NTFS vs FAT
Criteria | NTFS5 | NTFS | exFAT | FAT32 | FAT16 | FAT12 |
Operating System | Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 2003 Server Windows 2008 Windows Vista Windows 7 | Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 2003 Server Windows 2008Windows Vista Windows 7 | DOS v7 and higher Windows 98 Windows ME Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows 2003 Server Windows Vista Windows 7 | DOS All versions of Microsoft Windows | DOS All versions of Microsoft Windows | |
Limitations | ||||||
Max Volume Size | 264 clusters minus 1 cluster | 232 clusters minus 1 cluster | 128PB | 32GB for all OS. 2TB for some OS | 2GB for all OS. 4GB for some OS | 16MB |
Max Files on Volume | 4,294,967,295 (232-1) | 4,294,967,295 (232-1) | Nearly Unlimited | 4194304 | 65536 | |
Max File Size | 264 bytes (16 ExaBytes) minus 1KB | 244 bytes (16 TeraBytes) minus 64KB | 16EB | 4GB minus 2 Bytes | 2GB (Limit Only by Volume Size) | 16MB (Limit Only by Volume Size) |
Max Clusters Number | 264 clusters minus 1 cluster | 232 clusters minus 1 cluster | 4294967295 | 4177918 | 65520 | 4080 |
Max File Name Length | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Standard - 8.3 Extended - up to 255 | Up to 254 |
Unicode File Names | Unicode Character Set | Unicode Character Set | Unicode Character Set | System Character Set | System Character Set | System Character Set |
System Records Mirror | MFT Mirror File | MFT Mirror File | No | Second Copy of FAT | Second Copy of FAT | Second Copy of FAT |
Boot Sector Location | First and Last Sectors | First and Last Sectors | Sectors 0 to 11 Copy in 12 to 23 | First Sector and Copy in Sector #6 | First Sector | First Sector |
File Attributes | Standard and Custom | Standard and Custom | Standard Set | Standard Set | Standard Set | Standard Set |
Alternate Streams | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Compression | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Encryption | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Object Permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Disk Quotas | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Sparse Files | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Reparse Points | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Volume Mount Points | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Overall Performance | ||||||
Built-In Security | Yes | Yes | Yes minimal ACL only | No | No | No |
Recoverability | Yes | Yes | Yes if TFAT activated | No | No | No |
Performance | Low on small volumes High on Large | Low on small volumes High on Large | High | High on small volumes Low on large | Highest on small volumes Low on large | High |
Disk Space Economy | Max | Max | Max | Average | Minimal on large volumes | Max |
Fault Tolerance | Max | Max | Yes if TFAT activated | Minimal | Average | Average |