NTFS or FAT32 on 100GB partition (Win2000Pro)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bun
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Bun

Hi to all,

Is it safe to format HardDisc larger then 100GB with FAT32 filesystem???
I'm going to install new 160GB drive and i dont know what kind of file
system i have to choice.
I will make there three partitons. First (about 40GB) for system, second
(about 2GB) for Win's virtual memory and thrird (about 110GB) for data. But
I dont know in what kind of file system, i have to format them. I want to
format all partitions with FAT32, because i still dont know if i will
install there W98SE or Win2000.

THX
Bun
 
Hi to all,

Is it safe to format HardDisc larger then 100GB with FAT32 filesystem???
I'm going to install new 160GB drive and i dont know what kind of file
system i have to choice.
I will make there three partitons. First (about 40GB) for system, second
(about 2GB) for Win's virtual memory and thrird (about 110GB) for data. But
I dont know in what kind of file system, i have to format them. I want to
format all partitions with FAT32, because i still dont know if i will
install there W98SE or Win2000.

THX
Bun
Click to expand...

It's possible to format a large drive using FAT32 but there would be an
enormous amount of waste with the resulting cluster size. One of the
reasons that XP will not *create* a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB is due
to this efficiency factor.

NOTE: XP can work with FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB but it will not
create them.

Description of Default Cluster Size for FAT32 File System:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=192322

Also, there is no good reason or performance gain dedicating a partition on
the same hard drive for the system's pagefile. An informative article about
virtual memory in XP: http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm


If you have a program such as PhotoShop, that likes having its own scratch
file, a small partition could be used for that purpose. Photoshop will work
without a dedicated scratch file area. Just be sure to leave plenty of
empty and contiguous space for the program to use.
 
And what is maximum size of FAT32 partiton?
Sharon F said:
It's possible to format a large drive using FAT32 but there would be an
enormous amount of waste with the resulting cluster size. One of the
reasons that XP will not *create* a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB is due
to this efficiency factor.

NOTE: XP can work with FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB but it will not
create them.

Description of Default Cluster Size for FAT32 File System:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=192322

Also, there is no good reason or performance gain dedicating a partition on
the same hard drive for the system's pagefile. An informative article about
virtual memory in XP: http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm


If you have a program such as PhotoShop, that likes having its own scratch
file, a small partition could be used for that purpose. Photoshop will work
without a dedicated scratch file area. Just be sure to leave plenty of
empty and contiguous space for the program to use.
Click to expand...
 
And what is maximum size of FAT32 partiton?
Click to expand...

According to this page 2TB:
http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm

I have built large 200GB Fat32 file systems. I normally use it on a
secondary drive because it is more portable.

I think you got to figure out which OS to use though first. I think
Windows 98 might not work beyond a certain size. I had an 80GB before
but that was probably pushing the limits. Of course it seemed to run
better than my 200GB does now under XP. If your hardware is new you
are probably going to have better luck with a newer OS.
 
This is how I would do it if I were you:
Use the newest possible OS for sure
Format all partitions NTFS
Do not put the swapfile on a separate partition as I have been told it slows
down you system when it has to switch partitions constantly.
Damo
 
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