NTFS,FAT32,exFAT formatting?

Question

Ok, I have a San Disk 16GB Cruzer, I want a Flash Drive that will allow exe files to be installed to it so you can run the files off of the falsh drive on a computer without having to install the files to a computer. I talked to a sales representative at Best Buy and they said if I formatted it that I could do that because thats what they did and it works. Exactly what do I format it as: NTFS,FAT32, or exFAT? What's the difference between them?

And dont say that its not possible to run exe files off a flash drive because I have a friend that has a flash drive that allows them to, and the sales person at Best Buy appearently can. Please, Ive asked numerous questions on the stupid flash drive and no one aswers the question I ask. Please, answer the question I ask and dont just blurt out random info that just confuses me. Thank you.

Answer 1

MB's answer is correct, you can format with either FAT32 or NTFS, its your choice. If you want the explanation on what all this means, read on;



Older versions of Windows, like WindowsME, Win98 and Win95, all use FAT32 and cannot read the newer NTFS file system. When Windows NT came out, it was mostly geared towards business users and servers, and needed a better file system than what FAT12/16/32 could provide. Microsoft then came out with NTFS (NT File System) to fix the shortcomings of the FAT file systems.



Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista and now, Windows 7, all can read both FAT32 and NTFS. Linux can read FAT32, and I believe, with some distro's (but not all), can also write to NTFS disks. Mac's can read NTFS, but if you try to write to the drive, it must make changes to it which makes the file system unable to be written to on a Windows system. Mac's can read and write to a FAT32 file system with no problem.



So FAT32 is technically compatible with more systems. However, my personal choice would be to use NTFS, since I don't know anyone that has a Mac, nor do any of my computers, nor my friends / families computers, have an OS installed that cannot read NTFS. NTFS is a better file system overall, less prone to file damage, errors, and fragmentation. Its also slight faster, which is good if you are running applications directly from the drive.



I've got a couple of flash drives, one set up to be used on "working" systems, the other for 'crashed' systems. The 'crashed' flash drive is set up to be able to boot a computer, and run a full diagnostics suite, as well as install several versions of Windows, and even an Ubuntu linux distro, and has an array of common drivers.



The flash drive I have set up for 'working' systems is what you will be setting up. Its dead simple to do. Most of the work is already done by coders and made available for download. You can't install just any app on a flash drive, though. Applications these days are geared towards being fully installed on a system. This means, not only does it copy all its files to the computer's hard drive, it also makes changes to the registry, possibly creates files and saves temporary info in the %temp% path, and might even create a folder in your "my documents" area as a default path to save files, and a whole host of other changes, like adding "send to" entries, changing the "open with" entries, etc.. Some applications can be modified to keep all its data on one drive, and make no registry changes or system wide alterations. These are generally referred to as "portable apps". There are several good sites out there that specialize in free open source portable apps. A few links:



http://portableapps.com/

http://lifehacker.com/tag/portable-applications/

http://www.pendriveapps.com/software/portable-games/

Answer 2

FAT32 is usually what flash drives are formatted with. The limitation with FAT32 is a single file cannot exceed 4 GB.

NTFS does not have that limitation. However if you use NTFS make sure you use the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the System Tray to stop the flash drive before you remove it. NTFS may write to the drive at any time, and if you unplug the flash drive while it's writing it will corrupt the drive.

The above is for Windows. If you are going to connect to a Mac use FAT32. Macs cannot read NTFS.

Answer 3

Ntfs Vs Fat32 Vs Exfat

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

NTFS,FAT32,exFAT formatting?

Ok, I have a San Disk 16GB Cruzer, I want a Flash Drive that will allow exe files to be installed to it so you can run the files off of the falsh drive on a computer without having to install the file...

Answer 5

Your flash drive should have come preinstalled with U3 software. You use this software to launch applications directly from your flash drive without installing the applications to your PC.



You only need NTFS file format if your individual files are more that 4GB in size. Otherwise use the default FAT32 file structure.



exFAT file size limit is f64 ZiB. 4 GiB in FAT32.

Answer 6

I have this leather belt that has five notches on it. It was almost tight on me. It was on the last notch. I could barely breathe. When I would do it up, I could barely do it up. And I remember that belt, because I had it for years, and I used to be able to easily put it on. And that's when I could really see that I was getting a little wider than I wanted to be.

So when I started the program, I was on the last notch. And now that belt with the five notches is way too big for me. I can pull it out to here, and I've saved the belt to remember just how much weight I've lost.

Answer 7

Choose exFAT for Vista and Win7 (XP needs a hotfix). Great if you need to write often to the flash drive. Choose FAT32 for compatibility with older Windows. NTFS writes too much to the flashdrive which will shorten its life (NTFS it's less likely to corrupt itself). If you won't write data too often, choose it.



You can run programs from the flash drive, the problem is that many of them write things on the registry, and also install "shared" files usually in system32 and common files, etc. For example, Notepad++ will run fine in a flash drive, while MS Office surely won't.



There is a website where you can download modified demos and freeware apps. I know there is also information about programs (or instructions) modified to run in BartPE (tools to create bootable XP CD).

Answer 8

Just have a proper diet rich in fiber and protein and try to cut all the unhealthy stuff from your diet atlhough its good to enjoy. Dont binge on unhealthy stuff any other time. You should also exercise 3-5 times a week and you should definitely see results in a couple of weeks. Learn more here:

Answer 9

I would format it at fat 32, ntfs may not work on that device

so there you go