You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

NTFS, or New Technology File System, is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Since its introduction with Windows NT 3.1 in 1993, it has been the default file system for the Windows operating system, managing how files are stored, organized, and retrieved on a hard disk or solid-state drive. As a successor to the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system, NTFS offers major improvements in performance, reliability, security, and scalability for modern computing.

Key features of NTFS

Reliability and recovery: As a journaling file system, NTFS keeps a log of changes to the disk's metadata before committing them. In the event of a system crash or power failure, it can replay this log to restore file system consistency, minimizing the risk of data loss. This includes a "self-healing" feature that can automatically repair minor corruptions in the background.

Security and access control: NTFS provides granular security through Access Control Lists (ACLs), which allow administrators to define specific permissions for individual files and folders. This can restrict or allow access based on user accounts and groups, which is critical for multi-user and network environments.

File encryption: The Encrypting File System (EFS) provides built-in, file-level encryption. This allows for the transparent encryption and decryption of specific files and folders to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Large file and volume support: Unlike FAT32's 4GB file size and 2TB volume limits, modern versions of NTFS support massive file and volume sizes. The theoretical maximum file size is 16 exabytes (EB), while the practical volume size can reach 8 petabytes (PB) or higher, depending on the Windows version.

File compression: NTFS supports transparent file compression on an individual file or folder basis. This saves disk space by compressing data as it is written to the disk and decompressing it on-the-fly when it is accessed.

Disk quotas: This feature allows system administrators to limit the amount of disk space that each individual user can consume on a volume. This is useful for managing storage resources in a shared environment. ÿÿÿÿ