Is FAT32 the proper file system for this setup? Should I re-format it to another system?

Question

XP Pro - SP3 - IBM Thinkpad T-60.

I am going to use this 8Gig thumbdrive to store audio and video material as a back up. I will rarely use it.

Should I re-format it to another system or is FAT 32 okay?

Thanks

Answer 1

Generally, FAT 32 is fine for flash media, it really is more the standard. You might squeeze a little bit of extra storage out of it by going with NTFS, but it probably isn't worth the hassle.

Answer 2

Reasons to use FAT32 (over NTFS)

• Default format for removable media
• Automatically supported by nearly every flavor of Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX
• Safer to unplug without using the Safely Remove Hardware system tray tool

Reasons to use NTFS (over FAT32)

• Allows file sizes > 4GB (such as large ISOs)

In my experience, USB drives formatted with NTFS are much more likely to become corrupt if they are unplugged without first using the Safe Removal feature. After losing data a few times, I decided to stick with FAT32 on my Flash drives (typically 32GB or smaller) while still using NTFS for external hard drives (typically 80GB or larger).

On this other hand, if you need to store ISO files > 4GB in size, FAT32 won't work, so you'll have to use NTFS.---

Answer 3

FAT32 is just fine. I prefer NTFS/HPFS when possible, but FAT32 is a good choice for removeable media.