Win2000 drive configuration 1

[aharrisreid]

My HDD contains W2K installed on a C: partition (FAT32), and a logical partition E: (also FAT32). I am about to install IIS on my E: drive and I note on the installation notes state "For security purposes, Microsoft recommends that all drives used with IIS be formatted with NTFS".

I know that before W2K came along, using IIS on anything but NTFS was a waste of time, but is the same still true with W2K? From a security point-of-view I can see why NTFS is preferable, but how critical is it on a machine which is purely used for development purposes? Is NTFS under W2K still the only viable solution?

Currently there is no other software that I use that requires NTFS exclusively.

If I had one FAT32 partition and one NTFS partition, would I require a dual boot? If c: is FAT32 and e: is NTFS, will c: be visible from e:, and vice-versa?

One of the main reasons why I moved over to W2K was that I could run my business apps (esp. IIS) under the same operating system as my kids can run their games (W2K supports DirectX 7 whereas NT didn't). Can these games still run under NTFS - ie. is it the operating system that's important, or the file format? If the games could run ok under NTFS I may be tempted to format the whole drive as NTFS.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Alan Harris-Reid

 

[CitrixEngineer]

W2k reads FAT32 and NTFS, so no problems with different partitions.

If the apps are written to run under Windows NT/2000, it doesn't matter whether the partition is formatted NTFS or FAT32 - W2k looks after the file mangement bit.

If the apps don't specifically say that they WILL run under W2k, I normally assume they won't, and install under Windows 9x.

Unless the machine connects to the internet, I see no problem with installing IIS on a FAT32 machine. If you connect to the internet, you'll have loads of ports open (think of them as doors), through which a hacker could gain quick and easy access to anything on your machine.

With security:

If you don't know whether something is secure or not, assume it isn't and be happy to be proven wrong! ;-)

I hope this helps

 

[aharrisreid]

You've been a great help. Many thanks.

Alan