File System
FAT16
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
| Compatibility with all Microsoft OS and some UNIX | Root folder limited to 512 entries |
| MS-DOS boot floppy can access | 4 GB theoretical size
2 GB maximum in Windows XP |
| Efficient for small volumes (< 256 MB) | Boot sector not backed up |
| No file system security | |
| No compression scheme |
FAT32
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
| No limit on number of root entries | 32 GB limit in Windows XP |
| Efficient cluster size (4KB) | MS-DOS, Windows 95a, NT 4.0 cannot access |
| Boot sector backup | MS-DOS boot must be formatted in Windows 95b, 98, ME |
| No file system security | |
| No compression scheme |
NTFS
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
| High performance – as fast as FAT* | Incompatible with legacy Windows |
| File/folder permissions | No MS-DOS floppy boot |
| Quotas* | |
| File compression | |
| Mounted drives* | |
| Change journal | |
| Encryption* |
Applies to Windows 2000, XP, 2003
File name rules
Length: 255 characters
Disallowed characters: “ / \ [ ] : ; | = * ?