A Comparison of the FAT32 and NTFS File Systems

Introduction

A computer file system described most simply is a process for organizing and storing computer data files. The file system, at the very least, must ensure that files are stored safely and are readily available for retrieval. At a minimum a file system must allow the operating system to write new files of data to the storage disk while at the same time protecting files previously stored, ensuring they do not get over written. And finally, a file system must make the stored files easy to find and quick to retrieve. (Jenkinson: 79-81)

A discussion about Microsoft's file system requires a review of the history related to how these file system were introduced and the needs they were trying meet. The Microsoft operating systems have come to dominate the business and personal computer market. As they were beginning with their very first operating system it was necessary for them to develop a file system. And over the years Microsoft has changed their file system as Windows has become more complex and computer hardware becomes faster and more powerful.

The file system FAT (File Allocation Table) originated in the early1980s. FAT file system was the only system supported by the MS-DOS. Being developed with floppy disk in mind was appropriate for drives smaller then that of 500 Kb in size. Technology has allowed for the enhancement to support larger media. (Caloyannides: 204-206)

Currently there are three FAT file system types: FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32. The basic difference in these FAT sub types, and the reason for the names, is the size, in bits, of the entries in the actual FAT structure on the disk. There are 12 bits in a FAT12 FAT entry, 16 bits in a FAT16 FAT entry and 32 bits in a FAT32 FAT entry. NTFSMS-DOS and Windows 3.x biggest weakness was the FAT file system. In a corporate environment, FAT provided a nominal feature amount needed for data storage and data management. Microsoft, in a rage not to damage the Windows NT file system, had to create a new file system that has not evolved on the FAT methodology. Thus, Microsoft developed the New Technology File System, better known as NTFS. (Carrier: 156)

In computing, a file system (often also written as file system) is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them.

The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on ...