Format/Partition

Important

Once you convert a drive or partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT or FAT32
you will need to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data including programs and
personal files on

 the Partition.

The following table describes the compatibility of each file system with various operating systems.

NTFS
A computer running Windows XP or
Windows 2000 can access files on an NTFS
partition. A computer running Windows NT 4.0
with Service Pack 4 or later might be
able to access some files. Other operating system
allow no access
.
 FAT
Access is available through MS-DOS,
all version of Windows,
Windows NT
Windows 2000
Windows XP, and OS/2

    FAT32                                   

    Access is available only through            

Windows 95, Windows 98

Windows Millennium Edition

 Windows 2000, and
Windows XP, And newer

The following table compares disk and file sizes possible with each file system.

NTFS
Recommended minimum volume size
is approximately 10 megabytes
(MB) Volume much larger
than 2 terabytes (TB) are possible
Cannaot be used on floppy disk
File limited only by size of volume


FAT

Volume from floppy disk
size up to 4 gigabytes(GB)
Does not support domains
Maximum file size is 2 GB

FAT32

Volumes from 512 MB to 2 TB
In Windows XP, you can format
a FAT32 volume up to 32 GB
only.
Does not support domains.
Maximum file size is 4 GB.