A file system is used by operating systems to organize and store data on storage devices such as hard drives, solid-state drives, and other types of storage media so that it can control how data is stored and retrieved. It provides a structure for how files are stored, accessed, and managed on the storage device. The file system manages the physical locations of files, handles naming conventions, and ensures efficient data storage and retrieval.
If you are installing a new hard disk, you need to partition and format it using a file system before you can begin storing data or programs.
The benefits of using a file system
Organization: It is simpler to manage and find files when they are arranged into directories and subdirectories using a file system.
Data protection: To prevent data loss or corruption, file systems frequently contain features like file and folder permissions, backup and restore, and error detection and correction.
Increased performance: By efficiently organizing data on disk, a well-designed file system can increase the speed at which data is read and written.
Common file systems used in OSs:
NTFS (New Technology File System): Used in Windows operating systems.
FAT (File Allocation Table): Used in older versions of Windows and portable devices.
1) FAT (File Allocation Table)
FAT is the file system introduced with Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS DOS).
FAT uses File Allocation Table to keep track of the files in the storage devices.
FAT and the root directory reside at the fixed location of the volume so that the system’s boot files can be correctly located.
To protect a volume, two copies of the FAT are kept.
2) NTFS (New Technology File System)
NTFS is a proprietary file system developed by Microsoft. This is improvement of FAT. This improvement includes
The capability to recover from some disk-related errors automatically, which FAT cannot.
Support with Unicode encoding system
Improved support for larger hard disks.
Better security as permissions and encryptions are used to restrict access to specific files to approved users.
