Re: [LUG] NTFS System

[Julian Hall <linux@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 03/05/16 13:17, barnaby@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

On 03/05/16 12:58, Martin Gautier wrote:

On 03/05/16 12:37, barnaby wrote:

I had a surprise present from my son today, an external hard drive for
back up. (I am just setting up a new computer.) When I checked it, I
found that it was formatted to Ntfs. I was expecting it to be set to
FAT 32 or some such. I was planning to format it to Ext4. However, I
understand that Ntfs works with Linux.

So I am looking for any advice with this. The new computer will have
Xubuntu 16.04 installed, which I assume will be set to Ext4. Should I
leave things as they are, or would it be better to format the drive?

Thanks

Neil

My 2p? If you ever plan to use the drive on a Windows computer
(transferring photos, movies etc) then keep it as NTFS. If it's solely
to be for Linux computers, reformat it.

Martin

Thanks for that. I have kept clear of Windows for over 16 years now, so it will be used solely for Linux. Windows is not allowed in this house.

Neil

My view is my standard policy 'I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it'. 'It' in this case being the ability to read files using more than one OS. Obviously you do not foresee any circumstance where you would install Linux in your home which is fair enough. However it is a /portable/ device so there is always the chance you may need/want to use it elsewhere, where the users are not so enlightened, i.e. have Macs or Windows PCs.

Julian

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