file systems using in windows xp

after you create the installation partition, setup prompts you to select the file system with which to format the partition.like microsoft windows NT 4 and microsoft windows 2000 professional, windows xp professional supports the NT file system (NTFS or new technology file system) and file allocation table (FAT). both windows 2000 professional and windows xp professional supports FAT 32.

use NTFS when the partition on which windows xp professional will reside requires any of the following features.

• file and folder level security. NTFS allows you to control access to files and folders.
• disk compression. NTFS compresses file sto store more data on the partition.
• disk quota. NTFS allows you to control disk usage on a per-user basis.
• encryption. NTFS allows you to encrypt file data on the physical hard disk, using the microsoft encrypting file system (EFS)

the version of NTFS in windows xp professional supports remote storage, dynamic volumes, and mounting volumes to folders. windows xp professional, windows 2000, windows 2003, and windows NT are the only operating systems that can access data on a local hard disk formatted with NTFS.

FAT and FAT 32

FAT and FAt 32 offer compatibility with other operating systems. you must format the system partition with either FAT or FAT 32 if you will dual boot windows xp professional and another operating system that requires FAT or FAt 32.

FAT and FAT 32 do not offer many of the features (for example, file level security) that NTFS supports.therefore in most situations you should format the hard disk with NTFS. the only reason to use FAT or FAT 32 is for dual booting with another operating system that does not supports NTFS. if you are setting up a computer for dual booting you need to format only the system partitions as FAt or FAT 32. for example if drive C: is the system partition you could format drive C: as FAt or FAT 32 and format drive D: as NTFS.