TESTA FAT32 is more portable but NTFS is both more secure and works with individual files larger than 4GB.
Most flash drives come pre formatted with FAT32 which is recognised by all windows systems and most other operating systems including Linux, Mac OS, Playstation 3 and XBox. The main downside to FAT32 is that individual files must be less than 4 GB in size. The common alternative to FAT32 is NTFS which allows a greater level of security and has no individual file size limitations. The downside to NTFS is its portability: NTFS is limited to read-only usage on Mac OS and will not work at all on Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. Changing the Format of the file system on a drive is simple: on a windows based system right click on the drive in windows explorer and follow the options. Backup your data first as formatting this way will erase the drive completely.
Most flash drives come pre formatted with FAT32 which is recognised by all windows systems and most other operating systems including Linux, Mac OS, Playstation 3 and XBox. The main downside to FAT32 is that individual files must be less than 4 GB in size. The common alternative to FAT32 is NTFS which allows a greater level of security and has no individual file size limitations. The downside to NTFS is its portability: NTFS is limited to read-only usage on Mac OS and will not work at all on Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. Changing the Format of the file system on a drive is simple: on a windows based system right click on the drive in windows explorer and follow the options. Backup your data first as formatting this way will erase the drive completely.
