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Which file system to choose for a RAM disk

Our RAM Disk application supports RAM disks formatted in the following file systems:

• FAT
• FAT32
• NTFS
• exFAT

FAT and FAT32 file systems are older and have severe restrictions on disk size and maximum file size. Do not use them unless you have a specific reason to.

NTFS and exFAT are more modern and can be used for disks and files of any size. Generally, NTFS is more advanced as it supports file compression, symbolic links, quotas and transacted operations. On the other hand, exFAT is more lightweight, and since it doesn't have the NTFS overhead, it has 10-20% better performance a RAM disk.

If your software only supports NTFS, or if you require file compression and symbolic links, choose NTFS. If performance is more important, choose exFAT.

Related articles:

How to create persistent RAM disks with contents preserved between sessions
How to create predefined files, folders and permissions on a RAM disk

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