▷ Ntfs vs fat32: what is the difference and which one to choose at any moment

Surely we have all asked ourselves what is the difference between NTFS and FAT32 and we have never been completely clear. We know that USB drives usually come in FAT32 format and that NTFS is used for our Windows operating system. But why is this so and not the other way around? When are we interested in using each of them ? Well, we will see all that here in this article.

Index of contents

FAT32 and NTFS file systems

FAT32 (File Allocation Table) is a file system that was developed back in 1977 by Microsoft and as an evolution of the FAT file system. Consequently, it is an older file system than NTFS. It was first used on IBM's first personal computers in 1981 and would later be used by the MS-DOS operating system. This file system is still used today in small portable storage units, and later we will see why.

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the latest file system available to Microsoft for use in its Windows operating system. It was introduced in 1993 with the Windows NT operating system, and later it would be implemented in the operating systems of home computers with Windows 2000 and to a greater extent in Windows XP, a system that standardized the use of this system. NTFS has undergone some updates in terms of space and file addressing capacity, and is currently used by all Windows-based operating systems.

NTFS vs FAT32 storage capacity

If we want to compare both file systems, the first thing we must know is the file and partition capacities that we are talking about in each case. This will be the main difference between the two file systems.

The FAT system uses 32-bit cluster addresses, although due to the Microsoft Scandisk utility only 28 bits are functional to address files and partitions. That is why the FAT32 system allows a maximum of 4 GB files, a name of maximum 255 characters and the number of files cannot exceed 268, 173, 300 (2 ²⁸ approx.). In addition, we can have a maximum partition size of 2 TB. This is clearly an impediment to the file sizes we are currently handling, which, in games, ISO images and movies comfortably exceed 30GB.

We now turn to see the characteristics of NTFS. With this system we can assign a minimum cluster size of 512 bytes and it is capable of handling 32-bit cluster addresses, but in this case completely. That is why it supports files with a maximum size of 16 TB and a maximum number of files of 4, 294, 967, 295 (2 ³² -1), being able to put a name of up to 255 characters, just like FAT32. With the new update of this file system, we can have a maximum volume size of up to 16 EB (Exabytes) with a 64-bit system. If it is 32, we can address volumes of up to 4TB. Other very interesting features that NTFS implements is the ability to assign access permissions to a file for different users, and also allows encryption of files to provide security.

These characteristics are undoubtedly the most important when choosing which file system to use. On current hard drives, it is almost mandatory to use NTFS, because if not, we could not have files larger than 4 GB and manage user permissions for different user sessions on the same system.

NTFS vs FAT32 speed and compatibility

For practical purposes, the speed of a FAT32 and NTFS file system should be the same, always depending on the performance of the storage unit at hand and the processing capacity of our equipment. However, speed tests performed show better file performance under the NTFS system, and this is due to the cluster size used and of course the architecture of the hard drives.

In terms of compatibility, FAT32 still outperforms NTFS in this regard. This system is compatible in reading and writing with almost all the existing operating systems, such as Mac OS, Linux, FreeBSD, etc. In addition to the systems, there are a large number of multimedia equipment such as music or image players and printers that are only compatible with FAT32 and thus can interact with portable storage units that carry this system. This is one of the main advantages for which we can continue to use FAT32 today.

For its part, NTFS is also compatible in reading and writing with most operating systems, although additional software is necessary in many cases. For example on Mac s you must use Paragon NTFS, or on Linux, if we install the corresponding NTFS-3G package To be able to write files in this format.

Another aspect to keep in mind is that on Windows and other systems, it is possible to format the drives in both NTFS and FAT32 if we wish, and we can also transfer files from one drive to another directly, performing the conversion "on the fly" that is, instantaneously.

When is it recommended to use NTFS or FAT32?

Well, with the data we have provided, we can all get an idea of ​​when one or the other is better.

NTFS:

It will be recommended in practically all cases, since it is widely compatible with systems and will allow us to store large files. In current Windows operating systems it is practically mandatory to use it when installing the system in a unit, as well as in large units.

It will also be necessary when we plan to use USB drives to store ISO images or large multimedia files on them, since otherwise it would not be possible. In an easy way we can format a FAT32 drive in NTFS from Windows.

Another aspect that we have seen and that is fundamental, is the ability to assign permissions to files and support for file encryption, which is essential for a multi-user desktop system.

FAT32:

This system may be recommended when we have USB storage drives of a size between 2 GB and 16 GB. In this way we make them compatible with most not very current equipment and music or multimedia players.

In other cases, NTFS will always be better than FAT32, it is the most current system with the advantages that this entails.

This is our comparison between NTFS vs FAT32, the most used file systems by Windows systems to date.

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We hope that this article has been used to choose the file system that suits you best, if you have questions or want to point out something, you can do so in the comment box below this post.