicode File Names--> System Character Set.
System Records Mirror--> Second Copy of FAT.
Boot Sector Location--> First Sector and Copy in Sector #6.
File Attributes--> Standard Set.
Alternate Streams--> No.
Compression--> No.
Encryption--> No.
Object Permissions--> No.
Disk Quotas--> No.
Sparse Files--> No.
Re parse Points--> No.
Volume Mount Points--> No.

Overall Performance

Built-In Security--> No.
Recover ability--> No.
Performance--> High on small volumes & Low on large.
Disk Space Economy--> Average.
Fault Tolerance--> Minimal.

NTFS { New Technology File System }

NTFS is a high-performance and self-healing file system proprietary to Windows XP, Vista, 2003, 2000 & NT, which supports file-level security, compression and auditing. It also supports large volumes and powerful storage solution such as RAID.

The most important new feature of NTFS is the ability to encrypt files and folders to protect your sensitive data.[/list]

Operating System Supported --> Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000 & NT

Limitations

Max Volume Size--> 2 Tera Bytes.
Max Files on Volume--> Nearly Unlimited.
Max File Size--> Limit Only by Volume Size.
Max Clusters Number--> Nearly Unlimited.
Max File Name Length--> Up to 255.

File System Features

Unicode File Names--> Unicode Character Set.
System Records Mirror--> MFT Mirror File.
Boot Sector Location--> First and Last Sectors.
File Attributes--> Standard and Custom.
Alternate Streams--> Yes.
Compression--> Yes.
Encryption--> No.
Object Permissions--> Yes.
Disk Quotas--> No.
Sparse Files--> No.
Re parse Points--> No.
Volume Mount Points--> No

Overall Performance

Built-In Security--> Yes.
Recover ability--> Yes.
Performance--> Low on small volumes & High on Large volumes.
Disk Space Economy--> Maximum.
Fault Tolerance--> Maximum.