This is (sort of) a follow up to my thread about using DVDs for archiving.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76746.0I’ve just bought a 750gb hard disk and fitted it inside an external enclosure (esata + usb2). I might set up a few small bootable partitions for emergencies but most of the disk will be filled with a single large partition where I will store my backups (I’m using DVDs as well).
My dilemma is what file system to use. I mostly use XP, and occasionally dabble with Linux. However, I’m a huge Linux fan, and that position could easily be reversed over the next couple of years is M$ doesn’t drastically raise it’s game. So it’s vital that I can access my data from either Linux or Windows (any variant). Access from other OSes would also be a bonus.
In the past I’ve used FAT16 for this purpose and then switched to FAT32 when FAT16 became impractical. However, FAT32 is also starting to creak a bit now, and the 4gb per file limit in particular could be a bit of an issue for videos.
So I’m thinking it has to be either NTFS or Ext2. But I’m not sure which. Can anyone here offer any advice on this? I understand that Linux is now able to read and write to NTFS partitions, but that the driver is still classed as experimental. I also know that Ext2 drivers exist for Windows but have no experience of them. So the question is, which is best out of the Windows and the Linux drivers?
Also, are there any theoretical reasons why Ext2 is superior to NTFS or vice versa? What about other Linux filesystems such as Ext3, ReiserFS etc?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.