NTFS

NT File System (NTFS) (commonly called New Technology File System) is a proprietary <a href="/facts/Journaling_file_system/UCAaSBrD">journaling file system</a> developed by <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> in the 1990s.
It was developed to overcome scalability, security and other limitations with <a href="/facts/File_Allocation_Table/uFvpmWxa">FAT</a>. NTFS adds several features that <a href="/facts/File_Allocation_Table/uFvpmWxa">FAT</a> and <a href="/facts/HPFS_(file_system)/dz2Vgek4">HPFS</a> lack, including: <a href="/facts/Access_control_list/t38J9Vao">access control lists</a> (ACLs); filesystem encryption; transparent compression; <a href="/facts/Sparse_file/Q17UJTL8">sparse files</a>; <a href="/facts/Journaling_file_system/UCAaSBrD">file system journaling</a> and <a href="/facts/Shadow_copy/fDfa7CEt">volume shadow copy</a>, a feature that allows backups of a system while in use.
Starting with <a href="/facts/Windows_NT_3.1/2mdmR1cL">Windows NT 3.1</a>, it is the default file system of the <a href="/facts/Windows_NT/EtccWvxQ">Windows NT</a> family superseding the <a href="/facts/File_Allocation_Table/uFvpmWxa">File Allocation Table</a> (FAT) file system. NTFS read/write support is available on <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> and <a href="/facts/Berkeley_Software_Distribution/XQKcURrh">BSD</a> using NTFS3 in <a href="/facts/Linux_kernel/dlkduHuA">Linux</a> and <a href="/facts/NTFS-3G/1mCWFSuc">NTFS-3G</a> in <a href="/facts/BSD/XQKcURrh">BSD</a>. 
NTFS uses several files hidden from the user to store metadata about other files stored on the drive which can help improve speed and performance when reading data.
NTFS was slated to be replaced by <a href="/facts/WinFS/ytcFY3ne">WinFS</a>, one of the anchor features of the <a href="/facts/Development_of_Windows_Vista/ffbcNuR4">Longhorn</a> platform, however WinFS was cancelled after Microsoft was unable to resolve performance problems with the filesystem.

NTFS open-in-new

NTFS