FAT 32 vs. NTFS

cc103 · 06-24-2008, 01:26 PM

I am trying to update all of my schools computers to the latest AVG antivirus software but I'm having all kinds of issues with the installation.
To make a long story short, one of the fixes that the mods. are saying can help with these issues is to convert my computers from a FAT32 to NTFS.
What are the consequences of doing this? Will I regret later for converting the file system? What will I screw up by converting?
Does anyone have any experience doing this?
Thanks.

**manic** · 06-24-2008, 02:34 PM

I liked fat32, and still do because of security, or lack of. If I have
a slave drive, and want to take it out and take it to my friends house
no problem, it will hook right up, without a issue. The same with
a external usb drive formatted fat32. Take it to friends house hook it
up no problem.
With ntfs it may or may not work, usually will not, access denied.
Then you have to go through permissions and allow it a big pain for
me. One issue with fat32 is the 4 gig size limit, you dont have that
with ntfs....
Im a old guy, and Ive gave in, all my drives are ntfs. You will notice
no difference, it may be easier for you, the permissions may rear its
ugly head from time to time, or not. Its all a learning curve I think.
My 2 pennies..
ps, once you do it you cant go back, one way deal until you format.
It will be ok, not a big thing really..

**nickster_uk** · 06-24-2008, 07:10 PM

As manic said, converting the disk is no hassles at all. It's recommended to back up back before you do it but i've never had the process backfire on me.

ntfs does carry a lot of benefits imo...changing file permissions doesn't take too long and as manic said (again), it's all a learning curve

cc103 · 06-25-2008, 06:23 AM

I'm not so sure what you mean by permissions. Basically I don't want to screw up any of the computers by converting them to NTFS.

**manic** · 06-25-2008, 09:24 AM

You wont screw anything up. The permissions deal wont come into
play unless say you have a slave drive on a pc, or a external drive.
You take the slave drive, or the external to another pc. When you
install the drive to another the files initially will be un accessible.
Then you will have to log in as adminstrator to give yourself
permission to use the drive. With fat32 you dont have to do that,
and its a non issue. So if your not shuttleing drives around it will
be a non issue...

Nucleartractor · 07-30-2008, 09:25 PM

I prefer NTFS to FAT32 on Hard Drives because NTFS uses less of your space for partition information, so you can get a few more megabytes. But I prefer FAT32 of USB drives because NTFS requires extra I/O that flash memory just isn't meant for resulting in your USB drives aging more quickly.
Also, I have had success recovering data from NTFS partitions by slaving the drive into a working XP system just as I have with FAT32, I really dont see what everyone is talking about as far as getting into the drive is concerned. But if you are good to your computer you won't be recovering data! :-) Got 13 years out of a PB640 Motherboard and it's still kickin upgd to NT about ten years ago, ever since: NT 4.0 / NTFS!

06-24-2008, 01:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
cc103 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 65 OS: XP Home SP2	FAT 32 vs. NTFS I am trying to update all of my schools computers to the latest AVG antivirus software but I'm having all kinds of issues with the installation. To make a long story short, one of the fixes that the mods. are saying can help with these issues is to convert my computers from a FAT32 to NTFS. What are the consequences of doing this? Will I regret later for converting the file system? What will I screw up by converting? Does anyone have any experience doing this? Thanks.

06-24-2008, 02:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,238 OS: xp	Re: FAT 32 vs. NTFS I liked fat32, and still do because of security, or lack of. If I have a slave drive, and want to take it out and take it to my friends house no problem, it will hook right up, without a issue. The same with a external usb drive formatted fat32. Take it to friends house hook it up no problem. With ntfs it may or may not work, usually will not, access denied. Then you have to go through permissions and allow it a big pain for me. One issue with fat32 is the 4 gig size limit, you dont have that with ntfs.... Im a old guy, and Ive gave in, all my drives are ntfs. You will notice no difference, it may be easier for you, the permissions may rear its ugly head from time to time, or not. Its all a learning curve I think. My 2 pennies.. ps, once you do it you cant go back, one way deal until you format. It will be ok, not a big thing really.. __________________ Last edited by manic; 06-24-2008 at 02:36 PM.

06-24-2008, 07:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
nickster_uk Moderator, Microsoft Support, Happy to support TSF! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,043 OS: XP Pro SP3, Windows 7 Ultimate, Ubuntu v8.04 My System	Re: FAT 32 vs. NTFS As manic said, converting the disk is no hassles at all. It's recommended to back up back before you do it but i've never had the process backfire on me. ntfs does carry a lot of benefits imo...changing file permissions doesn't take too long and as manic said (again), it's all a learning curve __________________ My system: ASUS P5K-E WiFi \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz (OC 3.60GHz) \| 4GB Corsair DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 RAM (4-4-4-12) \| PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro Xtreme 512MB GDDR3 GPU \| Maxtor DiamondMax 22 500GB, Maxtor DiamondMax 23 500GB & 2xMaxtor DiamondMax 21 250GB SATA HDDs \| Thermaltake CL-P0114 Heatsink + 6 LED Case Fans \| Corsair HX620W Modular PSU \| Enermax Black Knight (CS-527) Case \| Pioneer DVR-216 SATA 20x20 DVD±RW In a world without walls or fences - who needs Windows and Gates?

06-25-2008, 06:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
cc103 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 65 OS: XP Home SP2	Re: FAT 32 vs. NTFS I'm not so sure what you mean by permissions. Basically I don't want to screw up any of the computers by converting them to NTFS.

06-25-2008, 09:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,238 OS: xp	Re: FAT 32 vs. NTFS You wont screw anything up. The permissions deal wont come into play unless say you have a slave drive on a pc, or a external drive. You take the slave drive, or the external to another pc. When you install the drive to another the files initially will be un accessible. Then you will have to log in as adminstrator to give yourself permission to use the drive. With fat32 you dont have to do that, and its a non issue. So if your not shuttleing drives around it will be a non issue... __________________

07-30-2008, 09:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Nucleartractor Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 10 OS: Windows XP Pro SP2	Re: FAT 32 vs. NTFS I prefer NTFS to FAT32 on Hard Drives because NTFS uses less of your space for partition information, so you can get a few more megabytes. But I prefer FAT32 of USB drives because NTFS requires extra I/O that flash memory just isn't meant for resulting in your USB drives aging more quickly. Also, I have had success recovering data from NTFS partitions by slaving the drive into a working XP system just as I have with FAT32, I really dont see what everyone is talking about as far as getting into the drive is concerned. But if you are good to your computer you won't be recovering data! :-) Got 13 years out of a PB640 Motherboard and it's still kickin upgd to NT about ten years ago, ever since: NT 4.0 / NTFS!