FAT32 of NFTS - Which should I use

I am soon to have my Acer laptop delivered and am unsure whether it will be FAT32 or NFTS.I have a few questions

1. Are Acer laptops now NFTS or still FAT32
2. Is it preferable to convert to NTFS.
3. If so, what is the difference / advantages over FAT 32.
4. If NFTS is superior to FAT32 why are laptops with XP still produced with FAT32.
5. If I need to do a factory restore would this cause any problems e.g. would it restore at all, and would it be to FAT32
6. I did a search on this forum and opinions seemed to be divided on which system was better. However a post mentioned that NFTS was better for security reasons as it was difficult to protect your data on FAT32. Would someone elaborate on this for me.

Thanks

 

I've had a good search through the forum and notice this can be a debatable issue. I think I will just accept whatever system is installed. I am not confident when it comes to changing partitions (I have only done it once as part of a win98 reinstall) and have no knowledge of partition magic. Once i nkow what system i will be running I will try to be aware of it's disadvantages.

Thanks

 

1. The file systems are mainly dependant on the size of the HDD. Usually on drives 40GB or larger will be NTFS. Acer may make their HDD's FAT32 to be compatible with their hidden recovery partition. It's easy to convert to NTFS, just use the convert command line option that comes with Windows and it'll convert it to NTFS for you.

2. I used to think FAT32 was better because of its speed. It seemed to operate a lot faster than NTFS, but with the newer systems out there, you won't notice the difference. So FAT32 for older systems and NTFS for newer (IMHO).

3. NTFS offers greater security for your data. It allows you to encrypt your files/folders and limit access to specific users to your data. It also eliminates the FAT32 limitation of 4GB per file. You can now have files larger than 4GB without any issues.

4. It depends on the manufacturer. A lot of manufacturers may originally load their systems with FAT32, but during the setup process (after you turn on the system for the 1st time), it'll automatically convert it to NTFS for you. I think it just makes it easier to handle (can access the data from DOS if needed).

5. Depends on how the recovery discs are designed. Unfortunately, Acer uses an Image method to restore their systems (a fill image/snapshot of the HDD is taken and put onto CD, when restored, the OS will be exactly the same as it was on day one from the factory, every driver, every file, every setting). The problem with this method is that all the partition info will be reverted back to how it originally was setup on the restore cd. There's ways to work-around this issue, but takes a bit of time & know-how plus some extra software & $$$.

6. As I indicated in point #3, it allows for encryption & can limit access to files/folders depending on users or groups.

Let me know if you want more details on how to make your own recovery cd's with the settings & file system you want.

-Vb-

 

Thanks Vb

I think i'll you take you up on the offer at a later date. I have used ghost in the past on my win98 machine but i have 2 hard drives with various partitions so it is quite easy to back up a partition.
However, since i will have a DVD writer (never used one yet) i suspect i would like to be able to ghost to dvd if possible.

I was unaware of the 4GB file limit under FAT32. Does this mean that if you ghost a partition it cannot create a image file if it is bigger than 4GB (or does Ghost automatically split it into smaller files - i seem to have it in my head that it splits it into 2GB files but don't know whether i am confusing it with something else).

Why is everything so confusing !

I haven't even started to think about the problems of using XP yet!

Thanks again

 

Simon,

Since you have used Ghost, that would be one of the methods of making your own recovery discs. Another method is to slipstream the OS.

You should be able to Ghost directly to your DVD Burner or you can image you a file on your HDD and then make your own Bootable CD and modify it to automatically reload the image at bootup from the CD.

Yes, there's a 4GB limit in FAT32. Ghost can't create its image files larger than 4GB, but by default it'll automatically detect and cut the files in 4GB chuncks (that's if you don't specify the -split option (should be -split). It should otherwise go pretty smoothly.

Personally, I don't worry too much about the OS itself. Most of the time, it works without any problems. (knock on wood! )

-Vb-

 

Also, NTFS allows you to compress files and folders, which is pretty nice. It won't save a ton of space but it's something. I wiped out my recovery partition when I installed Linux, and upgraded the Windows partition to NTFS. I've done quite a few conversions to NTFS and never had any problems.

 

Is it possible to convert a drive to nfts from fat32 without losing the data on the drive?

 

Yes there is. Back it up beforehand just in case!
Directions:
http://www.ntfs.com/quest3.htm

 

If I remeber my readings correctly, on the Acer 3003 the system partition MUST be FAT32. Acer backup, recovery and restore options will NOT function otherwise. Something to bear in mind.

 

I do my own data backup, so I'm not worried. I am kind of dissappointed in Acer for dividing the HDD in two - a lot of people will use more than half the hard drive.