ReFS - ready for primetime?

ic1male · 27 Apr 2017 at 11:43

I am just about to format an old HDD for backup purposes and noticed that as well as NTFS and exFAT there is a third option which I've never seen before, ReFS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReFS

According to that article it's supposed to be a successor to NTFS. Is there any reason to use it or not to use it? Anyone currently using it?

Armageus · 27 Apr 2017 at 22:35

I would have said no, purely on the basis that recovery tools (or indeed companies) are not going to be 100% up to date with it.

While NTFS may be getting on a bit and lack "modern features", at least it's mature, stable and well understood.

ic1male · 27 Apr 2017 at 22:37

I'm giving it a go anyway.

I've got my stuff backed up in two places so if it goes boobs up, all is not completely lost.

Edward78 · 28 Apr 2017 at 17:41

Never heard of it...

Gammawolf · 2 May 2017 at 12:52

For your average Joe i think it makes little difference, I use it primarily for block cloning in a veeam repository. You do lose out on stuff like windows de-duplication etc but again your average Joe won't be using things like that. I would say unless you have a specific need for a feature theres not much point.

malachi · 2 May 2017 at 23:44

ReFS is used mainly for mass storage with raid in servers. I wouldn't bother as its still in early stages. Also unlike NTFS, ReFS cant be used as an boot drive for Windows.