It’s not easy storing your music and videos on a storage system so that it can be used on all your devices. A USB drive is a are a common way to store and transport the files you want to use on computers, laptops, and mobile devices, but which file system works best?
Common File Systems
Many people may not be fully aware of the different file systems that exist for a USB drive. The most common for Windows systems are FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT while iOS systems use HFS+ and EXT is designed for Linux systems. Of course, there are other systems that are available, so you will need to choose the one best suited for your needs.
Consider that only binary data is written to the disk itself. The file system is the method used to translate the information so that it can be read by the operating system (OS). This means you need to choose a file system that is supported by the OS especially if you are formatting the disk. Admittedly, this can become problematic if you are using multiple systems in your home, mixing macOS, Linux, and Windows. So, the two areas you need to focus on are portability and file-size limit.
Portability
While there is some crossover between files that work on Windows, macOS, and Linux, the only one that is compatible on all systems is the FAT32.But a USB drive is a great way to hold small files. The exFAT is also compatible with all systems, but for the Ubuntu Linux you’ll need the exFAT packages. The rest of the files are not all that compatible in terms of being ready by other systems, so you’ll need to double check before using them.
File Size Limits
While FAT32 is easy the most portable, it does suffer from file size limits that may inhibit performance. Since the FAT32 was first developed during the DOS days of computers, it suffers from having an individual size limit of under 4GB and a single volume size limit of under 8 TB. For transporting large files like videos, FAT32 is not the best. The file systems that can hold more than most commercially available drives includes the following;
NTFS
exFAT
HFS+
Other file systems, like EXT 2, 3, and 4 hold a considerable amount of data as well. Still, if the individual files you are carrying are well under 4 GB and the total system under 8 TB, the FAT32 is easily the best if you have multiple systems. However, if you have larger individual files, then you will need to tailor it to the systems you have.
Of course, it is best if you stick to one system so you can use the file type where it is best suited. However, the exFAT may be the right one if you have multiple systems, especially if you get the package that allows it to be used on Ubuntu Linux. You will need to do a little research, but FAT32 for small files and exFAT for large ones should fit the bill.