what are key differences between FAT - FAT32 - NTFS ?

[jafar abotalebi]

Following are Microsoft's Windows Glossary definitions for each
of the 3 file systems:

1. File Allocation Table (FAT): A file system used by MS-DOS and other
Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. The file
allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when
you format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows
stores information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve
the file later.
2. FAT32: A derivative of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system.
FAT32 supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT,
which results in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes.
3. NTFS: An advanced file system that provides performance, security,
reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version
of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using
standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system
fails, NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore
the consistency of the file system. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP,
NTFS also provides advanced features such as file and folder
permissions, encryption, disk quotas, and compression.




NTFS
1)allows access local to w2k,w2k3,XP,win NT4 with SP4 & later may
get access for somefile.
2)Maximum size of partition is 2 Terabytes & more.
3)Maximum File size is upto 16TB.
4)File & folder Encryption is possible only in NTFS.
FAT 32
1)Fat 32 Allows access to win 95,98,win millenium,win2k,xp on local
partition.
2)Maximum size of partition is upto 2 TB.
3)Maximum File size is upto 4 GB.
4)File & folder Encryption is not possible.
RE: Difference between NTFS and FAT32
FAT (FAT16 and FAT32) and NTFS are two methods for storing data on a
hard drive. The hard drive has to either be formatted using one or the
other, or can be converted from one to the other (usually FAT to NTFS)
using a system tool
NTFS is a high-performance and self-healing file system proprietary to
Windows XP 2000 NT, which supports file-level security, compression
and auditing. It also supports large volumes and powerful storage
solution such as RAID.
The most important new feature of NTFS is the ability to encrypt files
and folders to protect your sensitive data



FAT (FAT16 and FAT32) and NTFS are two methods for storing data on a
hard drive. The hard drive has to either be formatted using one or the
other, or can be converted from one to the other (usually FAT to NTFS)
using a system tool.
FAT is basically the same file system that has been used on PCs since
the early DOS days, with a number of modifications made to allow it to
work with larger hard drives. NTFS was originally developed to work in
Windows NT, to support large hard drives from the get-go (up to 16
billion gigabytes per volume!) and to guard against the kinds of
errors that routinely wreck FAT volumes. NTFS is just the better
choice overall