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File Systems

 

 

 

 


There are limitations that come from the file system and those that come the operating system. A file system is a kind of basic format/structure for a hard disk that is created when the medium is formatted and later filled with files. There are three common file systems that can be used for hard drives on Windows computers:

 Limitations of the different file systems
 

File system:

FAT

Partition size:

up to 2 GB

Maximum file size:

2 GB


 

File system:

FAT32

Partition size:

512 MB to 2 TB

Maximum file size:

4 GB


 

File system:

exFAT

Partition size:

up to 512 TB

Maximum file size:

The maximum backup size is only limited by the partition size!


 

File system:

NTFS

Partition size:

up to 256 TB (depending on the cluster size)

Maximum file size:

16 TB on Windows 7 and older, 256 TB on Windows 8


 

FAT32 partitions are still frequently in use, especially on external hard disks, because they are supported by many different operating systems. If a backup archive larger than 4 GB should be created on a FAT32 medium, the backup file is automatically split (multi-spanning).
 

FAT32 and NTFS – what you need to know about these file systems:

 FAT32 – Advantages

Almost all operating systems can read it, most can write it

Almost all devices use it (Digital cameras, Receivers, MP3 players, …)

FAT32 – Disadvantages

Maximum file size: 4 GB

Therefore not always suitable for large backups!

a bit slower than NTFS

NTFS – Advantages

newer operating systems can be installed on it

higher data rates

file sizes up to 16 TB möglich

writes data „intelligently“ to avoid fragmentation

logs file changes to avoid data corruption if the computer freezes

supports security permissions

supports encryption of files and volumes

supports compression of files and volumes

faster defragmentation

file accesses can be logged

NTFS – Disadvantages

Windows ME and older cannot access NTFS volumes

Devices cannot read it

Important

Limitations of Z-DBackup
The free standard version of Z-DBackup can save at most 10 GB (4 GB in a compressed backup archive) per backup set!


  The standard version (freeware version) can only create multi-spanning files up to 2 GB in size.

 

 
 


 

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