Microsoft created the New Technology File System in 1993, and it is now the most widely used file system in Windows. There are several limitations to using a FAT32 file system:įAT32 only supports files of up to 4GB in size and volumes of up to 2TB in sizeįAT32 isn’t a journaling file system, which means corruption can happen more easily
If the FAT is damaged or lost, the data on the hard disk becomes unreadable. The file allocation table is a critical part of the FAT file system.
WHAT IS NTFS PORTABLE
It acts as a Table of Contents for the operating system, indicating where directories and files are stored on the disk.Ī FAT is often most used in removable storage devices, such as digital cameras, Smart TVs and other portable devices. The FAT is used to describe the allocation status of the clusters (the basic units of logical storage on a hard drive) in a file system, as well as the link relationship between each. However, it does offer more compatibility with other operating systems and removable storage devices. It is the older of the two file systems and therefore isn’t as efficient or advanced. Microsoft created the File Allocation Table file system in 1977 and is the simplest file system supported by Windows NT. In this article, we will break down what a FAT file system is, what an NTFS file system is and what the pros and cons are for each system. While both file systems were created by Microsoft, each has different benefits and disadvantages related to compatibility, security, and flexibility. Windows-supported operating systems rely on one of two different types of file systems: File Allocation Table (FAT) or New Technology File System (NTFS).