The 4 main advantages of NTFS file system

NTFS is the standard file system for Windows NT and the majority of later editions. It has gradually taken the place of FAT file systems because of its superior performance. And I will introduce its four advantages.

1. Error warning

In NTFS partition, the first 16 sectors are boot sector which stores partition boot code. And the following is Master File Table (MFT). If the sector storing MFT is damaged, NTFS will intelligently transfer MFT to other sector to ensure the normal run of this file system, thus guarantying the normal operation of computer. However, MFTs of FAT16 and FAT32 are fixed on the sector next to the boot sector. Once this sector is damaged, the whole file system will crash.

2. High read speed

Maybe you know NTFS has high security. However, do you know that its processing speed is much higher than that of FAT32? File attribute can be divided into two types: resident attribute and nonresident attribute. The eternal resident attributes such as file name and related time information (creating time, modifying time, etc) are stored in MFT; and the nonresident attributes are stored outside of MFT and they are indicated by a complex indexed mode. If the file or folder is less than 1KB (there are a lot of files of this kind), its all attributes including content are resident in MFT. And MFT will be loaded to memory as soon as Windows boots. When we look up these files or folders, their contents have already in cache, which improves the accessing speed of these files or folders.

3.  Disk self-repairing function

NTFS file system can automatically check and repair logical and physical error in disk. In FAT16 and FAT32 file system, we need to mark damaged sector with the aid of some programs. When the error is found, data has been written in the damaged sector. However, NYFS will check the sector before every read and write operation. If error occurs in read process, NTFS will report it; if error occurs in write process, NTFS will intelligently choose a correct sector to write data. So the read and write operation will not be influenced. And NTFS will mark the damaged sector to prevent it from being used next time. This operation mode can reveal disk error in advance to prevent disastrous accident.

4. Event log

In NTFS file system, any operation can be considered as an event. For instance, the process of copying a file from C: to D: is an event. The event log monitors the whole process. When it finds the completed copied file in D:, the log will record “finished”. If power off in the copying process, it won’t record and NTFS will restart the process after power on. The function of event log is to monitor all operations instead of recover losses. Through it the system will know the done and undone tasks to prevent events disorder caused by emergencies such as power off suddenly, thus reducing destructive effect in the maximum degree.

Besides these four advantages, NTFS also has other features. We can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to convert FAT to NTFS without any influence on data. So enjoy the comprehensive and powerful functions of NTFS.