Differences between the NTFS and FAT32 memory card

file systems
Most commercially available memory cards use the FAT32 file system by default. NTFS and
FAT32 file systems differ in the following ways:
 The FAT32 file system cannot store individual files larger than 4 GB, while the NTFS file
system can.
 Compared to FAT32, the NTFS file system has higher disk utilization and can manage disk
space more effectively.
 The read and write speeds of NTFS are also faster than that of FAT32.
 The FAT32 file system is suitable for smaller capacity flash memory devices (such as memory
cards, USB drives, and other storage devices), while the NTFS file system is suitable for large
capacity disks.
 Difference Between FAT32 and NTFS
A file system provides a way of organizing a drive. Its primary operation is to specify the way
the data is stored and the kinds of information attached to files including filenames,
permissions, and other attributes. Windows supports three different file systems namely
FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS. The transition of these file systems was as follows:
 8-bit FAT (Original 8-bit FAT)
 FAT12 (8-bit File Allocation Table)
 FAT16 (Initial 16-bit File Allocation Table(with 16-bit sector entries))
 FAT16B (Final 16-bit File Allocation Table(with 32-bit sector entries))
 FAT32 (File Allocation Table-32)
 ExFAT (Extensible File Allocation Table)
 NTFS (New Technology File System)

What is FAT32?
FAT32 stands for File Allocation Table. FAT32 is an extension of previous file systems in
which the data is stored in chunks of 32 bits. FAT32 is an upgraded version of FAT16
designed to overcome the limitations of FAT16 and add support for larger media. FAT32 was
used in older versions of operating systems like Windows 95 up until Windows XP.
FAT32 is the original file system for the Windows operating system, having been developed
in the 1970s. It was mainly made for floppy drives with capacities less than 500 K. Each of
the three FAT file systems—FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32—has a different file size and disc
layout. Initially, MS-DOS used the FAT file system, with a maximum hard drive size of 32 MB
and sectors partitioned into 512 K. It frequently appears in removable discs and storage
devices. A FAT32 drive’s maximum file size is limited to 4 GB, while the size of a FAT32
partition cannot exceed 8 TB. The lack of security offered by FAT32 is its primary drawback.
File access protection is absent from FAT16, the prior version of the file system, and thus
suffers from internal fragmentation.
Features of FAT32
 Legacy Compatibility: FAT32 has been around because the early days of computing and
is broadly supported throughout diverse operating system and devices. It is commonly
used for USB flash drives, SD playing cards, and different removable media because of its
huge compatibility.
 Simple Structure: FAT32 has a tremendously easy document system structure, along
with a File Allocation Table (FAT) that keeps track of report allocation at the disk. This
simplicity makes it easy to implement and understand however additionally limits its
abilities compared to extra cutting-edge document systems.
 No Journaling: FAT32 does no longer help journaling, a function determined in extra
superior record systems like NTFS. Journaling allows preserve the consistency of the
record in case of sudden shutdowns or crashes by way of preserving track of changes
earlier than they’re devoted to the disk.
 Limited Support for Long Filenames: While FAT32 supports lengthy filenames (up to 255
characters), it uses a backward-compatible technique referred to as 8.3 report naming
conference, which restricts filenames to eight characters followed by using a three-
individual record extension.
Management of FAT32 File System Disk Space
The control data is stored independently of the file system in the linked allocation that the
FAT32 file system uses. Every disc block in an array has an element in the file allocation table
of that disc. A file is assigned a disc block, and the associated FAT element retains the next
disc block address. Because of the linked allocation, the disc block and its FAT component
together comprise a unit that shares the same data as the disc block. The address of the first
disc block is contained in a file’s directory entry, while the address of the second disc block
is contained in the FAT element for that disc block. The final disc block contains the unique
code that denotes the file’s end.
Advantages of FAT32
 FAT32 efficiently works under partitions of 200 MB.
 FAT32 provides compatibility with different operating systems.
 FAT32 is frequently used as a primary partition on multiboot systems.
 Disc partitions of up to 2 TB can be made using FAT32.
 Partitions formatted as FAT16 are limited to 2GB in size.
 FAT32 uses much less disc space for large partitions because the minimum cluster size
for partitions under 8GB is still a modest 4KB.
 Because it is compatible with several operating systems, it is frequently used as the
primary partition on multi-boot systems.
Disadvantages of FAT32
 The partitions in FAT32 of size over 200 MB can degrade the performance.
 FAT32 is insecure because of the lack of encryption.
 FAT32 is susceptible to fragmentation.

What is NTFS?
NTFS stands for New Technology File System. First introduced in 1993, it is used in newer
versions of operating systems such as Windows NT and 2000 and later versions of Windows.
NTFS is a more robust, high-performance logging file system with multi-user access control,
ACLs, and many other things that make it appropriate to work with an Operating
System that has protection. NTFS includes characteristics such as data recovery, multi-
streaming, fault tolerance, security, extended file size, and file systems, UNICODE names.
exFAT is used where NTFS is not feasible, due to its data-structure overhead, but a greater
file-size limit than the standard FAT32 file system is needed.
Features of NTFS
 Advanced Features: NTFS is a feature-rich file system designed to meet the needs of
modern computing environments. It supports features including record compression,
encryption, disk quotas, symbolic links, and document system journaling, imparting
greater flexibility and capability compared to FAT32.
 Dynamic Disk Support: NTFS supports dynamic disks, which allows for superior disk
management capabilities consisting of software RAID (Redundant Array of Independent
Disks).
 Sparse File Support: Sparse documents are used in programs along with digital machines
and database systems to effectively allocate garage space for facts this is in general
empty.
 Transaction Support: NTFS helps transactions, permitting a couple of report machine
operations to be grouped together as a single atomic transaction. This ensures statistics
 integrity and consistency, specially in situations where more than one operations want
to be done together (e.G., database transactions).
 Improved Security: NTFS presents sturdy security features, which includes file and folder
permissions, get right of entry to access control lists (ACLs), and encryption.
Management of NTFS File System Disk Space
Various disc sector size have no dependency on the NTFS file system. The cluster idea, which
is a collection of adjacent sectors, is used to allocate disc space a cluster may have up to 2n
parts. A bitmap file is used to represent the allocated and unoccupied clusters in a volume,
which is a logical partition on a disc. Unusable clusters are also tracked by a file called a bad
cluster file. You can use a volume set to surpass the partition’s 32-volume maximum.
The NTFS volume contains the boot sector, the master file table (MFT), and additional user
and system data. Similar to a FAT table, the master file table (MFT) contains all of the data
regarding the files and directories on the drive. Because each volume contains a boot sector,
it can all be booted.
Advantages of NTFS
 NTFS is highly secure because it prevents unauthorized access to file contents by
enforcing Encryption File System(EFS).
 NTFS performs well even in the partitions of size over 400 MB.
 NTFS is less susceptible to fragmentation.
 NTFS offers faster processing and is more stable than FAT32. File attributes can also be
classified as resident or non-resident. While the non-resident features are maintained
outside of MFT, the resident characteristics are retained within MFT. When Windows
starts, the MFT is loaded and all properties are retained if the file is less than 1KB.
 Physical and logical disc issues may be automatically fixed by the NTFS file system. The
sector is checked before every read and write operation. Any mistakes that arise while
reading will be reported. If an issue arises during writing the data, it will choose the
appropriate sector to write the data in. Additionally, it will highlight the damaged area
so you don’t use it again.
Disadvantages of NTFS
 NTFS is not extensively supported.
 Performance in the NTFS file system degrades under partitions of 400 MB.
 It takes a lot of extra space for the NTFS file system to function. “Space overhead” is the
term for the data storage used by the file system itself; this data storage is not meant to
hold other kinds of data. Therefore, if you format a drive that uses the NTFS file system,
you will lose some storage capacity.
 One of the main problems with the NTFS file system is that it is incompatible. Windows
2000 and later operating system versions are compatible with it. Windows versions prior
to this one are not compatible.
 File naming is subject to several limitations. The maximum character count for the
directory and file names is 255. The system does not distinguish between lowercase and
uppercase letters, even though file names may contain capital letters.
 Because of the required space overhead, a floppy disc cannot be formatted using the
NTFS file system. Floppy disc drives are widely used in older Windows-based computers.
 Without the aid of third-party software, Mac computers are unable to write data on
NTFS formatted storage.
Difference Between FAT32 and NTFS
Characteristics FAT32 NTFS

Structure Simple Complex

Maximum number of
characters supported in a 83 255
file name

Maximum file size 4GB 16TB

Encrypted with Encrypting File

Encryption Not encrypted
System (EFS)

Security Network Type Only Both local and network type

No provision for Fault Automatic troubleshoot is

Fault tolerance
Tolerance present

Windows
Compatibility with Windows
NT/2K/XP/Vista/7/8/10, macOS
Operating Systems 95/98/2000/2003/XP
X, Linux

Compression is not
Compression Supports file compression
allowed

Relatively higher than other

Accessing speed Low
File Systems

User-level disk space Not present Present

Conversion Allowed Not allowed

Frequently Asked Question on FAT32 and NTFS – FAQs
Which file system should I use for my storage device?
NTFS because it provide advanced features like encryption, compression, journaling, and file
permissions are available. Large file and partition sizes are supported by NTFS, which makes
it appropriate for contemporary storage devices.

Can I convert a storage device from FAT32 to NTFS?

Yes you can convert storage device from FAT32 to NTFS.
Can I use NTFS on removable storage devices like USB flash drives?
Yes , You can right-click on your external storage device or USB drive. Choose Format from
the selection that appears. Choose NTFS from the File system drop-down selection.

Source: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-fat32-and-ntfs
 NTFS vs FAT32: Which Is Better?
Windows-supported operating systems rely on one of two different types of file
systems: File Allocation Table (FAT) or New Technology File System (NTFS).
While both file systems were created by Microsoft, each has different benefits and
disadvantages related to compatibility, security, and flexibility.
In this article, we will break down what a FAT file system is, what an NTFS file system is and
what the pros and cons are for each system.
What Is FAT?
Microsoft created the File Allocation Table file system in 1977 and is the simplest file system
supported by Windows NT. It is the older of the two file systems and therefore isn’t as
efficient or advanced. However, it does offer more compatibility with other operating
systems and removable storage devices.
The FAT is used to describe the allocation status of the clusters (the basic units of logical
storage on a hard drive) in a file system, as well as the link relationship between each. It acts
as a Table of Contents for the operating system, indicating where directories and files are
stored on the disk.
A FAT is often most used in removable storage devices, such as digital cameras, Smart TVs
and other portable devices.
The file allocation table is a critical part of the FAT file system. If the FAT is damaged or lost,
the data on the hard disk becomes unreadable.
There are several limitations to using a FAT32 file system:
 FAT32 only supports files of up to 4GB in size and volumes of up to 2TB in size
 FAT32 isn’t a journaling file system, which means corruption can happen more easily
 FAT32 doesn’t support file permissions
What Is NTFS?
Microsoft created the New Technology File System in 1993, and it is now the most widely
used file system in Windows.
It was introduced as a replacement for the FAT file system, designed to improve upon FAT
by increasing performance, reliability and disk space.
NTFS supports:
 Very large files
 Different file permissions and encryption
 Automatically restores consistency by using log file and checkpoint information
 File compression when running out of disk space
 Establishing disk quotas, limiting space users can use
FAT vs. NTFS
FAT is the more simple file system of the two, but NTFS offers different enhancements and
offers increased security. Choosing the right operating system depends on your needs.
1. Fault Tolerance: NTFS automatically repairs files/folders in the case of power failures
or errors. FAT32 maintains two different copies of the FAT in the case of damage.
2. Security: FAT32 only offers shared permissions, while NTFS allows you to set specific
permissions to local files/folders.
3. Compression: FAT32 does not offer any compression option. NTFS does allow for
individual compression of files and folders so you don’t slow down the system.
4. Compatibility: NTFS is compatible with operating systems back to Windows XP. For
Mac OS users, however, NTFS systems can only be read by Mac, while FAT32 drives
can be both read and written to by the Mac OS.
The biggest disadvantage of using the NTFS file system is compatibility:
 Many removable devices, such as Android smartphones don’t support NTFS
 While Mac OS X can read support for NTFS drives, but it can’t write to NTFS drives
without third-party software
 Some media devices, including Smart TVs, media players, and printers, don’t support
NTFS
 NTFS file systems are only compatible with Windows 2000 and later versions of
Windows
When it comes to removable devices, it’s safer to use FAT32 so they can be used with
almost any device.
There is no clear winner when it comes to FAT vs. NTFS. Choosing the right file system
depends on your individual needs and uses.

Source: https://www.datto.com/blog/fat-vs-ntfs-which-is-better
 FAT32 vs. NTFS
FAT32 and NTFS are file systems i.e., a set of logical constructs that an operating system
can use to track manage files on a disk volume. Storage hardware cannot be used
without a file system, but not all file systems are universally supported by all operating
systems.
All operating systems support FAT32 because it is a simple file system and has been
around for a really long time. NTFS is more robust and effective than FAT since it makes
use of advanced data structures to improve reliability, disk space utilization and overall
performance. Support for NTFS has grown but is not as universal as FAT32.
This comparison looks at the features, advantages and disadvantages of NTFS vis-à-vis
FAT32.
If you're looking to decide which file system to use when formatting a disk or USB drive,
consider portability. For example, if you'd like to use the USB on older computers, or
non-PC systems like digital picture frames, TV sets, printers or projectors, choose FAT32
because it is universally supported. If you are choosing a file system for the backup hard
drive, select NTFS.
Comparison chart
FAT32 versus NTFS comparison chart

FAT32 NTFS

Introduced 1977 July 1993 (Windows NT 3.1)

Both built-in security and Recoverability, encryption and

Overall
recoverability are absent. File compression are designed into NTFS in a
Performance
compression is not possible. way that's transparent to the user.

2 TiB (with 512 byte sectors, which is

the most common configuration) 8 264 clusters − 1 cluster (format);, 256 TB
Max.
TiB (with 2 KiB sectors and 32 KiB (256 × 10244 bytes) − 64 KB (64 × 1024
volume size
clusters) 16 TiB (with 4 KiB sectors bytes) (implementation)
and 64 KiB clusters)

About 4GB. Technically, the file size

16 EiB – 1 KiB (format);, 16 TiB – 64 KiB
limits are 2,147,483,647 bytes (2 GiB
(Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 or
Max. file – 1) (without LFS) 4,294,967,295
earlier implementation), 256 TiB – 64 KiB
size bytes (4 GiB – 1)[1] (with LFS)
(Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
274,877,906,943 bytes (256 GiB – 1)
implementation)
(only with FAT32+[35])

Max.
number of 268,173,300 for 32 KiB clusters 4,294,967,295 (2^32-1)
files
 FAT32 versus NTFS comparison chart

FAT32 NTFS

Read-only, hidden, system, archive, not

Read-only, Hidden, System, Volume,
Attributes content indexed, off-line, temporary,
Directory, Archive
compressed

Modified date/time, creation

date/time (DOS 7.0 and higher only),
Dates Creation, modification, POSIX change,
access date (only available with
recorded access
ACCDATE enabled), [2] deletion
date/time (only with DELWATCH 2)

1 January 1601 – 28 May 60056 (File times

are 64-bit numbers counting 100-
Date range 1980-01-01 to 2099-12-31 nanosecond intervals (ten million per
second) since 1601, which is 58,000+
years)

2 seconds for last modified time, 10

Date
ms for creation time, 1 day for access 100 ns
resolution
date, 2 seconds for deletion time

File system Partial, only with DR-DOS, REAL/32

ACLs
permissions and 4690 OS

Max.
filename 255 UCS-2 characters when using LFN 255 UTF-16 code units
length

Transparent
Not supported Per-file, LZ77 (Windows NT 3.51 onward)
compression

Per-file,, DESX (Windows 2000 onward),,

Transparent Triple DES (Windows XP onward),, AES
Not supported
encryption (Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows
Server 2003 onward)

16 EiB – 1 KiB (format);, 16 TiB – 64 KiB

The Maximum volume size is 32GB (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 or
Size &
for all OS and 2TB for some OS. Max earlier implementation), 256 TiB – 64 KiB
Storage
file size is 4GB. (Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
implementation)

Developer Microsoft, Caldera Microsoft

 FAT32 versus NTFS comparison chart

FAT32 NTFS

Full name 32-bit File Allocation Table New Technology File System

Windows NT family (Windows NT 3.1 to

Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows
Supported XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista,
All Windows versions, macOS,
operating Windows Server 2008, Windows 7,
Linux, PlayStation 3 and 4
systems Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8,
Windows Server 2012), Mac OS X,
GNU/Linux

MBR/EBR: FAT32: 0x0B 0x0C (LBA),

Partition 0x07 (MBR), EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-
e.a. BDP: EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-
identifier 68B6B72699C7 (GPT)
87C0-68B6B72699C7

Origins of FAT and NTFS

FAT (File Allocation Table) was created by Bill Gates and Marc McDonald in the year
1977. It has undergone many changes since then. The number "32" in FAT32 denotes
the number of bits needed to keep track of the files. FAT16 was popular until the arrival
of 4GB hard disks. NTFS was born from HPFS file system in collaboration of Microsoft
and IBM. NTFS appeared initially for Windows NT platform. Since then it has developed
and appears in recent versions of Windows like Vista, XP. Microsoft continues to hold
on to NTFS patent.
Features of NTFS vs FAT
FAT32 is a fluff-free and simple system that is documented and mainly keeps track of
file locations. The simplicity of FAT32 has made it the file system of choice for portable
storage mediums like in memory cards, mp3 players and flash players. NTFS file system
is more complex and offers multiple enhancements that increase security as well as
performance. NTFS file system allows automatic file compression prior to being written
freeing up hard disk space and also has disk quotas which allows system administrator
to allocate disk space to users.
FAT32 is a derivative of the (FAT) File Allocation Table which supports drives with more
than 2GB storage. The largest possible file is 4GB minus 2 bytes. In comparison to its
earlier versions, FAT32 uses small clusters and hence uses space more effectively. It can
relocate the root folder and use the backup copy of the FAT instead of the default copy.
NTFS is much more flexible than FAT32. NTFS does file-level encryption, sparse file
support, disk usage quotas, distributed link tracing, file compression, hierarchical
storage management etc.
Advantages and Disadvantages
FAT32 can be converted to NTFS but it is not so easy to convert NTFS back to FAT. NTFS
has great security, file by file compression, quotas and file encryption. If there is more
than one operating system on a single computer, it is better to format some volumes as
FAT32.
 Using multiple operating systems in same computer would make FAT32 a better choice
if you want both OSs to read the drive. If there is only Windows OS, NTFS is perfectly
fine. Thus in a Windows computer system NTFS is a better option.

Source: https://www.diffen.com/difference/FAT32_vs_NTFS
 Difference between FAT32 and NTFS in Operating System
An operating system uses the file systems FAT32 and NTFS. FAT32 is the first of the file
systems and is used in earlier OS like DOS and Windows versions before the XP version,
whereas NTFS is the successor to FAT32 and is used in newer OS like Windows NT and 2000
and its later versions. The main distinction between FAT32 and NTFS is that the NTFS file
system could trace system changes by keeping a journal, but FAT32 does not, even though
FAT32 is also utilized in removable media and storage drives. Furthermore, NTFS supports
extremely large file and volume sizes and offers efficient data organization.
In this article, you will learn about the difference between the FAT32 and NTFS in the
operating system. But before discussing the differences, you must know about the FAT32
and NTFS with their advantages and disadvantages.
What is the FAT32 file system?
FAT32 extends previous file systems that store data in 32-bit chunks. FAT32 is an upgraded
version of the FAT16 file system that supports larger media and solves FAT16's constraints.
FAT32 was utilized in prior OS like Windows 95 and up to Windows XP. The first file system
for the Windows operating system is FAT32, which was created in the 1970s. It was
primarily designed for floppy drives that were smaller than 500 K. There are three types of
FAT: FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32, and each has a unique file size and disk structure. When the
maximum hard drive size was 32 MB, with sectors of 512 K partitions, the FAT file system
was initially utilized in MS-DOS. It is commonly found in detachable disks and storage
devices.
The maximum file size in a FAT32 drive may not be greater than 4 GB, and FAT32 partitions
cannot be larger than 8 TB. The main disadvantage of utilizing FAT32 is that it provides no
security. The previous FAT file system version, FAT16, suffers from internal fragmentation
and lacks file access protection.
Disk space management of the FAT32 File System
The linked allocation used by the FAT32 file system holds the control data apart from the file
system. A disk's file allocation table contains an element for each disk block in an array. The
disk block is allocated to a file, and the related FAT element keeps the next disk block
address. As a result, the disk block and its FAT component form a unit that has the same
data as the disk block through the linked allocation.
The directory entry for a file contains the address of the first disk block, and the FAT
element for that disk block contains the address of the second disk block. The specific code
to indicate the end of the file is included in the last disk block FAT element.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the FAT32 file system?
There are various advantages and disadvantages of the FAT32 file system. Some advantages
and disadvantages of the FAT32 file system are as follows:
Advantages
1. FAT32 enables disk partitions of up to 2 terabytes. FAT16 partitions can only be up
to 2GB in size.
2. The minimum cluster size for partitions under 8GB remains a modest 4KB, so FAT32
utilizes far less disc space for huge partitions.
3. It performs effectively with partitions of 200 MB.
4. It is widely used as the primary partition on multi-boot systems since it is compatible
with several operating systems.
Disadvantages
 1. It is an insecure file system.
2. The partitions larger than 200 MB may decrease the performance.
3. Fragmentation is a risk.
What is the NTFS file system?
NTFS stands for New Technology File System. It was first released in 1993 and is now
utilized in newer operating systems such as Windows NT and 2000, and 2 later versions of
Windows. It is a more robust, high-performance journaling file system that contains ACLs,
multi-user access control and several other features that make it appropriate for use with a
protected OS. NTFS features data recovery, multi-streaming, fault tolerances, security,
enhanced file size, and file systems with UNICODE names. ExFAT can be used when the
NTFS file system is not a viable option due to data-structure complexity, but a bigger file-size
limit than the conventional FAT32 file system is required.
Disk Space Management of NTFS File System
The NTFS file system is not dependent on different disk sector sizes. It allocates disc space
using the cluster concept, which is a set of contiguous sectors, and the cluster could
contain 2n number of sections. A volume is a logical partition on a disk that uses a bitmap
file to represent the allocated and unoccupied clusters in the volume. There is also a file
called a bad cluster file that keeps track of unusable clusters. A volume set allows you to
exceed the partition's capacity of up to 32 volumes.
The master file table (MFT), boot sector, and other user and system data are all part of the
NTFS volume. The master file table (MFT) is comparable to a FAT table in that it stores all
the information about the volume's files and directories. Every volume can be booted
because it has a boot sector.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the NTFS File System
There are various advantages and disadvantages of the NTFS file system. Some advantages
and disadvantages of the NTFS file system are as follows:
Advantages
1. The NTFS file system can handle up to 2TB of hard disks. Unlike FAT, the
performance of NTFS is unaffected by increasing disk size.
2. NTFS is more stable than FAT32 and provides faster processing. You can also
categorize file attributes as non-resident or resident. The resident characteristics are
kept in MFT, whereas the non-resident attributes are kept outside of MFT. If the file
is smaller than 1KB, all properties are preserved, and the MFT is loaded when
Windows starts. If you want to search for specific folders and files, the contents are
already in the cache, resulting in faster access.
3. The NTFS file system may automatically repair physical and logical disk problems. It
validates the sector before each read and writes operation. It will report any errors
that occur during the reading process. It will select the right sector to write the data
if a problem happens during the writing process. It will also indicate the damaged
region so that you don't use it again.
Disadvantages
1. The NTFS file system needs a lot of extra space to work. The data storage devoted to
the file system itself is referred to as "space overhead", and it can't store other types
of data. As a result, you will lose some storage space if you format a drive that uses
the NTFS file system.
2. The incompatibility of the NTFS file system is one of its biggest flaws. It is designed to
work with Windows 2000 and later operating system versions. Previous versions of
 Windows are incompatible. Media devices like digital cameras, DVD players and
portable devices like Android smartphones do not support the file system.
3. There are some restrictions on file naming. The directory and file names can only
be 255 characters While capital letters may be used in file names, the system does
not distinguish between lowercase and capital letters.
4. The NTFS file system cannot be used to format a floppy disk due to the space
overhead needed. Floppy disk drives are popular on older systems running previous
Windows versions.
5. Mac computers cannot write NTFS formatted storage without third-party software
assistance.
Key differences between the FAT32 and NTFS file system

There are various key differences between the FAT32 and NTFS file systems. Some main
differences between the FAT32 and NTFS file systems are as follows:
1. The FAT32 file system is simple. On the other hand, the NTFS structure is quite
complex.
2. The NTFS performance is comparatively better than FAT32 because it also offers fault
tolerance.
3. The NTFS file system is equipped with security and encryption. In contrast to FAT32,
that doesn't offer much encryption or security.
4. The NTFS file system provides capabilities such as journaling and compression that
FAT32 does not.
5. It is quite simple to transfer one FAT file system to another without losing data. On
the other hand, the NTFS conversion is tough to achieve.
6. Compared to the FAT32 file system, NTFS may allow bigger file and volume sizes and
longer file names.
7. In the case of NTFS, files are accessible more quickly. In contrast, the FAT32 is slower
than NTFS.
8. FAT32 File system was introduced in 1977. In contrast, the NTFS was introduced in
1973.
 9. The FAT32 file system doesn't support Active Directory in Windows 2000 or
Windows 2003. In contrast, the NTFS file system requires using Windows 2000 or
2003 Active Directory or shared cluster drives.
10. FAT32 is a standard file system because it works with more Windows versions. On
the other hand, the most recent versions of Windows, including Windows XP,
Windows 2000, and higher, support NTFS.
Head-to-Head Comparison between the FAT32 and NTFS File System
There are various head-to-head comparisons between the FAT32 and NTFS file systems.
Some differences between the FAT32 and NTFS file systems are as follows:

Features FAT32 File System NTFS File System

Acronym It stands for File Allocation Table It stands for the New Technology
32. File System.

Introduction It was introduced in 1977 It was introduced in 1973.

Maximum file It contains a 4GB maximum file It contains a 16TB maximum file
size size. size.

Accessing Speed Its accessing speed is low. Its accessing speed is relatively
higher than other File Systems.

Security It provides security for only It provides security for both

Network types. Local and Networks.

Compatibility It is compatible with the old It is compatible with later

with OS windows version, including Win versions, including Win
95/98/2K/2K3/XP. NT/2K/XP/Vista/7.

Security and It doesn't offer much encryption or It is equipped with security and
Encryption security. encryption.

Basic Structure The FAT32 file system is simple. The NTFS structure is quite
complex.

Fault Tolerance It has no provision for fault It has automatic troubleshooting.

tolerance.

Performance Its performance is good. Its performance is better than

the FAT32.

Journaling and It has no journaling and channel It offers journaling to hold track
Channel log log. of previous tasks.

Compression It has no provision for It supports file compression.

compression.

Recovery It cannot recover various disk- It is capable of automatically

Capability related errors automatically. recovering from several disk-
related errors.

Conversions It may be converted to an NTFS It might be difficult to convert

file system. NTFS to a FAT32 file system.
Conclusion
The FAT32 and NTFS are both file systems. The NTFS file system contains new technology
which offers better features than the FAT32 file system, including reliability, security and
access control, storage efficiency, and enhanced size and name of the file. In contrast, the
FAT32 is still in use due to its compatibility.

Source: https://www.javatpoint.com/fat32-vs-ntfs-in-operating-system