File System

What is the difference between the NTFS and FAT32 file systems?

A file system is the structure in which files are named, stored, and organized on a hard drive or disk partition. Both Windows XP and Windows 2000 provide the option of formatting your drives using the NTFS or FAT32 file system. Your A/V drives must be formatted using NTFS for use with Matrox X.tools because NTFS overcomes FAT32 file size limitations. When a hard drive is formatted using FAT32, files saved to this drive cannot exceed 4 gigabytes in size. This translates to approximately 20 minutes of DV video, which poses a serious limitation to a nonlinear editing platform like your Matrox RT.X system. With NTFS, you also have the option of creating a striped volume, which consists of multiple hard drives formatted as a single partition. This allows you to work with multiple drives as a single large drive, which offers more disk space and enhances hard drive performance. NTFS also provides better audio and video synchronization than FAT32 when you play back your clips.

How can I check the format of my drives?
In Windows Explorer, right-click the drive letter (such as D:), then choose Properties. Under General, check the format of your drive next to File system.

How do I format my drives as NTFS?

Right-click My Computer, then choose Manage. Under Computer Management > Storage, select Disk Management. In the Disk Management utility, right-click the appropriate drive and choose Format. In the provided dialog box, specify a volume label for the partition you are creating. From the File System list, select NTFS. Leave the Allocation unit size at Default. Do not select the Enable file and folder compression option. If you are formatting the drive for the first time, do not select the Perform a quick format option either.

Important All information on the designated drive will be lost.

For more information on how to format your storage devices using NTFS, see your Windows documentation.

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