What Are FAT32, ExFAT and NTFS?

What are FAT32, exFAT and NTFS?

FAT32

FAT32 means that the file allocation table adopts the disk file management mode of 32-bit binary number record management. Because the core of fat file system is the file allocation table, it is named from this.

NTFS

NTFS, fully known as new technology file system, is the new technology file system. It is the file system of Windows NT (such as Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, windows 8.1 and windows 10). The new technology file system is a restricted level special file system of Windows NT.

exFAT

ExFAT, also known as fat64 (extended file allocation table), is a file system suitable for flash memory introduced by Microsoft in Windows Embedded 5.0 or above (Windows CE 5.0, 6.0, windows mobile5, 6, 6.1). ExFAT was mainly launched to solve the problem that FAT32 does not support 4G and larger files.

How to choose between FAT32, exFAT and NTFS?

FAT32

FAT32 format U disk, because of its relatively good compatibility, can deal with almost all operating systems. However, the disadvantage is that permissions cannot be set and the security level is low. And the most fatal is that FAT32 can only support single file transmission below 4G. With the increasing size of files, FAT32 obviously can not meet the needs of modern data storage and transmission.

NTFS

In NTFS format, compared with FAT32, we can set the permissions of USB flash disk, and the maximum supported files are 256tb. Compared with FAT32, NTFS also adopts smaller clusters to manage disk space more efficiently. The waste of disk space is avoided to the greatest extent. In addition, NTFS has many functions that FAT32 does not have, such as compressed partition, file index, data protection and recovery, encrypted access, etc. In terms of interchangeability and practicability, NTFS is much higher than fat3.

However, NTFS also has its disadvantages. NTFS partition adopts a "log" file system, which needs to record the detailed read and write operations of the disk, which will cause a great burden on the flash storage medium such as USB flash disk. For example, if you access a file or directory, the number of reads and writes on NTFS will be more than FAT32. In theory, the USB flash disk in NTFS format is easier to be damaged. Moreover, due to the limited bandwidth of USB flash disk, NTFS frequently reads and writes to occupy the channel, which will reduce the disk performance.

exFAT

ExFAT can also be said to be fat64. It can also be seen from the ID that exFAT and FAT32 are upgrade relationships. We also mentioned the birth of exFAT above, mainly to solve the problem that FAT32 cannot store a single file higher than 4G. ExFAT supports up to 16eb files. In addition, exFAT does not have the disadvantage of NTFS reading and writing. It is more applicable in flash memory, and can be used in Windows system and Mac OS system. It has excellent cross platform ability. It is also a file system specially designed by Microsoft for flash memory devices.

The above is about the differences between USB flash disk file systems FAT32, exFAT and NTFS. After understanding them, are the students more calm when using USB flash disk? Although the knowledge has been obtained, the hardware can't lag behind!

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