exFAT: You need to know that about the file system
When formatting data carriers, you can choose between NTFS, FAT and exFAT. We'll tell you exactly where the difference between the formats lies in this practical tip.
- exFAT: The abbreviation exFAT stands for "Extended File Allocation Table". The comparatively new format was designed exclusively for flash memories such as USB sticks and SSD hard drives. The size of a file is not limited with exFAT, but it works most efficiently if it is used on rather small data storage devices.
- FAT: The FAT file system was introduced in 1980 and has evolved over the years under the names FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and VFAT. Today FAT is mainly used for external hard drives, USB sticks or digital cameras.
- NTFS: The NTFS file system has been around since 1993, but it has only become a mandatory standard since Windows Vista. It offers several advantages over FAT, such as disk compression and less frequent data loss.
NTFS vs. FAT: file systems in comparison
- File size: The file size for FAT is limited to 4 GB. Nowadays, not even a whole film in good quality fits on a FAT system. With NTFS, the limit is only 16 terabytes. exFAT even does away with a limit entirely.
- File information: In addition to the time of the last access, NTFS also stores various other data, such as the owner. This is not possible with FAT.
- Performance: The smallest possible units, the clusters, are 4 KB in size with NTFS. With FAT the clusters are 16 KByte, with exFAT even 32 MByte. Data can be stored on NTFS-formatted hard disks more effectively, encrypted and with little risk of data loss.
- Compression: Compression and encryption of the files is only possible via NTFS.
Which file system should I use?
- FAT: The format is particularly suitable for USB sticks. External hard drives should generally also be formatted in FAT, unless they are only used with Windows computers.
- exFAT: This is a format that should be the universal format for USB sticks and SD cards. However, the standard has not really prevailed yet. Under Mac OS X, exFAT is only compatible from version 10.6.5.
- NTFS: The format is the standard for all permanently installed hard drives. External hard drives are also sensibly formatted with NTFS. FAT is often advisable only if you want to use the external hard drive in conjunction with other devices such as DVD players.
We will show you how to format a hard disk under Windows in the next practical tip.