do i choose NTFS or FAT 32

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I just bought a new external hard disk for storing my data, the old one being full is a FAT 32.

My OS is both linux (ubuntu) and windows (XP)
The new hard disk is NTFS

My question is, should I format it into FAT 32 ?
The only reason I use this disk is really to store my data, and my only worry is that I should be able to read it forever (it's mainly photographs/videos/artwork/textfiles) and be able to work with the data later.

What exactly happens when I store a file, load it on a different system, and when is it impossible?
I read that one can easily convert from FAT32 to NTFS but not the other way around? Does that mean the whole file reading system?
But what about the files itself? Can I move files from a FAT32 system to an NTFS ? And the other way around?

Suppose one of the systems gets out of fashion, and I need to copy all my old files to a new not yet existing system, is either FAT 32 or NTFS less likely to be able to do so?

The only thing that cares about the drive format is the driver - past that files will move happily from device to device regardless of whether it's a Windows or Linux system reading and writing them.

FAT32 has difficulty with big files, though, so I'd stick with the NTFS if I were you.

Yep, with FAT32 you can't store files larger than 4GB but it's great for compatibility. Both OSX and Windows can read/write to it without installing any third party software or drivers.. I'm not sure about Linux (Ubuntu) though..

Every OS in the world will be able to deal with FAT32 well enough, which is rather a shame since it's such a crappy filesystem. Why couldn't ext3 be the standard?

Ubuntu does FAT32 but I'm not sure about NTFS. Either way NTFS is the way to go, since it's hard to keep all your files under 4GB, if you want to rip DVDs or something.

Use NTFS, It is a lot more efficient and it can handle file coping easier.

gamefreak, and lemon NTFS also is more secure and supports encryption,

if I was you, go with NTFS

NTFS is better, but the issue is in compatibility- Linux and NTFS do not play nice, whereas FAT has been around for so long that everyone supports it, even if it isn't the best thing out there.

Ubuntu reads ntfs, I don't have a problem with it seeing my external usb drive

It's better to do FAT32, NTFS can be read by Ubuntu but with some attributes set, sometimes writing to or modifying anything on that hard drive can be troublesome or not bother. NTFS and FAT have their advantages and dsadvantages

FAT
1) Any OS can read it (except Windows 95A and lower)
2) There are no limitations
3) 4GB maximum file size
4) It's standard format by most manufacturers, such as SanDisk and Memory Stick
5) minimum cluster size is about 2Kbytes but increases according to partition type which is ideal for many larger files

NTFS
1) Good security
2) Compression enables more space
3) Encryption is possible
4) Minimum cluster size is 512bytes

Bad points
FAT
1) Not secure
2) Anyone can read the filesystem
3) Unstable, corruption usually leads to loss of files
4) Limited size at 2TB with 64Kbyte cluster size this would increase to 4TB

NTFS
1) Security usually leaves restrictions to other operating systems
2) Older operating systems can't read it, DOS based Windows (1 through 4.10.3000)
3) Corruption appears to recover file, but can only recover the remains, the contents are garbled

There are more points for each, but I can't remember them all

Using third party software you can switch between the two without loss. Depending on the operating system you use, I would set it up for that. If you use Linux, I would recommend ext* or similar. For Mac OS, I would suggest whatever filesystem that uses and so on. If you are using it cross platforms, I would recommend FAT. Depending on size, it could be FAT32 or FAT32

You would want a filesystem that is easy to read and write to for both. NTFS can be difficult to contend with in Ubuntu in my experience



On this basis, I would recommend FAT32



The hard drive is only for storage, the way it is written and read from depends on the filesystem. Reading from it would incur the same results, the filesystem determines any security (if set)



With standard Windows XP you can convert FAT32 to NTFS without data loss. NTFS adds security and changes how reading and writing is done as those attributes are usually set. Moving files between filesystems is a simple process. Whatever can read the filesystem can write to it. It just depends on the software that reads from depends how it looks. It IS possible to convert NTFS to FAT32 again, you just need the right software

You can copy your files to any filesystem you choose without worry.

Orwell,

Was the comment about EXT3 simply a whine or is it actually possible to use EXT3 under Windows?

Windows 95 (4.10.950) and Windows 95 (4.10.950 A) can NOT read FAT32. It is possible to read ext filesystems under Windows using a browser designed for it

It is possible to mount ext2 (and ext3, I believe) filesystems under XP. I forget what the little proglet is called. It just makes them visible as drives. Read/write is no problem, as the file systems are well defined open standards. The proglet has a slight disadvantage that you need to be careful about shutting down cleanly, IIRC, if you then want to open up a dual booted Linux to access the files.

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And no one has pointed out... FAT32 is a standard, but NTFS is a proprietary format, supported only by Microsoft, and subject to change at their whim.

If you use NTFS, there's no guarantee that anything else (e.g. Windows can access the files, because the specification of the file system is not available (or even static).

The ext2/3 file systems are open standards, hence will always be supported.

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The limitations on FAT32 are severe only if you need to edit video. A maximum file size of 4GiB means that a DVD iso is going to be a problem. Editing shorter video will also prove difficult, as videos under edit are uncompressed.

However... if you don't need to handle files that large, then FAT32 will be fine.

http://ext2fsd.sourceforge.net/

Thanks... now I understand.

Also... MS Keeps trying to replace NTFS. (perhaps they don't like the NT at the front).
In any case, it's probably not going to have an extended life being proprietary and still being rejected by its creator.