Differences in file systems - which is better? Performance of FAT and NTFS
Today, external media such as flash drives, memory cards or external hard drives can use different file systems:
- exFAT;
- FAT32;
- NTFS.
Users most often do not know which one to choose among these systems, so it is initially better to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
FAT32
This file system was created by Microsoft in order to replace the FAT16 system, which at that time was no longer relevant and could not meet user requirements. At the moment, FAT32 is the most common, despite the fact that the exFAT file system is more modern and often superior in characteristics.
It is worth noting that today the vast majority of flash drives and various memory cards are supplied in this standard. In addition, in the process of formatting the media in household devices, such as, for example, a camera, it begins to function in this particular system. This is precisely the main advantage of FAT32, thanks to which the exFAT file system has not yet overtaken it in popularity - compatibility. You can use this drive in any household player, printer or other devices and still be confident that you will have access to files and they will be read normally. But this is where the advantages end and the disadvantages begin.
The main reason why in some situations it is worth using FAT32 not only on flash drives, but also on desktop computers is that it will be possible to run almost any operating system on the computer, such as Windows 95 and others. To create such a configuration, it will be enough to simply install the previous version of the OS on a partition that is formatted for this file system, and then make it the main one. Other partitions that are accessed from other versions of the OS must also be formatted under FAT32. Other operating systems can access network partitions or NTFS-formatted volumes exclusively, while partitions on the local computer remain inaccessible.
What are the disadvantages?
The most important disadvantage that FAT32 has, but not the exFAT file system, is that there is a file size limit of 4 GB. It is for this reason that recording large files, such as, for example, a backup copy of a system disk or some kind of long video, will be impossible in this case, since the system will simply respond with an error in the form of “Not enough disk space” when trying to record, even if in fact there is still enough space.
In addition, do not forget that the Windows operating system itself has a limit on the partition size, which is 32 GB. Of course, you can try to get around it by using additional utilities, but with current drives it is often pointless to do this.
If you do not have any need to transfer or write such large files, and also if you are using small media, then you can not hesitate for a long time and calmly format it in FAT32, since the file system support You don't need exFAT.
NTFS
A more modern file system compared to the previous one, which was able to completely replace it in modern personal computers and laptops. If you still have files and the FAT32 file system, then it is strongly recommended that you change it to NTFS as soon as possible. This will significantly expand the capabilities of your computer.
How to do this?
In Windows, exFAT or NTFS is quite easy to make as the main file system. At the command line you will need to enter “convert e: /fs:ntfs”, where instead of e: the disk that you will format is installed. This way, you can replace the file system without any loss of data contained on the drive.
How does this work on flash drives?
However, on flash drives and other external devices, NTFS may not work the same as on computers. When you try to copy to such a device, the operating system automatically turns on the caching procedure, when any file is initially copied to special memory, and only then moved to the final media. In stationary drives, this allows you to achieve a significant gain in data copying speed, as well as smooth out delays.
In mobile devices, it looks something like this: initially, the data processing speed will be quite high and will periodically even reach 100 MB/s, but after the cache memory runs out, the speed will simply begin to drop incredibly, reaching critically low values. In this case, before starting to copy the next file, the system will first have to append the existing file from the cache. In this regard, quite often situations arise when copying simply freezes at 99%, although the hard drive indicator is still lit as active.
If you compare the copy speed with and without cache, it actually turns out that it is almost the same. That is, if files and the NTFS file system are the main one, then we lose almost nothing except the maximum copying speed, as well as providing us with information about how long the data will be copied. Although for many people such “information” can ultimately only result in a waste of precious nerves.
Are there any benefits?
On the other hand, when choosing between which file system is better - exFAT or NTFS, it should be noted that the latter is distinguished by good reliability, which allows it to withstand more than one sudden reboot without any data damage. This reliability is achieved through the use of logging technology. Thus, the system accesses different areas of the drive more often, and for flash drives or various memory cards this approach is critical. In other words, they simply begin to wear out more quickly.
exFAT
Microsoft recently released a new file system - the exFAT format. This system was originally designed for flash drives, and in fact we can say that it is a traditional FAT32, but without any restrictions. The sizes of partitions and files in this case can reach the maximum possible values, and the amount of data in one folder is practically unlimited. It is for this reason that the most common system where exFAT is used is Android and others that are used in modern gadgets.
Are there any disadvantages?
Of course, the exFAT file system also has its disadvantages. Android supports this system in almost all cases, but, on the other hand, it is not supported by many household devices, and at the same time, media running the Windows XP operating system will not be able to see these devices. The only solution to this situation is to download the KB955704 patch, which was recently released by Microsoft and which allows you to use the system in Windows XP. More modern operating systems easily accept this file system and actively cooperate with it without any additional procedures.
However, if you often use a flash drive on different computers on which XP OS is installed, then in this case it is better for you to find some additional flash drive that will have drivers. But this option is unlikely to be acceptable for anyone, because in this case the most important feature of such devices is lost - their compactness and ease of transportation.
If you have computers exclusively with Windows 7, or the flash drive will not be used on such a large number of PCs, then the exFAT file system will be ideal for you.
In conclusion, here are some general tips on how to choose the most up-to-date file system.
If you are using a flash drive that does not have such a large capacity, then you can format it to FAT32 without hesitation. If, on the contrary, we are talking about a flash drive, the volume of which is quite large, then in this case it can be formatted in exFAT, since “speed jumps” on such devices will be especially visible. External drives in the majority of cases are quite large in capacity and at the same time have fairly high performance (this is especially true for those devices that use the USB 3.0 interface), and therefore it is best to format them exclusively in NTFS.
Today, Flash drives have practically replaced all other portable storage media, such as CDs, DVDs and magnetic floppy disks. On the side of flash drives there is an undeniable convenience in the form of a small size and large amounts of information that they can accommodate. The latter, however, depends on the file system in which the drive is formatted.
What is a file system? Roughly speaking, this is a method of organizing information that a particular OS understands, dividing it into documents and directories familiar to users. Today there are 3 main types of file systems: FAT32, NTFS and exFAT. We will not consider ext4 and HFS systems (options for Linux and Mac OS, respectively) due to low compatibility.
According to the importance of the characteristics of a particular file system, they can be divided into the following criteria: system requirements, impact on wear and tear of memory chips, and restrictions on file and directory sizes. Let's consider each criterion for all 3 systems.
Compatibility and system requirements
Perhaps the most important criterion, especially if the flash drive is planned to be used to connect to a large number of devices on different systems.
FAT32
FAT32 is the oldest still relevant system for organizing documents and folders, originally developed for MS-DOS. It has the highest compatibility of all - if the flash drive is formatted in FAT32, then most likely it will be recognized by most devices, regardless of the operating system. In addition, working with FAT32 does not require a large amount of RAM and processing power.
NTFS
The Windows file system has been the default since the transition of this operating system to the NT architecture. Tools for working with this system are available in both Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. However, there are certain difficulties with connecting drives formatted in NTFS to car radios or players, especially from second-tier brands, as well as to Android and iOS via OTG. In addition, compared to FAT32, the amount of RAM and CPU frequency required for operation have increased.
exFAT
The official name stands for “Extended FAT”, which corresponds to the essence - exFAT is a more expanded and improved FAT32. Developed by Microsoft specifically for flash drives, this system is the least compatible: such flash drives can only be connected to computers running Windows (at least XP SP2), as well as . Accordingly, the amount of RAM and processor speed required by the system have increased.
As you can see, in terms of compatibility and system requirements, FAT32 is the undisputed leader.
Impact on memory chip wear
Technically, flash memory has a limited service life, which depends on the number of sector rewrite cycles, which in turn depends on the quality of the chip installed in the flash drive. The file system, depending on its own characteristics, can either extend the life of the memory or reduce it.
FAT32
In terms of impact on wear and tear, this system is inferior to all others: due to the peculiarities of its organization, it works well with small and medium-sized files, but significantly fragments the recorded data. This leads to more frequent access by the operating system to different sectors and, as a result, an increase in the number of Read-Write cycles. Therefore, a flash drive formatted in FAT32 will last less.
NTFS
With this system the situation is already better. NTFS is less dependent on file fragmentation and, in addition, it already implements more flexible content indexing, which has a positive effect on the longevity of the drive. However, the relative slowness of this file system partially offsets the obtained advantage, and the features of data journaling force more frequent access to the same memory areas and the use of caching, which also negatively affects durability.
exFAT
Since exFAT was designed specifically for use on flash drives, the developers paid the greatest attention to reducing the number of rewrite cycles. Due to the peculiarities of data organization and storage, it significantly reduces the number of rewrite cycles, especially when compared with FAT32 - exFAT has an available space bitmap added, which reduces fragmentation, which is the main factor in reducing the life of a flash drive.
Based on the above, we can conclude that exFAT has the least effect on memory wear.
Limits on file and directory sizes
This parameter becomes more and more important every year: the volume of stored information, as well as the capacity of storage devices, is steadily growing.
FAT32
Now we have come to the main disadvantage of this file system - in it the maximum volume occupied by one file is limited to 4 GB. In the days of MS-DOS, this would probably have been considered an astronomical value, but today such a limitation creates inconvenience. In addition, there is a limit on the number of files in the root directory - no more than 512. On the other hand, there can be as many files as you like in non-root folders.
NTFS
The main difference between NTFS and the previously used FAT32 is the practically unlimited volume that a particular file can occupy. Of course, there is a technical limitation, but in the foreseeable future it will not be possible to achieve it soon. In the same way, the amount of data in a directory is practically unlimited, although exceeding a certain threshold is fraught with a severe drop in performance (a feature of NTFS). It is also worth noting that this file system has a character limit in the directory name.
Without the ability to work with information, our computers immediately turn into an unusually expensive pile of hardware, nothing more. The file system is the basis on which any data manipulation performed on a PC is based: from loading the operating system to reading text files in Notepad.
In the era of DOS and Windows 3.1, it was not possible to select a file system (FS) - everyone worked in FAT16 and were happy. Of course, not because there were no reasons for discontent, but there was simply no alternative at that time. With the release of Windows 95 OSR2, an alternative appeared, but the choice between FAT16 and FAT32 was so obvious that, without further question, the newer version prevailed. The Windows NT/2000 operating systems, despite supporting NTFS, never made a revolution in the minds of home PC owners, since these were more server-oriented systems.
But with the advent of Windows XP, the problem of choosing between FAT32 and NTFS fell on the defenseless heads of users. After all, each of us wants, at a minimum, to keep up with progress and apply the latest achievements of scientific and technological progress to our iron friend. However, something still makes us think about the topic “Is it worth it or not?”, and this something is, alas, not the unlimited resources of our computer. So, which of the two FS should you prefer? As you will see below, the answer to this question is purely individual.
What is a file system?
The FS controls storage and access to files on the computer - and that's it. One of the basic concepts of a file system is a cluster - the minimum size of data on disk. For example, if your file “weighs” only 1 byte, and the cluster size on the hard drive is 8 KB, then in the end the file size on the hard drive will also be 8 KB (one cluster). If the file actually occupies 8.1 KB, it will “weigh” all 16 KB on the disk (two clusters). Now try to estimate how many hundreds of files are stored on the hard drive, and it will seem to you that all the past years you have simply underestimated the role of the cluster in your life.
In addition to the cluster size (it can vary depending on the file system), it is important how the file system fills the free area on the disk; a bad algorithm leads to data fragmentation (when parts of one file on the disk are far from each other). I will say, looking ahead, that in NTFS the filling algorithm is not very good. But first things first...
FAT32
Theoretically, the size of a FAT32 logical drive is limited to 8 TB. In practice, the built-in disk administration tools in Windows 2000/XP will not allow you to create a partition larger than 32 GB. But even this is more than enough for today's PCs.
File names in FAT32 can contain up to 255 characters. The maximum possible size of one file is 4 GB.
Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of a file system is stability, that is, resistance to errors. In FAT32, the situation with this is, frankly speaking, unimportant. The most common error, which is familiar to all Windows 98 owners, is incorrectly recorded data on the amount of free space. It occurs due to the fact that data on the amount of free space is not calculated, as happened in FAT16, but is simply written to the boot area. And when a failure occurs during the process of copying (deleting, moving) a file, the OS does not have time to write updated data about the free space on the disk, although in fact it has changed. As a result, an error occurs, which can only be corrected by completely checking the hard drive with a special program.
In addition, FAT32 is quite susceptible to fragmentation (especially when the disk is more than 80% full) - this significantly slows down work. In particularly advanced cases, fragmentation can even lead to the “crash” of the entire file system.
NTFS
The hard disk size limits set by NTFS are unattainable today - 2,000,000 GB, so, one might say, there are simply no restrictions. The first 12% of a disk running NTFS is allocated to the MFT (Master File Table). It is a directory of all available files, and small files (100 bytes) are stored directly in MFT - this significantly speeds up access to them. The first 16 MFT elements (pointers to system files) are very important for the operation of the file system, and therefore a copy of these records is stored on the disk. As a result, “destroying” NTFS is quite difficult: the system is able to bypass serious disk surface failures and even survive MFT damage (a similar situation for FAT would be fatal).
A directory in NTFS is a specific file that stores links to other files and directories. Its internal structure is similar to a binary tree, which allows you to reduce the time of searching for the desired file by tens of times (the so-called halving method). The more files in the directory, the greater the advantage over FAT32 when searching.
The fault tolerance of NTFS is due to the fact that data is processed on the basis of transactions - actions performed entirely and correctly or not performed at all.
Let's imagine that data is being written to a disk, and suddenly in the middle of the process it turns out that in the place where we decided to write the next piece of data there is physical damage to the surface. In this case, the entire write transaction is rolled back (changes can be reversed using the transaction log). The location is marked as failed, and the data is written to another location - a new transaction begins.
Differentiation of access rights to files in NTFS does not always protect against unauthorized access to secret data. An attacker can connect your hard drive to another computer and easily read the files they need because the access rights restrictions do not extend beyond your OS. Therefore, an additional measure was introduced into NTFS - data encryption at the file system level, which makes it possible to hide information more successfully.
Data compression in NTFS is also performed at the file system level, which allows you to work with it relatively quickly, unpacking information on the fly. The compression mechanism is extremely flexible - you can even compress half of the file, leaving the other part uncompressed.
The file name can contain any characters, including the full set of national alphabets, since the data is presented in Unicode (65535 different characters).
Every time a user is going to format a drive, be it a hard drive or a regular flash drive, he is faced with the question of which file system to choose: NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT. The differences between them for the average user are insignificant, if not completely absent, so further in the text the features of each file system will be described.
What is a file system
Before listing the differences between FAT32 and NTFS, it is worth understanding what it actually is. As one can conclude from the above, these are file systems. They are needed for one thing: providing users with the ability to interact with data on the drive using operating system tools. To put it simply, a file system is a library in which there are files on shelves instead of books.
There are actually many more file systems than were presented above. Among those not mentioned, we can highlight, for example, ext4 and HFC, which are used in the Linux and Mac OS operating systems, respectively. But only three will be discussed in the article: FAT32, NTFS and exFAT, because they are the most popular, if not the only ones, within the Windows operating system.
To make it easier to determine the differences between NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT file systems, we will compare them according to three most important criteria: compatibility, impact on drive wear and limitations.
Compatibility
We will start with perhaps the most important aspect - compatibility. The difference between FAT32 and NTFS and exFAT in this regard is quite large, but first things first.
This file system is the oldest of those presented. Accordingly, most all devices support it, from desktop computers based on the Windows XP operating system to radio tape recorders installed in cars. All advanced operating systems work with it: Windows, Linux, Mac OS. If desired, flash drives with this file system can also be viewed on smartphones, however, for this you will need a special OTG adapter.
NTFS is commonly considered the Windows file system. So this is not without reason. It was created by developers from Microsoft at a time when their system switched to NT architecture, hence the name. This fact imposes some restrictions on its compatibility. So, you can easily use the same flash drive on computers running Windows and Linux, and with the use of additional software - on Mac OS computers, but the old player will refuse to recognize the device.
This file system is newfangled. This leads to its main drawback - poor compatibility. You can use a flash drive with this file system only within Windows OS and on Android and iOS smartphones.
Impact on chip wear
Now let's look at the difference between FAT32 and NTFS for a flash drive in terms of the impact on its wear. The fact is that any flash drive has restrictions on overwriting memory cells; accordingly, the more often the flash drive is overwritten, the sooner it will become unusable.
Here the situation is exactly the opposite of the previous one - FAT32 has an organization that is excellent for working with small files, but it also manages to fragment them, which results in large number rewrites in individual memory cells.
Since NTFS is a newer file system compared to FAT32, its impact on flash drive wear is better. Due to the introduction of file indexing technology into it, the developers managed to reduce the number of file fragmentations. It follows that with the NTFS system your flash drive will last an order of magnitude longer.
If NTFS is a newer system compared to FAT32, then exFAT is completely newer. She is the best at handling a flash drive, extending its service life to the maximum. This is because the developers originally created it for portable storage devices.
Limitations on the size of recorded data
If you have written large files to a flash drive, then most likely you are familiar with the situation when an error appears in such cases. This is due to file system limitations. What differences are there between FAT32 and NTFS in this regard?
Perhaps FAT32 is again losing to its “competitors” in this matter. Due to its “age”, it is not capable of storing a file larger than 4 gigabytes. At the time when it was created, this figure was unattainable, but everything has changed, and 4 gigabytes is now a very small value. Among other things, you will not be able to write more than 512 files to the root directory on a FAT32 flash drive.
This file system can already cope with loads that the previous one cannot withstand. In fact, there are limitations in it, but in the near future it will not be possible to get closer to them, so now it is generally accepted that they simply do not exist. You can easily write as many files as you like to the root directory and place a file of any size on the drive.
If NTFS has no restrictions, then exFAT even more so. You will encounter an error only if you try to write a file larger than 16 zettabytes, which is simply unrealistic, because there is no such file and no flash drive of that size. Well, it’s better to remain silent about the number of files in the root directory.
Which file system to choose
So we looked at all the differences between FAT32 and NTFS and exFAT. As a result, we can give some recommendations for choosing a file system:
- If you want to use your flash drive to play multimedia files on older devices, then choose FAT32.
- If you value the durability of your drive, format it to NTFS, or better yet, exFAT.
- When working with large data, categorically avoid the FAT32 file system.
- If data writing speed is important to you, use exFAT, and if you are still working with small files, then FAT32.
Conclusion
We hope you now understand the difference between FAT32, NTFS and exFAT. Above we tried to analyze all their features and nuances. You still have the right to choose which of the listed file systems suits you best.
Today we continue to introduce you to new terms. This article will focus on file system types. Moreover, we will find out which one is better and what they are needed for.
The file system on any device plays a very important role. It is thanks to the file system that data is processed and stored on any medium. The file system also limits the size of files and the number of characters in its name, and also affects the speed of data exchange.
Today there are a huge number of file systems in the world, but among them there are the main ones that you may have even heard about. We are talking about the exFAT and NTFS file systems.
More advanced users who know about these file systems have a question about which system is better. Let's talk about each of the systems separately, after which we will decide which file system is worthy of your attention.
exFAT file system
Who else but Microsoft could create the leading exFAT file system. This file system was obtained during the modernization of the FAT32 system. After modifying the FAT32 file system, restrictions such as file size, partition size, and the number of files in one partition and folder were removed.
It is this system that is most often used by users on removable media. But, despite its quality and speed, this system has some flaws. We are talking about the inability of some operating systems to support the exFAT system. For example, Windows XP does not support this operating system by default. But, for those who still live in the last century and use the XP operating system, you can download updates from the official website that will allow you to use the exFAT system.
File system NTFS
And this file system was given to us by Microsoft. NTFS is still used today as a modern analogue of the FAT 32 system.
If you install this file system on your removable storage medium, the information transfer speed will be significantly reduced. The thing is that when copying data, the cache is used. Copying occurs as follows:
First of all, the copied information is stored in the cache, and the speed can be about 100 MB per second. But since the cache on removable media is very small, when it is completely full, the speed instantly drops.
As for computers and laptops, this process works a little differently. After all, the cache size is much larger, which means the transfer will occur many times faster.I talked about what a cache is in this .
File system FAT32
It was one of the first very successful file systems and is still used today. But as you already found out, it had several unpleasant limitations: the maximum file size is 4GB, the logical disk can be no more than 8TB, but various programs and Windows themselves cannot create a volume larger than 250GB, there are also restrictions on the number of files in a partition or one folder.
Which file system is better exFAT, NTFS or FAT32?
I will say right away that the exFAT file system does not have the improved additions that are present in NTFS. NTFS does not have a file data transfer stream, which increases the speed of information exchange. But exFAT also has advantages over its competitor. These include using fewer memory services. And the file storage size is larger - 4 GB.
As for the specific question of which file system is better, there is no exact answer; it all depends on factors such as the type of media, its size and the advantages of the user, of course. But, if you want to be sure that the file system will not conflict with your operating system, then we recommend using NTFS. In some cases, for example when creating bootable flash drives, it would be better to choose the FAT32 system for greater compatibility with different computers, as well as some boot loaders. More information about file systems can be found on Wikipedia. There, for example, you can find out about the new WinFS file system, which is already being developed and will replace NTFS. All the best and stay tuned!