NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft that has been in use since Windows NT and succeeded older file systems such as FAT.
NTFS is a file system
NTFS (New Technology File System) organizes your data on the drive. On the one hand, the computer knows what it should do and on the other hand, you can quickly find the saved data again. NTFS is the successor to FAT and has the following features:
- NTFS was released by Microsoft in July 1993 along with the Windows NT 3.1 operating system.
- Unlike FAT32, it can also manage files over 4 gigabytes. Theoretically, partitions can be up to 16 exabytes, but in practice there is a limit of 256 terabytes on modern systems.
- With NTFS it is possible to encrypt data (EFS from Windows 2000). It also offers better protection against data loss.
- The following applies to Linux: You can access drives with NTFS using the “NTFS-3G” driver.
- Mac OS X has also supported NTFS file systems since version 10.3. With programs like “NTFS for Mac® OS X” or “NTFS-3G” you get the write access you need for this.
exFAT or NTFS: Which is faster and better?
When deciding between exFAT and NTFS, it depends on the intended use, because both file systems have their advantages and disadvantages:
- In terms of speed, exFAT is often faster than NTFS, especially when it comes to working with portable devices like USB sticks or external hard drives. exFAT is less complex and therefore requires less processing power, which can result in faster writes and reads.
- NTFS, on the other hand, is optimized for internal hard drives in computers. It can work more efficiently on highly fragmented files and large amounts of data through its defragmentation features and journaling system, which can maintain speed in the long term. Therefore, NFTS has great importance in the computer industry.
- In addition, NFTS offers a variety of advanced features such as setting file permissions, data compression, encryption and support for large files and hard drives.
- Due to its simplicity, exFAT is more flexible when it comes to cross-platform file sharing. This makes it ideal for external storage media where you want to exchange files between different devices and operating systems and need to store large files.