NTFS: The Limits of Microsoft's File System You Should Know

Last update: 25/04/2025

NTFS Microsoft File System Limits

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the default file system in Windows since the arrival of Windows NT in 2003. Although it has proven to be robust, secure and efficient, has borders that you should know. Therefore, in this post, we'll talk about the limits of the Microsoft file system and what they mean for Windows users.

NTFS: The Limits of Microsoft's File System You Should Know

NTFS Microsoft File System Limits

Among the limits of the Microsoft file system that you should know are: the maximum size allowed for a file and a partition or volumeIf a file exceeds that maximum size, it cannot be stored in a NTFS formatted disk. And when it comes to partitioning that disk, there's also a size limit you must respect when assigning a volume to it.

Whether we are talking about organizing data on a hard drive or other storage media, the NTFS format only supports files up to, theoretically, 16 exabytes (EB)In practice, the supported file size is much smaller: about 256 terabytes (TB). This difference is due to other limitations related to the operating system configuration or the characteristics of the hardware itself.

Maximum size per partition

The same applies to the maximum size that can be assigned to a partition or volume. In theory, the NTFS file system can handle partitions up to 16 EB, but in practice this limit is almost impossible to achieve. Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019, NTFS allows partitions up to 256 TB; in Windows 11, it can support larger partitions, up to 8 Petabytes (PB).

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Of course, The size of a partition will also be limited depending on whether it is an MBR partition (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table). If you use an MBR partition, the maximum size limit per partition is 2 TB. A GPT partition, on the other hand, can support larger volumes, although it is still limited by the physical capacity of the storage medium and other configurations.

Y How many files and folders can be stored within each partition using the NTFS systemThe number is enormous: 4.294.967.295 files. Of course, system performance can be affected when there are millions of files in a single folder. The good news is that reaching this limit is extremely unlikely, unless you're dealing with server environments with millions of small files, such as logs or emails.

Microsoft File System Limits: File Names and Paths

Windows NTFS file path

El path size and file name length These are two of the limitations of the Microsoft file system that you should be aware of. For one thing, remember that a path includes the drive letter, the colon, and the backslash (C:\), as well as all subsequent folder names, the backslashes between them, and the file name, plus the terminating null character.

Initially, Windows limits paths to 260 characters (MAX_PATH) but, From Windows 10 onwards, paths can be extended up to 32.767 characters.However, some older Windows applications still use paths limited to 260 characters, which can sometimes cause problems when working with long names and encountering the "path is too long" error.

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Likewise, the length of a file or folder name It also has limits within the Microsoft file system: it cannot exceed the 255 characters. For example, on the route C:/Folder/Subfolder/MyFile.txt, "Folder", "Subfolders" and "MyFile.txt" cannot exceed 255 characters each. In addition to the length limit, there are certain characters that are not allowed in NTFS file and folder names. These characters are: \, /, :, *, ?, «, <,>, |.

Compatibility issues with other systems

NTFS on macOS

We continue exploring the limitations of the Microsoft NTFS file system, which you should be aware of if you want to use it at a basic or advanced level. Since it's a native Microsoft system, it's natural that present incompatibility when used in different environments, such as macOS and Linux. Likewise, some mobile phones and gaming consoles are unable to recognize NTFS-formatted drives and hard drives.

For example, the apple computers can read NTFS drives without problems, but They do not allow you to save or write anything to it, at least not natively.. To write to an NTFS formatted drive on macOS, you need to use some third-party software, such as Tux NTFS o Paragon NTFSAdditionally, Microsoft's file system handles advanced permissions that don't always translate correctly to macOS, creating access restrictions from a Mac.

With Linux Something similar happens, since Some of their distributions are able to read and write NTFS drives with the ntfs-3g packageHowever, performance isn't as optimal as when using EXT4 or other native Linux-formatted drives. Similarly, if an NTFS drive has problems and you use a recovery tool in Linux to attempt to repair it, you may not achieve the desired result.

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Another incompatibility issue arises when connecting an NTFS-formatted drive to a mobile phone or video game console. Some Android phones, smart TVs, and media players cannot mount NTFS drives without third-party applications. Also, An NTFS hard drive may not be recognized by a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5., as these consoles prefer the exFAT or FAT32 file systems. An Xbox, on the other hand, would read it without any issues, as they're part of the same Microsoft ecosystem.

Other Microsoft File System Limits

While NTFS is robust and reliable, it's important to be aware of the limitations of the Microsoft file system, especially when working with it in advanced scenarios. In addition to those already mentioned, NTFS drives also have Limitations at the permission and security level, and may present performance problems if 85% of its capacity is exceeded.

While there are alternatives available, such as exFAT, FAT32, or APFS formats, the choice of a file system depends on the specific use and needs of each user. In any case, knowing the limitations of the Microsoft file system will help you Make informed decisions, avoid performance issues, and understand any surprises that you can take with you when using it.