NTFS

NTFS was first used with the Windows NT operating system (hence the acronym: NT File System). It provides the highest level of performance and features for Windows XP computers. NTFS version 5.10, which installs with Windows XP, includes some significant enhancements. Many of the technologies discussed in this booksuch as compression, quotas, and encryptionare specific to NTFS version 5.10.

NTFS supports partitions up to 2 terabytes in size, and as with FAT32, cluster size is relatively small. This means that NTFS makes efficient use of disk space and is well suited for larger drives.

One other significant advantage of NTFS is that it allows for local security of files and folders, which is especially important when two or more users are accessing the same computer. With NTFS, different users can be assigned different levels of access to a resource. For example, one user may have permission to change a particular file, while another user may only have permission to read that file. This kind of local security is not possible with either version of FAT.

In fact, you can't take full advantage of Windows XP unless you format at least one partition with NTFS. NTFS includes technologies such as disk quotas, file encryption, local security, compression, and the hosting of a mounted drive, to name just a few. The longer you study the Windows XP operating system, the more you will realize the benefits of NTFS.

The main disadvantage of using NTFS is that only the Windows NT, 2000, and XP operating systems can recognize it. Windows 9x does not have the necessary file system drivers to access NTFS partitions, so if your computer dual boots with Windows 9x, the NTFS partition will not even be seen on that installation.

Accessing NTFS Data from a Windows 9x Computer

You can still access information stored on an NTFS partition from a Windows 9x computer. You just have to do so over the network. In that case, the client (Windows 9x) request is serviced by the file server (Windows XP). It's up to the file server to call the appropriate file system drivers needed to retrieve data before sending it back over the network. That is, the client is not aware of the file system that is being used to service the request.