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I just bought a WD USB drive to back up files. I am running WindowsXP.

When I plug the drive in it asks if I want to format to NTFS. It comes formatted in FAT. Do I want to reformat it? I don't think I will ever need to use it on a Mac.

Between those two, NTFS is the superior file system. Macs can read NTFS drives (and write to them with some 3rd party freeware), so you'd still be able to recover your backed-up files to a Mac if you had to.

NTFS is a Microsoft format and is the replacement for FAT. However, like all Microsoft upgrades, the replacement isn't always better for everybody. There are reasons to change to NTFS and reasons to stick with FAT, depending on your personal needs. It's dated but here's a Microsoft knowledge base article to help you decide. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for your help. It turns out the drive is already formatted to NTFS. There is a quick format that asked me if I wanted to format to NTFS so I assumed it was FAT.

If you use it with Windows you are fine with NTFS. If tou want to use it with another OS like Linux or MAC you are better off with FAT or exFAT. With NTFS there are performance issues mounting the disk on a Linux OS and it is not native on a MAC either.

I sincerely hope WildBill wasn't still having trouble with the drive eleven months down the road.

Dam, I missed to look at the date.