partition type explanation

[suriya6in]

hi

Any website link which will give clear and simple explanations of partition types like fat16 fat 32 and ntfs.
Also their usage of partitioning.????

suriya

[mouse]

These aren't partition types as such, they're file system's. FAT16 is old windows 95 style, FAT32 is 98/ME, NTFS is NT, XP and 2000. I couldn't tell you technical differences, though FAT16 has a 2GB limit whatever the drive size...

[Roy Sinclair]

As mouse said, they are all File Systems on partitions. That means they are a structured method of storing files and directories of those files on a disk which allow an operating system to find the files and to keep track of the free space on the disk drive. Creating such a file system on a partition is usually called "formatting" the partition. The formatting types you listed are all MS centric.

I checked the web and found a lot of obsolete information so I can't give you a link to a clear explanation.

FAT16 (also known as FAT) is the much extended format that was created to be used with MS DOS, it's totally obsolete since it has a 2GB limit on partition size and is very inefficient when used with 2GB partitions since it requires a 64K cluster size.

FAT32 is a modification of the FAT16 file system which allowed a larger disk size and fixed the cluster size problem.

Both of the "FAT" file systems are obsolete since they provide no place to store or retrieve needed file attributes like security settings. The only reason you should use FAT16 or FAT32 instead of NTFS is if you are dual booting a computer between one of the OSes that don't support NTFS and one which does and even then you should try to partition the disk to minimize the parts that must be formatted using a FAT file system. Small removable disks like floppies are formatted with the FAT file system since the NTFS file system has some built in overhead which make it too large to use on floppies.

Using Windows 95 (later versions only), Windows 98 and Windows ME you can choose between FAT16 and FAT32 with FAT32 being the partition of choice. NTFS is not available for use with these OSes since it requires functionality that those older OSes don't have (functionality like security ;)).

With Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows NT the file system of choice is NTFS. The NTFS file system reflects the lessons MS learned about file systems in the years since they first came out with DOS. There was an intermediate file system they created for OS/2 called HPFS and while early versions of Windows NT supported HPFS it's no longer a supported file system in any MS OS. If your only OS is Windows XP or Windows 2000 you should use NTFS for your hard disk and only use FAT for floppy disks (you don't have a choice for floppies anyway).

Does this help you or do you want more specific information?

[suriya6in]

hi

Tks for your detailed information!
Now what i need is, if i want to dual boot a hard disk, how to partition the disk and what are all the steps to be followed!!!

suriya

[liorean]

Well, it'd be easier if we knew what you wanted to dual boot. Linux is really easy - it's made to handle multiboot systems. Having multiple Windows versions, you have to be careful about installation order. Having DOS, Amiga OS, one of the BSDs or Solaris might be tricky. Having BeOS is no problem at all.

So, what's your setup - what do you want to use the multiboot for?

(Oh, Roy: HPFS isn't a file system per se, it's a system for telling the OS what file system is used (a workaround for the limits of the still-being paradigm). You can "wrap" an NTFS partition, or an ext2, if you like, in an HPFS. I doubt there's many operative systems that would handle it, though.)

[suriya6in]

hi

I need explanation for both Linux platforms and WIndows platforms or combination of both/.

suriya

[liorean]

Well, you can do it this way:

Get a non-destructive partition handler, such as Partition Magic (The best), or look for some freeware that can do non-destructive repartitioning. If you want to install DOS/Win9x you will need to create a primary partition of the FAT16 type in the first 2 GB or (for Win9x only) the FAT32 type in the first 8 GB. If you want to install Win2k/XP, you can have your primary/logical partition (Preferrably of the type NTFS , but it can be one of the FATs as well) anywhere, as long as the first primary partition on the disk is one which Windows can read, in other words FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS.

As for Linux, you need to create (at least) two partitions, one swap, one ext2 (or ReiserFS, XFS, ext3). It is possible to run linux on a FAT partition, but I would NOT recommend it. These partitions can be either primary or logical, and have to be within the first 8GB only for older Linuces.

Well, you create your partitions. If you already have an operative system installed, you better create a start disk for it. Also, I would recommend saving the MBR (Master Boot Record) on a diskette. There's freeware tools for this, google for one. Then, for Windows, I would recommend hiding the partition that you already have installed an operative system on, before your install the operative system you want on your new partition. If you're installing Linux, just go ahead and install it without hiding the windows partitions.

Another thing to consider, is how you want to multiboot. One way is to change the active partition each time you want to change os, if you are using DOS/Windows. If you're using Linux, you can let Lilo handle it (Lilo is a small, powerful operative system loader that is very versatile). If you're having Win2k/XP combo, you can let the Win2k boot handler do it. There's the choice of going with Ranish partition Manager and, for preference, XOSL also. Have a look at the choices.


Then, when it comes to multiboot, experience is the best way to learn. I've destroyed my fair share of partitions and the data stored on them in my tries to make multiboot setups that I want, especially in the time of the DOS/OS2/Win95 generation change.