USB Question

Cid · 01-10-2007, 03:43 AM

If I format my 4 gig USB drive to an ntfs file system (as opposed to FAT32), will I have problems plugging it into the ancient computers (Win 98) at the high school I teach at and accessing the files?

Hsu · 01-10-2007, 04:10 AM

ValiantKnight · 01-10-2007, 05:52 AM

quite a bit.

I've heard of a program to let Win95/98 see/manipulate NTFS partitions, but in general speaking, without a special program to help you...

Older Operating systems can't read NTFS without serious help

NTFS is good and all, but yeah, no backward compatibility.

Yamaneko · 01-10-2007, 06:31 AM

Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB?

Cid · 01-10-2007, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by Yamaneko ^

Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB?

No.

o_O · 01-10-2007, 08:46 AM

NTFS for Windows 98 is a driver set that I used to allow read access to my NTFS partitions a few years ago.
It's more stable than other products because it's a wrapper for the actual Win2k/XP NTFS filesystem driver.

If it's for the computers at school, you could probably talk the admin into installing it on all of them.

Of course, the other option is to just use FAT32.

crono_logical · 01-10-2007, 09:15 AM

I don't think NTFS is recommended for flash disks - there's a lot of write overhead accessing the filesystem compared to FAT32, which can considerably shorten the lifespan of the media. Unless you specifically need some feature of NTFS like security (which is pretty crap/pointless on removable media of that size anyway), it's best to stick to FAT32

Pureghetto · 01-12-2007, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by Cid ^

Originally Posted by Yamaneko ^

Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB?

No.

Usually this means it's okay to leave your disk formatted as fat32

Cid Administrator Away Location: In your tree.	#1 USB Question If I format my 4 gig USB drive to an ntfs file system (as opposed to FAT32), will I have problems plugging it into the ancient computers (Win 98) at the high school I teach at and accessing the files?
01-10-2007, 03:43 AM

Hsu Cid's Knight Shock Mouse Location: Ohio	#2 (permalink) Yes.
01-10-2007, 04:10 AM

ValiantKnight	#3 (permalink) quite a bit. I've heard of a program to let Win95/98 see/manipulate NTFS partitions, but in general speaking, without a special program to help you... Older Operating systems can't read NTFS without serious help NTFS is good and all, but yeah, no backward compatibility.
01-10-2007, 05:52 AM

Yamaneko ..a Russian mountain cat. Location: Los Angeles, CA	#4 (permalink) Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB?
01-10-2007, 06:31 AM

Cid Administrator Away Location: In your tree.	#5 (permalink) Originally Posted by Yamaneko ^ Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB? No.
01-10-2007, 06:45 AM

o_O Site Staff nerd Location: New Zealand	#6 (permalink) NTFS for Windows 98 is a driver set that I used to allow read access to my NTFS partitions a few years ago. It's more stable than other products because it's a wrapper for the actual Win2k/XP NTFS filesystem driver. If it's for the computers at school, you could probably talk the admin into installing it on all of them. Of course, the other option is to just use FAT32.
01-10-2007, 08:46 AM

crono_logical Administrator Hypnotising you Location: Back in Time	#7 (permalink) I don't think NTFS is recommended for flash disks - there's a lot of write overhead accessing the filesystem compared to FAT32, which can considerably shorten the lifespan of the media. Unless you specifically need some feature of NTFS like security (which is pretty crap/pointless on removable media of that size anyway), it's best to stick to FAT32
01-10-2007, 09:15 AM

Pureghetto <(o'.'o)> ~ Pika pika Location: Barrie, ON	#8 (permalink) Originally Posted by Cid ^ Originally Posted by Yamaneko ^ Do you need to access files larger than 4 GiB? No. Usually this means it's okay to leave your disk formatted as fat32
01-12-2007, 06:18 PM