Which File System to Use on Which Volumes

This is a general recommendation for determining which file systems to use for which volumes:

This arrangement gives you the following benefits:

Here is some additional information to help you choose your file system(s):

These additional guidelines might affect your decision as to which file system(s) to use on your computers:

Note

The system partition contains the Partition Boot Sector and other files needed to load the operating system, such as NTLDR (for x86-based computers) and OSLOADER (for RISC-based computers). The boot partition needs to include the folder with the operating system. The boot partition and the system partition can be a single partition with other folders in it.