hi,

What is the best FS to use if i want to create a partition which XP and linux can both access (read and write). currently i use ReiserFS for the slack root and the ntfs driver to access my XP root partition, which is fine but i limited it to read only. i understand there are various options to do what i want.

ntfs write driver
NTFS-3G
ext2/3 (using IFS)
fat32 - most simple option?

i have been meaning to do this for about 3 years now!

thanks for any help

Definitely fat32/vfat formatting.
I wouldn't trust write capability to NTFS yet.
Ciao

I've been using NTFS-3G for some time now, and I haven't had a single problem with it, neither in Windos nor Linux. And just like it's advertisement said (at the linux-ntfs mailing list) it's just as fast as XFS/JFS. Besides, NTFS is much more capable and reliable than fat32.

Although fat32 is indeed the most simple option, as everything is already in-the-kernel, and all you have to do is mount the partition rw.

ok thanks for the input.

think i will try 3g.

Hi,

The safest would be to use a fat32 partition to share between Win and linux. As theoffset says the ntfs-3g will allow you to r/w, you should read the link.

dont be so sure! ive used fat32 partitions for several years as exchange between linux and windows without problems but since 3 weeks its impossible to transfer files between both os.

i can copy files to the fat partition in linux can edit them and verify them. when i start win xp most files are corrupted when they are there at all. chekdisk is finding tons of crosslinked entries and lost chains.

im not 100% sure, but i think the problem is the defrag tool of win xp, because the disaster started after i tried to defrag the exchange partition.

dont get me wrong, i dont want to say that fat32 is a bad exchange point, its so far the safest way until ntfs write is fool proofed enough, but you always have to be careful what you are doing with your partitions.

campher

Hi,

Hi,

So you base the problem on the defragmentation of the fat32 with winxp on YOUR system. I think we might have an isolated problem here. You shouldn't make a blanket statement based on one incident. If the problem you suggest was linux wide then we would have heard or experienced the problem.

I would look into YOUR problem. Possible hardware or M$ winxp installation. As you stated that you experienced no problems until recently. You should do some diagnostics on your hardware and confirm no problem. Then check your winxp installation.

You're better off with ext3.

NTFS is a poor choice because Micro$oft refuses to release the specifications for it, so linux drivers will always be experimental, and it will always be a guess as to whether the open source drivers fully comply with the spec. Additionally, there are ethical ramifications for supporting proprietary closed standards.

Fat32 isn't the best choice either, because (unlike ext3) fat32 fragments. You have the ongoing maintenence burdon of defragging the fat32 volume, and risk of lost data if you fail to do so. Fat32 also has a volume size limit of like 32 GB or something like that.

My answer assumes for the moment that the IFS driver for Windows keeps the ext3 volume defragged. I have created a new thread to get that question answered specifically.

Microsoft limited Win XP in creating / formating a FAT32 partition to a max size of 32GB. If a partition already exists that is larger XP does not have any problems reading or writing.

FAT32 is the safest but it does have a max file size limitation that might pose a problem if your wanting to share space for DVD or movies. I do not have any experience with ifs but I would not share a primary OS partition with any option.

I don't consider fragmentation a safe characteristic for a file system. I have a user who never defrags her drive, and diskeeper is showing over 50% of the drive map to be red (fragmented files at risk for dataloss). I am about to convert most of her fat32 filespace to ext3.

I personally use ext3 and the Windows drivers from ext2fsd.

It works well for me I personally wouldn't use FAT32 because you can't create files bigger than about 4GB and fragmentation of the partition.

There currently aren't any ReiserFS drivers for writing but are about 2 that I have used for reading.

Regards,

Greg

Ok so safest was a bad term. FAT32 is the most compatable with either OS.