Is FAT32 Safe to use?

keogh · 8 Dec 2009 at 21:42

Howdy all,

I've just purchased a Drobo from ocuk, and my initial plan was to format my 1tb drives on there to FAT32 so that my Windows and OS X machines can both work directly with it, I can't afford to get DroboShare right now, so that is out of the question.

My question is, is FAT32 safe to use? Am I at high risk of losing data? Without DroboShare, I'm not sure what other options I will have to allow both OS X and Windows to work with it, and I need both of them to see it really... but not if its really unsafe to use FAT32.

Any advice will be appreciated!

ta

Sin_Chase · 8 Dec 2009 at 21:45

FAT32 has a habit of losing data.

On a more serious note, yes - It's safe to use.

The only consideration with FAT32 is the 4GB single file size limit.

Raumarik · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:10

4GB sounds like a lot but if you do any sort of mucking about techie wise sooner or later you will curse it

however you could always make a partition and format it for NTFS for these 4Gb+ files if you ever had the need

Aod · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:17

fat32 is also considerably more affected by fragmentation, something important to consider.

dustofnations · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:18

You could use exfat, although I'm not sure what the support is like on OSX

NathanE · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:26

It's not safe to use. It never was. It's not a transactional/journaled file system like NTFS is.

FAT32 works "ok" for memory sticks. But even then, if you forget to do the 'Safely Remove' procedure there's a high probability the file system will be corrupted to some extent.

exFAT is not safe either. It is just a revised version of FAT32 to support a larger maximum file size. It still isn't journaled.

I am surprised that Drobo even offer FAT32 as a formatting option. It is certainly not a file system that should be used on such a device whose purpose is data resilience.

SiriusB · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:36

A quick Google search found this: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/26288

I would recommend doing some research on all the different options [above link os one of many NTFS on Mac solutions]

AbsenceJam · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:58

I would use NTFS and just install NTFS-3G on the mac.

whitecrook · 8 Dec 2009 at 23:20

isn't the drobo a network device making the choice of file system irrelevant when considering what computers connect to it?

AbsenceJam · 8 Dec 2009 at 23:32

whitecrook said:
isn't the drobo a network device making the choice of file system irrelevant when considering what computers connect to it?

It's DAS unless you have DroboShare.

swanseajack · 8 Dec 2009 at 23:56

FAT32 is quicker to access for the computer but is more prone to corruption, also FAT32 can be seen in DOS, NTFS cant.

Also you get more encryption options with NTFS.

Berserker · 9 Dec 2009 at 00:06

Aod said:
fat32 is also considerably more affected by fragmentation, something important to consider.

Except if you have a Drobo - in which case if the marketing hyperbole is to be believed it's something irrelevant to consider.

NathanE said:
It's not safe to use. It never was. It's not a transactional/journaled file system like NTFS is.

True

I am surprised that Drobo even offer FAT32 as a formatting option. It is certainly not a file system that should be used on such a device whose purpose is data resilience.

FAT32 is still by far the most ubiquitous file system - which is why external hard drives, even into the terabytes, use it. Drobo included. Doesn't make it any good mind. I do wish the industry would agree to something better, but it seems unlikely that will happen. exFAT certainly isn't it.

Drobo - again if the hyperbole is to be believed - at least takes away some of the FAT32 headaches (for example, Drobo decides how to lay out file data, not the filesystem, which makes fragmentation rather less predictable than it would be).

I still wouldn't recommend it though.

If you have a home network already, then DroboShare is, for the most part, a waste of money. It makes managing Drobo a little easier, and it does provide a NAS solution, but it's also slow.

Plug the Drobo into the Windows box, format it NTFS, and share the resulting drive on the network. Use SMB support on the Mac to connect to the Windows box. Both machines now have access, you're using a proper filesystem, and you didn't buy a DroboShare. Simples.

PS - Two Drobo household at your service, and no DroboShare to be seen.

keogh · 9 Dec 2009 at 11:10

Berserker said:
Plug the Drobo into the Windows box, format it NTFS, and share the resulting drive on the network. Use SMB support on the Mac to connect to the Windows box. Both machines now have access, you're using a proper filesystem, and you didn't buy a DroboShare. Simples.

Did cross my mind doing it that way, just thought there might be some implications to this method cos I felt this would make the DroboShare a bit needless?

Anyway, don't fancy using FAT32 at all, especially now after the flaws meantioned above, so will go down the NTFS-3G or Win network method.

Thanks!