如果您曾尝试格式化USB 拇指驱动器或记忆棒(USB thumb drive or memory stick)，您可能已经注意到您仅有的文件系统(file system)选项是FAT 和 FAT32(FAT and FAT32)。这是Windows中的(Windows)默认行为(default behavior)。但是，通过一些细微的设置调整，您实际上可以将可移动存储设备格式化为NTFS 格式(NTFS format)，包括外部硬盘驱动器等。
当然，出于某些原因， Windows默认将可移动存储的格式设置为FAT 和 FAT32 。(FAT and FAT32)将USB 驱动器(USB drive)格式化为NTFS 格式(NTFS format)实际上有一些优点和缺点，因此在实际讨论如何操作之前，我们将先了解这些优点和缺点。
在可移动存储设备上启用 NTFS(enabling NTFS on removable storage devices)的优势相当诱人。例如，NTFS 文件(NTFS file)系统允许您为特定Windows用户添加对单个文件和文件夹的(Windows)允许(Allow) 和拒绝(Deny) 权限，这是FAT 文件(FAT file)系统中无法做到的。在安全性方面，您还可以使用Windows(Windows)中内置的加密对文件进行加密。
切换到NTFS的另一个主要好处是您不再局限于在设备上存储大小小于 4GB 的文件。FAT32只能处理最大为 4G 的文件和最大为 2TB 的卷。因此，如果您想使用FAT32(FAT32)将 5 TB 外部硬盘驱动器格式化为单个卷，您将无法做到这一点。
与NTFS(NTFS)相比，存储在 FAT32文件系统(file system)上的文件也有更高的损坏几率。NTFS是一个日志文件系统(file system)，这意味着在对数据进行实际更改之前，首先将其记录在“日志”中，这样如果在写入数据的过程中发生任何事情，系统可以快速恢复，而无需被修复。
其他好处包括能够压缩文件，从而节省USB 驱动器(USB drive)上的空间。您还可以设置磁盘配额，甚至创建分区！因此，使用NTFS格式化USB 驱动器(USB drive)有几个优点，如果您需要使用其中一些高级功能，例如额外的安全性或存储大文件，这将是很好的。
但是，在USB 驱动器上使用(USB drive)NFTS也有一些缺点。首先，使用NTFS(NTFS)时需要对驱动器进行更多写入，因此访问设备会更慢。由于额外的写入，它还会缩短USB 驱动器上闪存的寿命。(USB drive)此外，早于 2000 的 Windows 版本（某些版本的 Windows NT 除外）(Windows)无法(Windows NT)读取NTFS文件系统，直到最近大多数Linux系统也无法读取，因此您的兼容性显着下降。所有其他设备，如相机、智能手机、电视(TVs)、平板电脑等，很可能只能阅读FAT32。
另一个主要缺点是，如果您加密USB 驱动器(USB drive)上的文件或使用任何类型的文件权限，您将无法在其他任何地方打开它们。实际上，这可以被视为不利因素或有利因素，具体取决于您想要做什么。如果您想保护您的USB 记忆棒(USB stick)，以便只有您的一台计算机上的用户帐户(user account)可以打开文件，那么使用加密或权限(encryption or permissions) 是非常好的。如果没有，则不要添加权限或加密文件。
如何使用 NTFS 格式化 USB 驱动器
如果您运行的是Windows 7或Windows 8，则该过程非常简单。首先(First)，继续插入您的USB 设备(USB device)，然后从桌面打开计算机。(Computer)
只需右键单击USB 设备(USB device)并选择Format。
现在打开File system下拉菜单并选择NTFS。您无需执行任何其他操作，并且NTFS 选项(NTFS option)应该出现在列表中。
在Windows Vista 和 XP(Windows Vista and XP)中，您可能看不到文件系统(File system)下的NTFS 选项(NTFS option)，在这种情况下，您必须先调整设置。首先(First)，将您的USB 设备(USB device)连接到您的计算机，然后从桌面右键单击我 (My Computer )的电脑并选择管理(Manage)。
接下来单击设备管理器( Device Manager)，然后展开磁盘驱动器。(Disk Drives.)您应该会看到您的USB 驱动器(USB drive)在此处列为“通用 USB 2.0 USB 驱动器(Generic USB 2.0 USB Drive)”或类似名称。
现在右键单击磁盘驱动(Disk Drives)器下的USB 驱动(USB drive)器并选择属性(Properties)，然后转到策略(Policies)选项卡。
现在您将看到两个选项，默认选择优化以快速删除。(Optimize for quick removal)通过选择“优化性能(Optimize for performance)”选项(” option)来改变它。这可以在Windows(Windows)中写入缓存，因此允许您将其格式化为NTFS！甜(Sweet)。
就是这样。在开始格式化之前，您需要弹出USB 驱动器(USB drive)，然后将其重新插入。现在单击“确定”，转到“我的电脑(My Computer)”，右键单击USB 驱动器(USB drive)并选择“格式化(Format)” 。在文件系统(File System)下拉菜单中，您现在应该看到NTFS选项！
NTFS 格式化疑难解答
如果您在格式化为NTFS(NTFS)时遇到问题，则可能是一条错误消息，指出Windows无法完成格式化。这可能发生的主要原因是当它试图删除主分区并且由于某种原因失败时。
在这种情况下，您可以只使用 Disk Management来格式化驱动器，而不是使用Explorer。继续并右键单击我的电脑或计算机(My Computer or Computer)，选择管理(Manage)，然后单击磁盘管理(Disk Management)。
现在找到底部列出的带有可移动(Removable)标签的磁盘，并确保它的大小正确。右键单击白色区域并选择Format。您将收到一条消息，指出磁盘上有一个活动分区并且所有数据都将丢失；继续并单击是(Yes)继续。现在选择NTFS并执行格式化。
您现在可以在USB 设备上使用(USB device)NTFS的高级功能，使其更安全、存储更大的文件等。如果您有任何问题，请发表评论。享受！
How to Format USB Drive and Memory Stick with NTFS
If you hаve еver trіed to format a USB thumb drive or memory stick, yoυ may have noticed that the only file syѕtem oрtions you have are FAT and FAT32. This is the default behavior in Windows. However, with some slight tweaking of settings, you can actυally format your removable storage devices in NTFS format, including external hard drives, etc.
Of course, Windows defaults the formatting of removable storage to FAT and FAT32 for certain reasons. There are actually a few advantages and disadvantages to formatting a USB drive in NTFS format, so we’ll go through those before actually talking about how to do it.
The advantages of enabling NTFS on removable storage devices are fairly enticing. For example, an NTFS file system lets you add Allow and Deny permissions to individual files and folders for specific Windows users, something you cannot do in the FAT file system. In terms of security, you can also encrypt files using the built-in encryption in Windows.
Another major benefit of switching to NTFS is that you are no longer restricted to storing files less than 4GB in size on the device. FAT32 can only work with files up to 4G in size and volumes up to 2TB in size. So if you want to format your 5 TB external hard drive as a single volume with FAT32, you wouldn’t be able to do it.
Files stored on FAT32 file systems also have a much higher chance of being corrupted as opposed to NTFS. NTFS is a journaling file system, which means that before an actual change is made to the data, it is first logged in a “journal” so that if something happens in the middle of writing data, the system can recover quickly and not need to be repaired.
Other benefits include the ability to compress files and therefore save space on your USB drive. You can also set disk quotas and even create partitions! So formatting USB drives with NTFS has several advantages that would be good if you need to use some of these advanced features, i.e. extra security or storing large files.
However, there are also a few drawbacks to using NFTS on a USB drive. Firstly, there is a lot more writes to the drive that are required when using NTFS and therefore access to the device will be slower. It will also reduce the life of your flash memory on USB drives because of the extra writes. Also, versions of Windows older than 2000 (except some versions of Windows NT) cannot read NTFS file systems, nor can most Linux systems until recently, so your compatibility goes down significantly. All other devices like cameras, smartphones, TVs, tablets, etc. will most likely only be able to read FAT32.
The other major downside is that if you encrypt your files on the USB drive or use any kind of file permissions, you will not be able to open them anywhere else. Actually, this can be considered a downside or an upside depending on what you want to do. If you want to secure your USB stick so that only your user account on your one computer can open the files, then using encryption or permissions is perfectly fine. If not, then do not add permissions or encrypt the files.
How to Format USB Drive with NTFS
If you are running Windows 7 or Windows 8, the process is really simple. First, go ahead and plug in your USB device and then open Computer from the desktop.
Just right-click on the USB device and choose Format.
Now open the File system drop down and choose NTFS. You don’t have to do anything else and the NTFS option should appear in the list.
In Windows Vista and XP, you may not see the NTFS option under File system, in which case you have to tweak a setting first. First, connect your USB device to your computer and then right-click on My Computer from the desktop and choose Manage.
Next click on Device Manager and then expand out Disk Drives. You should see your USB drive listed there as “Generic USB 2.0 USB Drive” or something similar.
Now right-click on the USB drive under Disk Drives and choose Properties and then go to the Policies tab.
Now you will see two options, the Optimize for quick removal selected by default. Go ahead and change that by selecting the “Optimize for performance” option. This enables writing caching in Windows and therefore allows you to format it as NTFS! Sweet.
That’s about it. Before you start the format, you will need to eject the USB drive and then plug it back in. Now click OK, go to My Computer, right click on the USB drive and choose Format. In the File System drop down you should now see the option for NTFS!
Troubleshooting NTFS Formatting
If you run into an issue while formatting to NTFS, it will probably be an error message stating that Windows was unable to complete the format. The main reason this can occur is when it tries to delete the primary partition and for some reason fails.
In that case, you can just Disk Management to format the drive instead of using Explorer. Go ahead and right-click on My Computer or Computer, choose Manage and then click on Disk Management.
Now find the disk listed down at the bottom with the label Removable and make sure it’s the correct size. Right-click on the white area and choose Format. You’ll get a message that there is an active partition on the disk and that all data will be lost; go ahead and click Yes to continue. Now choose NTFS and perform the format.
You can now use the advanced features of NTFS of on your USB device to make it more secure, store larger files, etc. If you have any questions, post a comment. Enjoy!
