Comparison of FAT, FAT32, and NTFS file systems

Windows® 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 allow you to choose between NTFS and FAT32 file systems. IBM® i5/OS™ Integrated Server Support installs your system drives using an appropriate file system that depends on the hardware resource capabilities, Windows version and intended use. The installation command converts FAT32 drives to NTFS unless CVTNTFS(*NO) is specified.

Note:

Do not convert the D drive to NTFS. It must remain FAT.

You do have the option of converting the C drive. Here are some comparisons that might help you decide:

FAT	FAT32	NTFS
Volume from floppy diskette size up to 4 GB	Volumes from 512 MB to 2 terabytes	Volume 10 MB to 2 TB
Maximum file size 2 GB	Maximum file size 4 GB	File size limited by size of volume
Does not support Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 Active Directory	Does not support Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 Active Directory	Required to use Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 Active Directory or shared cluster drives
Allows access to files on the hard disk with PC-DOS.	Allows access to files on the hard disk with PC-DOS.	Does not allow access to files on the hard disk with PC-DOS.
Allows you to customize your server with NWSD configuration files	Allows you to customize your server with NWSD configuration files.	Cannot use NWSD configuration files.
Allows you to use the NWSD dump tool (QFPDMPLS) to retrieve files from the disk for service	Allows you to use the NWSD dump tool to retrieve files from the disk for service	Cannot use the dump tool to retrieve files from the disk