which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

[caveneo]

Hi. I have Kubuntu installed on one partition (ext3+swap) and the other 3 are NTFS and the other HDD is NTFS. I have installed the plugin that allows you to write to NTFS, but is slow when i am deleting files. Is it a way to convert them from ntfs to another(which? ext3, reiserfs) without loosing my files?

[heinkel_111]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Unless you are double-booting, don't use NTFS - only windows handle NTFS disks really good. If you are double-booting kubuntu and windows XP, VFAT is an alternative for file systems that you want to access both from Windows and Kubuntu.

If, on the other hand, you only run Kubuntu, I'd recommend EXT3, or ReiserFS. Myself I have ReiserFS on all my disks, but for most users (I think myself included) the benefits of ReiserFS compared to EtT3 is mostly not noticeable. Add to that the fact that EXT3 is almost always supported "right out of the box" with anything you do in linux and I conclude that unless you have a really good reason to choose something else, stick with EXT3.

Most file systems are not a big issue with linux, they just work. You have just been a little bit unfortunate in selecting the bad step-brother of the linux file systems (the Windows NTFS) for your partitions. If windows locks you up, just break windows to breathe more freely.... :P

[caveneo]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Can i convert my ntfs partitions to ext3 or reiser fs without losing the data?
Or i have to write everything to dvd and then format?
I have 100GB data.

[heinkel_111]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

AFAIK there is no utiltity that converts NTFS partitions to other filesystems such as EXT3.

You said you have 3 NTFS partitions, are they about the same size? Do you have empty disk space equal to or larger than the largest NTFS partition? I am asking because I think I would design a "shuffle" of data from one partition to another partition rather than writing all 100GB to DVD (that would be like 25 or so, right - too much work).

If you have some available space on your harddisk:
1) create ext3 partition #2
2) move data from ntfs partition #1 to ext3 partition #2
3) reformat ntfs partition #1 so it becomes ext3 partition #3
4) move data from ntfs partition #2 to ext3 partition #3
5) reformat ntfs partition #2 so it becomes ext3 partition #4
6) move data from ntfs partition #3 to ext3 partition #4
7) reformat ntfs partition #3 to ext3 partition #5
(although you moved all your data, this will help you forget ntfs :P)

If you don't have available hard-disk space for this, I would recommend buying a portable USB hard-disk to help with the shuffling. They are very affordable these days, and it is a lot less work to move 100GB data to a 150 GB USB disk than onto 25 DVDs.

For moving data, you could use rsync from the command line. Read man:rsync for more info. I move data around using

 rsync -aSv /source /target

pretty often and it is quite efficient and stable. (Preserves the file attributes such as ownership, timestamps etc).
Disclaimer: i don't think I have tried rsync on ntfs but I don't think it should make any difference as long as ntfs is source.

[jankushka]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

akaik, windoze supports ext3.
if you're configuring this on a dual-windoze-linux-boot system, then
keep your windoze system stuff on ntfs,
put your linux system stuff on ext3,
put the shared data (music, pictures, ...) on ext3.
there's is no such thing as a better file system.
it very much depends on what you do with it.
further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_systems

[caveneo]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

I don't have a dual boot system. I used to have Windows only. Now i have Kubuntu only and i have my 4 remaining partitions in NTFS. I am asking if there is a program that i can convert them to ext3 or Reiser FS.

[jankushka]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

i see.
sorry, there isn't anything like that.
follow heinkel_111's suggestions.

[K0LO]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

caveneo:

I'm not aware of any programs that can do this while preserving your data.

If I were you I would try to copy all of the data onto your second hard disk if it will fit, or borrow a USB hard drive for temporary use. Then use Gparted or your favorite partitioning software to delete the NTFS partitions from your main hard drive and reformat them as one or more ext3 or ReiserFS partitions. Then copy your data back. Do the same with the second hard disk.

Personally, I would use ext3 if you reboot your PC frequently. ReiserFS runs a lengthy integrity check at each boot. This won't be a big issue if your PC runs 24/7 but it will eventually bother you if you turn it on and off daily or more frequently. I use ext3 on my laptop and ReiserFS on my server, but the server is on 24/7 and rarely reboots.

[caveneo]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Thank you very much. I will try to do that with the program mentioned!

[The Liquidator]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Interesting post. I'm using Reiser on my Laptop. How long do you think the integrity check takes? Do you think it would be worth the hassle involved in reverting to Ext 3?

Thanks

Ian

[K0LO]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Ian:

On my machine (second one in my sig) the ReiserFS integrity check adds about 60 seconds additional to the 90 sec boot time for a total cold boot time of 150 sec. But it's checking both hard disks (80 GB system drive + 500 GB storage drive), so your mileage may vary.

Ext3 does an automatic file system integrity check (fsck) only once per 30 boots by default, although you can change this with tune2fs.

[The Liquidator]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Thanks

My guess (given I only have 20Gb allocated to kubuntu on my machine (Dell Centrino) is that it ought to add only a couple of seconds to the bootup time, and so it is probably not worth doing anything.

Is there any way I can watch the boot process, or find out the info?

Ian

[K0LO]

Re: which is better (ntfs,ext3,reiser fs)?

Ian:

One simple way is to boot from the "recovery mode" entry in your grub menu. This line usually has the options "quiet" and "splash" removed so that it shows you all of the scrolling text messages when booting up.