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Like the FAT file system, the NTFS file system uses clusters as the fundamental unit of disk allocation. The default cluster size for the NTFS file system depends on the volume size. Using the Disk Administrator, you can specify a cluster size up to 4KB. (To access the Disk Administrator in Windows XP, from the menu, select either , or and then . Double-click , and then . Then, on the right, click . In Windows NT, click the button and select , then , then .)
However, if you format your NTFS volume from the command prompt, you can specify any cluster size shown in the table below. You can change the cluster size only when formatting a partition or drive.
The default cluster sizes for the NTFS file system are shown in the following table:
512MB or less | 1 | 512 bytes |
513MB-1024MB (1GB) | 2 | 1KB |
1025MB-2048MB (2GB) | 4 | 2KB |
2049MB-4096MB (4GB) | 8 | 4KB |
4097MB-8192MB (8GB) | 16 | 8KB |
8193MB-16,384MB (16GB) | 32 | 16KB |
16,385MB-32,768MB (32GB) | 64 | 32KB |
Greater than 32,768MB | 128 | 64KB |
This information comes from Microsoft's Windows NT Resource Kit.
For more information, see article 314878 in Microsoft's knowledge base.
This is document ahwd in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 12:43:44.
Operating System support
NTFS | Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
NTFS5 | Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
exFAT | Windows CE 6.0, Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7, WinXP+KB955704 |
FAT32 | DOS 7.0 and higher, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
FAT16 | DOS, All versions of Microsoft Windows |
FAT12 | DOS, All versions of Microsoft Windows |
Limitations
Max Volume Size | 264 clusters – 1 cluster | 232 clusters – 1 cluster | 128PB | 32GB for all OS, 2TB for some OS | 2GB for all OS, 4GB for some OS | 16MB |
Max Files on Volume | 4,294,967,295 (232 - 1) | 4,294,967,295 (232 - 1) | Nearly Unlimited | 4194304 | 65536 | |
Max File Size | 264 bytes (16 ExaBytes) minus 1KB | 244 bytes (16 TeraBytes) minus 64KB | 16EB | 4GB minus 2 Bytes | 2GB (Limit Only by Volume Size) | 16MB (Limit Only by Volume Size) |
Max Clusters Number | 264 clusters – 1 cluster | 232 clusters – 1 cluster | 4294967295 | 4177918 | 65520 | 4080 |
Max File Name Length | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Up to 255 | Standard - 8.3 Extended - up to 255 | Up to 254 |
File System Features
Unicode File Names | Unicode Character Set | Unicode Character Set | Unicode Character Set | System Character Set | System Character Set | System Character Set |
System Records Mirror | MFT Mirror File | MFT Mirror File | No | Second Copy of FAT | Second Copy of FAT | Second Copy of FAT |
Boot Sector Location | First and Last Sectors | First and Last Sectors | Sectors 0 to 11 Copy in 12 to 23 | First Sector and Copy in Sector #6 | First Sector | First Sector |
File Attributes | Standard and Custom | Standard and Custom | Standard Set | Standard Set | Standard Set | Standard Set |
Alternate Streams | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Compression | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Encryption | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Object Permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Disk Quotas | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Sparse Files | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Reparse Points | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Volume Mount Points | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Overall Performance
Built-In Security | Yes | Yes | Yes minimal ACL only | No | No | No |
Recoverability | Yes | Yes | Yes if TFAT activated | No | No | No |
Performance | Low on small volumes High on Large | Low on small volumes High on Large | High | High on small volumes Low on large | Highest on small volumes Low on large | High |
Disk Space Economy | Max | Max | Max | Average | Minimal on large volumes | Max |
Fault Tolerance | Max | Max | Yes if TFAT activated | Minimal | Average | Average |
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