Window operating systems can use a variety of different disk file systems. Each one has there strengths, as well as their weaknesses. This is a brief overview of those file systems.
NTFS (New Technology File System)
Introduced by Microsoft with Windows NT, NTFS is the default file system for new installations of Windows.
Pros: NTFS is a robust and flexible system that includes features not found in other file systems, such as file-level security, transactional file updates, symbolic links, hard links, and journaling. NTFS supports large file sizes and volumes, as well as file compression.
Cons: NTFS is not as compatible with non-Windows operating systems, although Linux can now read and write NTFS volumes with the help of certain software. Also, the complexity of NTFS can sometimes lead to a higher potential for corruption compared to simpler file systems.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table 32)
This is an older file system that was introduced with Windows 95 to replace the original FAT file system.
Pros: FAT32 is widely compatible with nearly all operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and many game consoles, making it a good choice for drives you need to access from different systems.
Cons: The biggest downside of FAT32 is that it has a 4 GB file size limit and a 8 TB maximum volume size. It also doesn’t support file permissions or other security features inherent to NTFS and some other modern file systems.
ExFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
ExFAT is a more modern replacement for FAT32 and was introduced with Windows Vista.
Pros: ExFAT is similar to FAT32 in its wide compatibility but overcomes the 4 GB file size limit, making it a great choice for flash drives and external drives that need to store large files and be used across multiple operating systems.
Cons: While it’s more widely compatible than NTFS, not all operating systems have built-in support for ExFAT. For example, before macOS 10.6.5, Apple’s operating systems could not use ExFAT without additional software.
ReFS (Resilient File System)
Introduced with Windows Server 2012, ReFS is designed to be a high-performance, high-resiliency file system intended for use with Storage Spaces (a data redundancy feature).
Pros: ReFS is designed for data protection, handling large data volumes, auto-correcting and more robust than NTFS when it comes to data corruption. It can detect when data becomes corrupt on a disk and then repair it without any downtime.
Cons: ReFS isn’t as widely compatible as NTFS, FAT32, or ExFAT. It’s primarily used in enterprise and business settings and isn’t often used for consumer purposes. Additionally, ReFS lacks some NTFS features, like disk quotas and file compression.
Conclusion
Please note that the suitability of each file system depends on the specific use case, and one should consider factors like the operating system(s) being used, the types of files being stored, the need for file permissions and security, and so on.