NTFS is the file system of choice for Windows operating systems based off the NT kernel. It’s popularly used in Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, among others. It replaced FAT32, which was used by previous Windows and MS-DOS operating systems, such as Windows 95 and 98.
Why use NTFS? Well, there are plenty of good reasons, such as metadata and larger file sizes. FAT32 limited filesize to 4 GB, but it’s nigh-unlimited in NTFS. However, FAT32 has a bonus over NTFS in that it is easily read by other operating systems, such as Linux and Mac OS. Both other operating systems can only read NTFS partitions, so special software or drivers must be installed in order to give write access. That’s really the only advantage, but it doesn’t beat the 4 GB filesize limit or the 32 GB partition limit inherent in FAT32, making NTFS the all-around better choice if you just use Windows.
