NTFS VS. FAT32 which is fastest.

im a faithful WinME guy......ME rocks!!!! more stable than anything ive tried.....but now im running Win2000Pro just cuz ive been bored.....so far so good.....im using NTFS now....i have my own thoughts on speed between the two...want to read yers...so fill me in peops!

P.S. keep in mind i own win95 win98se winME win2000Pro and WinXP pro. ive tried em all.

Depends

IMHO, it depends on how you view things. I think it has been shown repeatedly that as for sheer speed in some if not most situations FAT32 may have a slight perceived advantage in the speed department. HOWEVER, I personally feel that the advantages NTFS gives a user overshadow that. In the case of an unexpected shutdown and reboot, considerable time can be lost waiting for a FAT32 system to satisfy it's need for running scandisk, which NTFS does not need to do. There are also other file security and recovery advantages which others are far more qualified to speak about, which make NTFS a desirable alternative. All I can say for sure is I have experienced far less HDD and file problems since switching to NTFS and that has saved me considerable time, not to mention allowing my hair a chance to grow back, since I'm not pulling it out all the time.

Just my $.02

SkyHook

I think this lil article can shine some light on this question.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/october01.asp

But basically it comes down to this, NTFS has:
1. Better file security
2. Better disk compression
3. Support for large hd, up to 2 TB

FAT32 and NTFS indepth
Pros and cons of each format

Chart comparing all the OS's

From personal tests I've run NTFS is 10-15% slower than FAT32 & according to something I founc on the web (don't ask where cause I can't remember) FAT (gag) is faster than FAT32.

I do agree with the comments already made & would say that sheer speed is not the only thing to consider when deciding what format to use.

thanx for the replies. ive been using NTFS for a week now but after reading what ya'all have to say and one of the articles i think ill switch back to FAT32. scandisk after a bad reboot doesnt bother me.....security isnt needed.....but speed is what i want, and my HDD isnt running as fast under NTFS as it did with FAT32, so im gonna switch and see what happens. again thanx!

i'm wondering one thing...how does ME appeal to you over 2000? in my experiences, and the experiences of many other, windows me has been overall very buggy, unstable, and basically a pain to operate. 2000 is like a fresh of breath air in terms of stability and security too.

in short, i see more reasons to stay with ntfs, even if you do not notice any difference.

but to each his own, and i'm not trying to knock you for doing what you do.

but can i ask how come you like ME so much? this is just out of curiosity...you must have a very symbiant system for it to work so well

jeff

well im actually staying with win2000pro for now but im just switching to FAT32 instead of NTFS. so im not giving up on win2000 yet. so far ive liked it...now that im learning more and more about tweaking the registry and such. as for why i like WindowsME so much....it ROCKS. it has been COMPLETELY stable for me. ive built a few systems now and nomatter the mobo/chipset WinME has always run flawless. even now it remains my fav OS. not to mention ive gotten good at tweaking winME out to make it run sooo fast. what more can i say...its been nothing but good to me. when i hear peops talk about ME being buggy...i just dont know what to say to that. i cant imagine it being buggy at all. now windows 98se on the other hand is a pain in my a**. but for now...win2000pro will do....if it keeps going the way its been going it will become my fav. besides boot up times (1.5 minutes compared to 24 seconds with ME) i think 2000 is very fast. so now u know why i like winme.

lubetek said:

so now u know why i like winme.

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Can I ask why you dont like WinXP pro???

sure. first off its too heavy of a OS. it demands way too much ram, its a resource HOG. it has tons of stuff i dont need or use. i dont like microsoft looking over my shoulder. and i dont like the fact that to get the blazing speed that XP can deliver i have to shut down mass stuff. its just alot of work and i dont feel like playing with it when i can use winME or win2000 to do everything i need and do it super fast on top of it. ill give XP another shot one day. Im reading (when i have the time) "Microsoft WindowsXP inside and out" and maybe through that something will spark my curiosity again.

lubetek said:

sure. first off its too heavy of a OS. it demands way too much ram, its a resource HOG. it has tons of stuff i dont need or use. i dont like microsoft looking over my shoulder. and i dont like the fact that to get the blazing speed that XP can deliver i have to shut down mass stuff.

Click to expand...

Well I kind of figured you would say that.. I know it's a pain But, if you spend a lil time setting it up and minimizing some of the bloat I think you will be quite happy with it... IMO it's the best OS Microsoft has put out.. I do agree it would be nice if it gave you a option to install only the programs you want instead of MS forcing them on you. If you get your self a nice lil program that monitors your in and outbound (ZoneAlarm) You don't have to worry about your OS calling home..Oh ya and though I am currently using NTFS I have run Win XP on FAT32 and it seamed quite stable... Good luck with what ever you decide to do..

thanx man. right now im more worried about finishing this case mod tonight.

so how hard is it to switch between FAT32 and NTFS?

Mike

According to MS, it's a one way trip from FAT32 to NTFS and not hard that way, just a convert command. Back is another matter. I've heard of a couple of third party utilities that can do it, but haven't ever tried. The safest method is a clean reinstall.

Xaotic said:

The safest method is a clean reinstall. [/B]

Click to expand...

agreed. i like to do things cleanly for the greatest effect.

oh yeah...and my computer IS faster now that i switched back to FAT32. and its all about speed to me so.....