What are NTFS and FAT file systems ? Comparison | Difference

 When you first time buy a hard disk for your PC, before using that you need to format using any one of the file system. A file system is an underlying structure used by the computer to organize your data on computer. Generally we found two types of file systems  NTFS and FAT file systems.

How to check your PC file system type.

                   As I had noted above, every computer uses file system to store data. Here are the general steps how to check your PC file system type.

1.Open My Computer

2.Right click on any derive and switch to the general tab. You will see the following image.

As shown the above image, Your file system can display. In my case it is NTFS.

What is NTFS File System ?

NTFS stands for New Technology File System and it is mostly used file system with windows operating system. Compared to FAT file system it has many benefits.

• The capability to recover from some disk-related errors automatically, which FAT32 cannot.
• Improved support for larger hard disks.
• Better security because you can use permissions and encryption to restrict access to specific files to approved users.

What is FAT File System ?

FAT stands for File Allocation Table. It is used with the earlier versions of windows operating systems such as windows 95, windows 98, and windows Millennium Education. Compared to NTFS it provides less security for your data. For example if you had FAT file system or any volume which is formatted using FAT, the data inside the file system can access any one with restrictions with your data.

Top Reasons why FAT file system is used

The main reason to use FAT32 is because You have a computer that will sometimes run Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition and at other times run this version of Windows, known as a multiboot configuration. If that is the case, you will need to install the earlier operating system on a FAT32 or FAT partition and ensure that it is a primary partition (one that can host an operating system). Any additional partitions you will need to access when using these earlier versions of Windows must also be formatted with FAT32. These earlier versions of Windows can access NTFS partitions or volumes over a network, but not on your computer.

Here are the comparison between FAT and NTFS File Systems

Source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-vista/comparing-ntfs-and-fat-file-systems