Hi, I have a 13Gb external USB2 Hard Disk that I use for backup from my NTFS LapTop, (works very well for my needs) this disk is FAT32, is there any advantage in converting this disk to NTFS? Thanks for any advise, John It's not that I can't remember things as I get older, it's just that my hard drive's full.

no, there isn't. 1. the disk isn't really big enough to gain performance. 2. and if, it wouldn't make a difference on the usb port. 3. FAT32 can be used on most other operating systems with no problems (in case want to connect it to another non-ntfs computer) Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

FAT and NTFS performance http://www.digit-life.com/articles/... http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/... http://www.thundercloud.net/informa... http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/tech... http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/... http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=... http://support.microsoft.com/defaul... http://www.microsoft.com/windows200... http://members.aol.com/midnightdrea... http://www.anandtech.com/guides/vie... http://pages.zdnet.com/hampsi/Artic... =================================== Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=... =================================== The Advantages of NTFS http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/... The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to. ================================ NTFS - New Technology File System designed for Windows NT, 2000, XP http://www.ntfs.com/ NTFS is a high-performance and self-healing file system proprietary to Windows XP 2000 NT, which supports file-level security, compression and auditing. It also supports large volumes and powerful storage solution such as RAID. The most important new feature of NTFS is the ability to encrypt files and folders to protect your sensitive data. Sooner or later, everybody has problems with Windows. This information and software can help in solving problems related to NTFS.

mattie thanks for the advise, I think I'll leave well alone. When I get a larger HD next year that's when I'll make sure it's NTFS. Johnw Thanks for all the bedtime reading! Going to stick with above until the new year. Thanks both for your help, John It's not that I can't remember things as I get older, it's just that my hard drive's full.

even a huge external external hard drive i wouldn't convert to ntfs since it's limiting the mobility. the world isn't all ntfs, ya know ... :-) and there is no difference in the performance between the two file systems. the bottleneck is the usb interface. Today's subliminal thought is: 'Calm down ... it's only ones and zeros.'

Hi... Just one little thing you may want to know....NTFS can store huge size files...Video for example. Fat32 is limited to 4gigs and may cause problems if you video capture or burn DVD's.. Just thought this may help. Regards

"NTFS can store huge size files..." The fact that NTFS can store files larger than 4GB is probably the only thing it has in it's favor, at least for the home user.