File Allocation Table (FAT): FAT is a simple file system with
limited reliability and performance capabilities. NT's FAT file system is a long
filename (LFN)-capable version of the one in DOS. FAT volumes in NT can be up to
4GB; DOS can address only up to 2GB. FAT is required for volumes that must
access DOS and NT in dual-boot configurations.
NT File System (NTFS): NTFS is a highly reliable, secure, and tuned
file system capable of supporting volumes up to 16 exabytes (EB). Filenames on
NTFS volumes are Unicode-compliant long filenames stored with 8.3 FAT-type
filenames for backward compatibility with DOS machines accessing networked NTFS
volumes. NTFS also supports fault-tolerance features such as transaction-based
recovery and hot-fixing bad disk sectors. NTFS is far less prone to file
fragmentation than FAT. NTFS's superior reliability and security features make
it ideal for server drives or large volumes (more than 400MB).
High-Performance File System (HPFS): HPFS first appeared with OS/2
1.2. HPFS provides superior capabilities to FAT, including support for long
filenames and volumes of up to 2048GB. HPFS uses physical sectors rather than
clusters as allocation units. Physical sectors increase storage efficiency and
reduce file fragmentation compared to FAT. The OS/2 version of HPFS supports
hot-fixing bad sectors, but the NT version does not. Unlike NTFS, HPFS doesn't
support security or transaction-based disk recovery. NT 4.0 does not support
HPFS.
CD-ROM File System (CDFS): CDFS is a read-only file system for
CD-ROMs. Macintosh and PC-compatible systems use two different CDFS formats that
are incompatible (however, NT Server lets you share a PC CDFS volume with Mac
clients).