Re: NT Backup and the FAT32 File System

Ron wrote:
I have a partition [FAT32 File System] that I back up using NT Backup, but I am obliged to do it with multiple backups as I am backing up 8-9GBs and am stymied by the 4GB maximum inherent with NT Backup/FAT32.

Is there any way for me using NT Backup to accomplish this process in a single backup?


Convert to the NTFS file system. It's FAT32 that has a 4 Gb file size limitation.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression capabilities, no fault tolerance, so support for files larger than 4 Gb (videos, anyone?), and a lot of wasted hard drive space on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size. (Just try finding a hard drive that small, nowadays.) The only reason I can think of to remain with FAT32 would be if you anticipated a high likelihood of having to connect that drive to a Win9x machine. But your computing needs may vary, and there is no hard and fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is difficult, but has been handled quite well by the late Alex Nichol in the article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/TechNet/prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

You can safely convert your current hard drive to NTFS whenever desired, without having to format the partition and reinstall everything. As always when performing any serious changes, back up any important data before proceeding, just in case. A little advance preparation is also strongly recommended, so you can avoid any performance hits caused by the default cluster size:

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: FAT32 or NTFS for backup?
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    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Is NTFS OK for Audio?
    ... > I set up my Widows2000 workstation with a FAT32 file system rather ... > than a NTFS file system because I read that large files streamed faster ... Planning to do a lot of 192 kHz concert recordings? ...
    (rec.audio.pro)
  • Re: Problem Copying a Large File
    ... Tje destination drive has 32 GB of free space ... The drive is FAT32 file system, ... format it using NTFS file system. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: File sharing between desk top and lap top.
    ... >Also, I believe, an NTFS file system can read a FAT32 but FAT32 will not see ... Make sure both computers are set with same file system. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Making a disc drive private
    ... also first disk is fat32 file system. ... understand what ntfs file system is. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)