NTFS Vs exFAT for External SSDs | Linux For All | Page 1

sudden ivy Mar 30, 2023, 4:57 PM

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Can someone share their experience with using NTFS-3G on Linux computers to read/write on NTFS external drives Vs reading/writing on exFAT external drives from Linux AND Windows computers?

I'm trying to figure out which file system is better for an external drive (an external SSD) used in both OSs (Windows and Linux).
In this case some facts might be useful. However, it so happens that when you research the subject, you find that both file systems have both advantages and disadvantages.
Even more useful than facts might be the actual experience of people who use these file systems.
E.g. NTFS might be a better option if people have no problem using it, even though this file system has some disadvantages.

Can someone give an insight on this subject?

Thank you for your attention.

civic junco Mar 30, 2023, 5:01 PM

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Context matters a lot. I am talking about things like either installing Linux on ntfs or using ntfs as a general storage volume within Linux for instance.

fickle pewter Mar 31, 2023, 11:07 AM

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NTFS is absolutely the worst, when it comes to sudden power drops, like unplugging your drive

sudden ivy Mar 31, 2023, 6:39 PM

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civic junco Context matters a lot. I am talking about things like either installing Linux on...

You're right. Here's more context:
I'm talking about an external SSD that i'll use to store data (pictures, music, movies, etc.).
I won't use the external SSD to install Linux.
Also, i'll use the external SSD with Both Windows and Linux computers.

sudden ivy Mar 31, 2023, 6:42 PM

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fickle pewter NTFS is absolutely the worst, when it comes to sudden power drops, like unpluggi...

Isn't exFAT a file system that lacks journaling, which means any interruption during data transfer often results in corruption and data loss?
Also, isn't Windows a file system that has journaling?

fickle pewter Mar 31, 2023, 6:42 PM

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No, afaik ntfs doesn't have journaling either or its journaling sucks

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I once had a sudden disconnect, and windows was able to "repair" the file system, but after that all performance on the drive dropped like 20 times

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Had to wipe up the whole thing without recovering data, because it would take too long

civic junco Mar 31, 2023, 6:44 PM

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sudden ivy You're right. Here's more context: I'm talking about an external SSD that i'll u...

Then my remarks are more or less what Uiial said. However, if you're asking for personal opinions, I would never recommend ntfs. Linux hasn't had proper ntfs support for years, and that situation is unlikely to change, given microsoft's policies. You will have issues with file ownerships under Linux with ntfs as Tuxera's implementation of ntfs-3g had witnessed those sorts of issues. Then there's the problem with the inability to check ntfs for file/data integrity under Linux; it requires users to use windows instead to check it.

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windows being the one capable of doing lots of things on ntfs volumes severely handicaps Linux or practically platform interoperability. I'd imagine if windows sets ntfs volumes to hibernate, Linux will also refuse to mount those volumes, therefore no access.

sudden ivy Mar 31, 2023, 8:13 PM

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civic junco windows being the one capable of doing lots of things on ntfs volumes severely h...

It's true that the changes done by Microsoft to NTFS handicaps Linux.
However, exFAT has no journaling, so any interruption during data transfer often results in corruption and data loss.
So, how's this fact making exFAT a better option?

civic junco Mar 31, 2023, 8:15 PM

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sudden ivy It's true that the changes done by Microsoft to NTFS handicaps Linux. However, e...

Of the two filesystem candidates you brought to the discussion table, neither one is really that much better than the other. The only logical choice is to choose the one that has lesser issues, i.e. no file ownership issues for instance.

verbal torrent Apr 1, 2023, 2:52 AM

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fickle pewter No, afaik ntfs doesn't have journaling either or its journaling sucks

NTFS has journaling.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS#Journaling

NTFS

New Technology File System (NTFS) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. It superseded File Allocation Table (FAT) as the preferred filesystem on Windows and is supported in Linux and BSD as well. NTFS reading and writing support is pro...

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exFAT doesn’t.

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ntfs is pretty solid.

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If you experienced data loss after a power outage, you were just super unlucky

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exFAT is objectively the worse choice when it’s about an external SSD

fickle pewter Apr 1, 2023, 2:53 AM

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verbal torrent NTFS has journaling.

If it does, it's shit,
I'm talking from perspective of actually using it and having it disconnected

verbal torrent Apr 1, 2023, 2:54 AM

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Yeah, what you experienced is pretty rare, tho

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And it would have definitely happened with exFAT aswell

fickle pewter Apr 1, 2023, 2:54 AM

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Every single time I had it disconnected it had hard time recovering

verbal torrent Apr 1, 2023, 2:54 AM

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Weird

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Never had this issue.

fickle pewter Apr 1, 2023, 2:55 AM

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Did you use it with both win and lin though?

verbal torrent Apr 1, 2023, 2:55 AM

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It’s pretty standard to have your external hdds formatted to NTFS

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yeah

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my only ext4 formatted drive is my system drive, rest is shared NTFS between windows and linux, internal and external

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Also honestly not sure how well windows handles exfat to begin with

fickle pewter Apr 1, 2023, 3:03 AM

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Tbh,if I actually wanted a shared setup these days, I'd probably go with a network drive

civic junco Apr 1, 2023, 1:35 PM

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The fact that the data has to be accessible also on windows is a massive constraint; windows supports less than a handful of filesystems on a native level, and Linux doesn't have a common filesystem support, that is free of issues with windows co-existence, makes looking at intermediary solutions more appropriate, than otherwise.

Besides, power outage factors should honestly be dealt with through the means of having redundancy in power supply, i.e. having a UPS. Expecting filesystems or machines to not suffer data loss during the event of power outage or whatever is looking at the situation the wrong way. Sane data centres don't operate without some form of redundancy, and if the hosted data is that valuable, all emphasis should be placed on contingency measures outside of expecting redundancy on software level.

#NTFS Vs exFAT for External SSDs