NTFS vs FAT, I need some help...

JCDyer

January 1, 2002 5:33:49 PM

I read a few post about NTFS vs FAT, and found that performance wise NTFS does better. What I believed to understand is the only reason you would want to install FAT is if you were doing something with WIN98 also, is this correct?

Now my main question. I have heard already that Win2000 is not the most compatiable OS for games, and since my new setup is a gaming rig, I was wondering if I choose NTFS over FAT that it would be even LESS compatiable with games. Or would it be the same as fat.

Do you have anything that was not brutally slaughtered?
-I think the veal died of loneliness.

More about : ntfs fat

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DGP_2000

January 1, 2002 11:10:38 PM

I'm currently running Win2000 also & all the games I have play fine .......... Serious Sam , Giants , Alice , Crimson Skies , Quake3 , Max Payne etc. The only game that ever gave me problems was RollerCoaster Tycoon & all I did was download the patch from thier site & it worked flawlessly after that .

I do believe though that "OLDER" games (older meaning Dos type) , will have troubles running or will not run at all . Then again , who wants to run old games ? Out with the old in with new 3D type games !!

Conclusion ...... You will have very little problems if any running any brand new game that comes out in Win2000 .

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btvillarin

January 1, 2002 11:43:43 PM

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=63" target="_new">Anandtech FAQ - NTFS vs. FAT32</A>

Gaming compatibility has nothing to do with the file system. File system is just how the operating system handles your files. In this case, if you were gonna dual-boot with Windows 98, then use FAT32 (if you needed to be able to access your Win2K/XP partition). If not, then you can stick with NTFS. But, if you're only gonna run Win2K or WinXP, just stick with NTFS. It's more efficient. Want a lengthy explanation? Read that FAQ I pointed out. :smile:

Happy New Year!
Bryan

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin" target="_new">My Website</A> - updated basically everyday.

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Smilin

January 3, 2002 12:59:52 PM

Short answer: Use NTFS.

Many benifits, no issues.

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CALV

January 11, 2002 8:10:18 AM

many benifits, yes, if you are going to use them, such as security, but as mentioned, not much use if you have 98/me/linux on the same pc and want to use the ntfs partition. My 2k box is ntfs, mainly so I can control access to the stuff I have on it- full control for me on everything, and limited access to most of the other stuff for everyone else. My main pc (xp) is fat32- maybe I'll change it, but last time I had a MAJOR problem, i needed a couple of major important files and had to boot into dos to rescue them- no chance of that if you are ntfs, also be aware that if you have user rights etc, depending on your setup, if your o/s dies then ntfs files on another partition may not be accesible.

Next time you wave - use all your fingers

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CompSci

January 11, 2002 7:58:12 PM

Smillin's got it....
GO NTFS and never look back!!!

And there is a way to repair a NTFS system gone lame...
Ya can boot from the CD, atempt a repair, and break out to a drive prompt and replace a file... Don't remember exactly the sequence, but its there. I've done it! But that wasn't the real underlying problem and just prolonged the agony...
If F8(Safe mode) or Repair wont fix it - Reinstall without formating, it may not run correctly, but good enough to salvage critical user data... Then come back with clean install and reformat...

If ya gotta share data between different OS's make a special common Fat32 partition for sharin... But Win 2K system partitions - Go NTFS...

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