NTFS vs FAT32

Both Windows XP & 2000 support both FAT32 [File Allocation Table 32] and NTFS [New Technologies File System]. Windows 98 and ME support only FAT32. So if you boot either to Windows 98 or ME, you won't be able to read/access/write to your NTFS partitions. If you boot to either Windows 2000 or XP, you'll be able to read/access/write to both FAT32 and NTFS partitions.

In my opinion, it is almost always better to format your drives using NTFS. A good discussion on NTFS vs FAT32 is posted here. The main reason for prefering NTFS is its "self-healing" properties.

I could wax techie and say NTFS features "journaling" and is "fault tolerant", but all you need to know is that it's more reliable than FAT32.

Speedwise, FAT32 is usually a little zippier, especially for smaller disks. But I doubt you'll notice any real-world difference. If you want a faster hard drive, buy a 15K-RPM SCSI drive.

The only time you would might prefer FAT32 over NTFS is if you dual/multi-boot Win98/ME with either Windows 2000 or XP. If all your drives are formatted as FAT32, you would be able to read_from/write_to/access any drive from any operating system.

You used to [not any more, tho] have to keep a FAT32 partition on your system in order to receive/store Ghost images. But the latest version of Norton Ghost [v2003] now supports writing images directly to NTFS partitions, so this is no longer a requirement. Windows 2000 uses NTFS v5.0, while Windows XP uses v5.1 of the NT file system. They are not the same.

NTFS is better for video-storage drives, because it isn't limited to 4GB files, like FAT32 is. If your PC is located in an office where someone might pry, NTFS is the way to go because it offers better security than FAT32. Before doing anything with NTFS partitions, read this support page from Microsoft.

Some people prefer to load their operating system to a FAT32 drive. Their reason is that many disk-repair utilities work from DOS, and DOS supports FAT32 [but not NTFS]. Therefore, if they have a problem with their boot disk, they can always boot to DOS and run these disk-repair utilities.

This is a valid strategy. But my rationale is that NTFS is more reliable than FAT32, and that you're less likely to need the use of these disk-repair utilities with NTFS, which is a "self-healing" file system. If you have a major problem, you could always restore an image [provided you created one].

Miscellaneous Info

• Linux uses ext2/3 as its native file system. Even tho many Linux distros come with a partitioning utility, I've found that it's best to use Partition Magic to create partitions for Linux. The best place to get answers about partitioning for Linux is here (JustLinux).
  
  
• Install Linux to a *Primary* partition. If you first *shrink* your Windows partition, to make room for Linux, instead of converting them to ext2/3 [entirely], you'll maintain your current drive-letter configuration. If you *convert* a Windows partition to ext2/3, your Windows drive-letter config will change, cuz Windows cannot see/recognize ext partitions.
  
  
• The FAT32 default cluster size increases from 4kb to 8kb for partitions that exceed 8GB. For maximum space utilization, make your FAT32 partitions no larger than 8GB. In general you want *smaller* clusters for the partition(s) where you'll store/load your operating system (Windows), which is full of many small files (less than 1KB). NTFS uses 4KB clusters regardless of partition size.
  
  
• If you opt for FAT32, you want *larger* cluster sizes for partitions that will be used to archive large media files, such as MP3s, video, and graphics. So, if you want to create a partition that is roughly 8 gigs to be used to store your MP3s, you'd do better to make it 8.1GB, rather than 7.9GB. This would increase the cluster size.
  
  
• The FAT32 default cluster size increases from 8kb to 16kb for partitions that exceed 16GB. The default cluster size jumps again for partitions that exceed 32GBs.
  
  
• There's a known-issue with (trying to) create FAT32 partitions larger than 32GBs using Windows 2000 CD. (You will have no such problem is you use FDISK from DOS, like described here). I heard that the reason that Microsoft doesn't allow you to create FAT32 partitions greater than 32GB from the Win2K/XP Install CD is because they want you to use NTFS.
  
  
• If you use Partition Magic to resize a partition, under NO circumstances should you turn off your computer or reset it. It might seem like it's locked up, but it's not unusual for this operation to take a loooong time. If you turn it off in the middle, you'll be sorry.
  
  
• Some older motherboards need a BIOS update to support hard disks larger than 32GB.
  
  
• Windows does not have to be installed to a Primary partition, but Win98/SE/ME are usually installed to Primary partitions. I have both Win2000 and WinXP installed to Logical DOS drives, so I know it's no problem.
  
  
• If you plan to install both WinXP and W98/ME, install W98/ME first, then launch the WinXP installer from the CD while you're in Win98/ME. It will gather system info, and then reboot automatically.
  
  
• If you install a new/second/additional hard disk, and create a Primary partition in that new hard disk, Windows will assign a drive-letter to it that may have previously been assigned to one of you Logical DOS drives on your original hard disk, which can create problems.
  
  
• If you run into problems, or have specific questions, the guys at the Storagereview forums can usually help.
  
  
• It is possible to convert FAT32 partitions to NTFS without losing the data contained on them. But most people advise against this. It is better to format [not convert] NTFS partitions. You would do this by right-clicking on the drive in "My Computer" and selecting "format". You should *never* attempt to convert an NTFS partition to FAT32.

Formatting

Note that I recommend the NTFS file system over FAT32. DOS does not support the NTFS file system, therefore you cannot format a partition with the NTFS file system using a DOS boot floppy. You have to use a Windows XP or 2000 CD to format with NTFS. You can also format with NTFS from within Windows XP or 2000 by right-clicking on the partition/drive and selecting "format" from the menu. If you format with a DOS boot floppy, your partition will be formatted as FAT32.

Reboot with the boot disk inserted in the floppy drive. All partitions that were created need to be formatted before you can use the drive. But first, enter FDISK again [by typing: FDISK at the command prompt (A:\>) and hitting the <Enter> key].

First we're going to *check* the status of the partitions you made. In particular, check the Logical DOS drives that you made. Make sure the number of drives is correct and note their drive letters. Ensure everything looks the way you expect it to.

I have seen instances where 2 Logical DOS drives were created in FDISK, but after rebooting, only one was reported. In this case, simply re-make the 2nd/last Logical DOS drive [in the Extended partition]. Then reboot and check again. The second time has never failed to work for me. Do this until all partitions/drives look the way you expect them to [in FDISK].

When the Logical DOS drives look correct, it's time to format the partitions we made. The larger your drive, the longer it'll take to format. You cannot use a particular partition/drive until it is formatted. Formatting is different from partitioning. Formatting does not use FDISK.

You have to decide between FAT32 and NTFS. If you want to format say your C_drive with FAT32, you would type "format c:" (without the quotes) at the command prompt, and then hit the <enter> key. You need to make absolutely sure that you're formatting the right partition/drive. You will lose data if you format the wrong partition.

Repeat this outline until you have formatted all the partitions you created. After formatting all the partitions/drives you created, reboot & you're ready to use you new drive. Most people usually install their operating system at this point.

If your system supports Booting from CD (most newer ones do), insert your Windows CD & reboot. Setup will start automatically. You may have to configure your motherboard BIOS to look for a bootable CD in your CD-ROM drive. If your system does not support Booting from CD, follow these steps:

1. Insert both the Windows CD and the Start-up floppy disk [use the Windows ME OEM disk for this].
2. Reboot
3. choose 2: Boot with CDROM support.
4. Once your system arrives at the command prompt, change to your CD-drive letter (which will be different for each user, depending upon your particular partition setup). For example, if your CD is your K: drive, type: "k:" (without quotes) and hit the <Enter> key. The command prompt will change to K:\> [or whatever drive letter you entered]. You might have to add an extra letter for the RAM drive that gets created.
   Note: if you have plenty of disk space available, you could copy the entire Windows CD to a location on your hard drive [such as a folder named "wxp"] and execute the Windows set-up program from there.
5. Type "setup" (without quotes) and hit the <Enter> key. You're there. Follow the instructions. Windows 2000 and XP give you the option to format any partition before installing the O/S.

If you already have your O/S installed, you can simply right-click on the new partition/drive [from 'My Computer'] and select "format". Here you can select either NTFS or FAT32. Some people format *twice* .. once in DOS, and then again in Windows.

While this sounds rather thorough, I have never done it this way, and have never had a problem. You cannot format NTFS partitions from DOS as DOS does not support NTFS.

Data Recovery

If you *do* screw up and format the wrong partition, these programs might help you recover your data. As long as you don't write to the partition, you have a good chance of restoring the data. Programs are listed alphabetically. I have no experience with any of them. The list contains one freeware option. Professional data recovery services are notoriously expensive.

[Active@Partition Recovery] [CGSecurity] [Directory Snoop] [DiskPatch] [File Recovery.net] [Final Data] [LC Technology] [NTFS.com] [Ontrack] [O&O Unerase] [PC Inspector File Recovery - freeware] [Recover It All] [Restorer 2000]

Re-sizing Partitions

Sometimes you don't need to need to create, add or delete partitions - you merely need to *resize* the ones you already have. For example, perhaps you have a small C: drive, which is rapidly filling up, and giving you system warnings and errors about not enough space.The following is an example I heard, so it is the one I'll use. 

Suppose you have two hard disk drives in your system. The first has a 20GB capacity. This hard disk has 3 partitions. The C: drive is 2GB and is full. The D: drive is 6GB and is half full. The last partition, the E: drive is 12GB and is also half full [6GB free]. The second hard disk is 40GB. It is a single 40GB partition: half full [20 gigs free]. You have two options is this type of scenario:

1. You could use Partition Magic to resize the partitions. Partition Magic has the ability to resize partitions on-the-fly without destroying data contained on the partition.
   
   
2. The other is to use Norton Ghost [Symantec] to image the partitions on the first hard disk drive to the second. Then delete all the partitions on the first disk. You will lose all data on the first hard disk [this is why you back-up the partitions using Ghost images]. Then create new partitions on the first hard disk the way you want them [a larger C: drive]. Lastly, restore all images.

GDISK

Vondrook writes to mention GDISK: Symantec's version of FDISK. It comes with Norton Ghost and offers a cool feature. He says:

After all the good reports about Ghost, I decided to give GDISK a whirl. Mind you, I've never tangled with anything other than FDISK [for compatibility reasons], and was reluctant to do so. Symantec touts GDISK as being far more user-friendly then FDISK, but is still a DOS program.

The feature I wanted with GDISK was the ability to hide partitions. You simply enter: gdisk 1 /hide /p:2 [for disk #1, partition #2]. It's sweet. Thus I can unhide my D: partition, dump a back-up [Ghost] image to it, then re-hide it .. and my office girls never even know it's there [let alone mess with it].

You might want to include GDISK in your FDISK guide. It's slick for this one reason. And yes, you can still perform gdisk /mbr and other FDISK-like functions if you suspect a virus in the master boot record.

I've never used GDISK, but did a little research. Seems they offer two versions: GDISK.exe is a DOS-based program, and GDISK32.exe Windows-based. Tutorial posted here.

Ranish Partition Manager

I'm reluctant to endorse anything for which I have no first-hand experience. But since I've heard many good things about it, I'll mention Ranish Partition Manager [RPM]: a freeware partitioning utility. A guide to installing and using RPM is included in this tutorial posted here. FAQ posted here. FIPS is another freeware partitioning utility. One reader wrote to say:

Might be worth mentioning that the Ranish will confuse Powerquest's Drive Image. Removal and reinstallation of RPM is easy. So the solution when you want to image a hard drive with DI is to remove RPM before imaging. Then re-install RPM.

Funny. It could be that Drive Image checks the MBR or something. I don't know. The workaround is easy. Except for that one problem, I haven't experienced any strange behavior. RPM is highly recommended!

If you want to read more about FDISK, the boring Microsoft version is posted here. More partitioning info is posted here. You might also find this helpful. The ultimate FDISK reference site is fdisk.com. THE END.