July 1, 200322 yr Thought maybe this would shed some light on the NTFS/FAT32 Issue....The decision isn't really all that difficult and here's why. If you're using the latest Windows operating systems (Windows 2000, Windows XP), use NTFS. Here are just some of the qualities of NTFS that FAT32 and FAT16 lack: File securityAccess rights can be assigned to files and directories, allowing users full access, partial access or no access at all to data on the hard disk. EncryptionNTFS can automatically encrypt and decrypt file data as it is read and written to the disk Disk compressionFile and directory compression can be performed without using any third party software, which saves space, while still allowing for transparent access and operation to the user. Support for large hard disksWe're talking very large. Try a theoretical limit of 16 Exabytes, and up to 2 Terabytes. File namesNative support of long file names and a 16-bit character standard called Unicode (likely the next generation ASCII) Storage quotasDisk quotas can be assigned that limit the amount of disk space users can access on a partition. Sparse filesLet the user assign and reserve hard disk space to specific files. File streamsSupport for multiple data streams. Fault toleranceAn enhanced ability to seamlessly respond to unexpected hardware and software errors. If you want to make the computer a multi-boot system, you might want to consider FAT32, but you don't have to go with it. If you're concerned about being able to see files across partitions, you should make the shared partitions FAT32. For more details about the difference between NTFS and Fat32, read these Microsoft Knowledge Base articlesHope this helps.. :)Bobby
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