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TechKnowSurge Catalog Interactives Pick the File System
InteractiveComputeFree

Pick the File System

NTFS, ext4, APFS or FAT32? Sort each drive by the file system you would format it with.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

Formatting prepares a drive to hold files: it sets aside space for the table that records where each file is, and sets up the clusters the data goes into. How that table and those clusters are organized is the file system, and each operating system has the one it prefers. Windows uses NTFS, the New Technology File System, which keeps a master file table in place of a file allocation table. Linux usually uses ext4, the fourth extended file system. macOS uses APFS, the Apple File System. When a drive or card has to move between operating systems, the lesson reaches for the file allocation table, FAT. FAT32 can be read and written by Windows, macOS and Linux alike, which is why small USB sticks and SD cards usually come formatted with it. Its one catch: no single file on FAT32 can be bigger than 4 GB. exFAT, another choice in the same format dialog, lifts that limit and still moves between systems. A drive that will only ever be used by one operating system gets that system's own file system. Ask who will read it.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Tech+
3.1 Explain the purpose of operating systems.
2.5 Compare and contrast storage types.

Key terms

File System
The method and data structures an operating system uses to organize, store, name, and retrieve files on a storage device; common examples include NTFS on Windows, APFS on macOS, and ext4 on Linux.
New Technology File System
NTFS
The default file system for Windows operating systems that supports large file sizes, permissions, encryption, journaling, and compression. NTFS replaced FAT as the standard Windows file system and provides advanced features for enterprise environments.
Fourth Extended File System
EXT4
The default file system used by most Linux distributions, offering improved performance and support for large files and volumes.
Apple File System
APFS
Apple's proprietary file system introduced in 2017 for macOS, iOS, and other Apple platforms, designed for flash and solid-state storage with features including strong encryption, space sharing, and snapshot support. APFS replaced the older HFS+ as the default file system on Apple devices.
32-bit File Allocation Table
FAT32
A FAT filesystem variant using 32-bit entries that supports volumes up to 2 TB and files up to 4 GB; broadly compatible across operating systems and commonly used on USB drives and SD cards.

Topics

File System Ntfs Ext4 Apfs Fat32 Formatting Interactive Categorize

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