File Systems
The version of NTFS that is included with Windows 2000 provides significant enhancements over previous versions. Windows 2000 also includes support for the FAT32 file system.
FAT32 support Users of MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 and earlier must note that FAT32 is a new option in Windows 2000. This file system, first seen in Windows 95 OSR2 and later in Windows 98, allows FAT users to format much larger volumes than possible with FAT16, and stores files more efficiently on large volumes.
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Note
FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32 are referred to synonymously as FAT unless the differences between them must be noted.
NTFS enhancements Users of MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows 98 have a new, more advanced option with NTFS. NTFS, the preferred native file system for Windows 2000, is a much more sophisticated, robust, and secure file system than any of the FAT file systems. Users of Windows NT must also note the many improvements made to NTFS in Windows 2000, including the addition of encryption, disk quotas, reparse points, and so on.
Encryption The Encrypting File System (EFS) provides the core file encryption technology used to store encrypted files on NTFS volumes. EFS keeps files safe from intruders who might gain unauthorized physical access to sensitive, stored data (for example, by stealing a portable computer or external disk drive).
Disk quotas Windows 2000 supports disk quotas for NTFS volumes. You can use disk quotas to monitor and limit disk-space use.
Reparse points Reparse points are new file system objects in NTFS that can be applied to NTFS files or folders. A file or folder that contains a reparse point acquires additional behavior not present in the underlying file system. Reparse points are used by many of the new storage features in Windows 2000, including volume mount points.
Volume mount points Volume mount points are new to NTFS. Based on reparse points, volume mount points allow administrators to graft access to the root of one local volume onto the folder structure of another local volume.
Sparse files Sparse files allow programs to create very large files but consume disk space only as needed.
Distributed link tracking NTFS provides a link-tracking service that maintains the integrity of shortcuts to files as well as OLE links within compound documents.