

The exFAT file system was introduced in 2006 and was added to older versions of Windows with updates to Windows XP and Windows Vista. Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) Nomad_Soul/ Ideal Use: Use it on removable drives where you need maximum compatibility with the widest range of devices, assuming you don’t have any files 4GB or larger in size. Limits: 4GB maximum file size, 8TB maximum partition size.

Also, modern versions of Windows can no longer be installed to a drive formatted with FAT32 they must be installed to drives formatted with NTFS.Ĭompatibility: Works with all versions of Windows, Mac, Linux, game consoles, and practically anything with a USB port. It lacks the permissions and other security features built into the more modern NTFS file system. While FAT32 is okay for USB flash drives and other external media-especially if you know you’ll be using them on anything other than Windows PCs-you won’t want to FAT32 for an internal drive. It was introduced all the way back in Windows 95 to replace the older FAT16 file system used in MS-DOS and Windows 3. Strode/įAT32 is the oldest of the three file systems available to Windows. Ideal Use: Use it for your Windows system drive and other internal drives that will just be used with Windows. Limits: No realistic file size or partition size limits. Other devices-with the exception of Microsoft’s Xbox One-probably won’t support NTFS.
Ntfs meaning series#
Even Microsoft’s own Xbox 360 can’t read NTFS drives, although the new Xbox Series X, S, and One can. Other devices are even less likely to support NTFS.Ĭompatibility: Works with all versions of Windows, but read-only with Mac by default, and may be read-only by default with some Linux distributions. None of Sony’s PlayStation consoles support NTFS. Some Linux distributions may enable NTFS-writing support, but some may be read-only. By default, Macs can only read NTFS drives, not write to them. It’ll work with all recent versions of Windows-all the way back to Windows XP-but it has limited compatibility with other operating systems. Despite its advantages, where NTFS lacks is compatibility.
