A new file system is coming, goodbye NTFS

Very discreetly, Microsoft releases NFTS, a file system that was only launched 30 years ago. Thus, in the latest version of Windows 11, it is ReFS that appears.

the NTFS (New Technology File System) He will gradually see us off. Introduced in 1993 with Windows NT 3.1, it pretty much owned Microsoft’s operating system Democratization with Windows 2000 and Windows XP. So much so that it is so ubiquitous today, that competing operating systems now support it, either natively or using third-party software.

But here it is: Microsoft decided to replace NTFS with another file system called ReFS (Resilient File System). This format was launched in 2012, at the same time as Windows 8, and for a long time this format was reserved for the different versions of Windows Server that followed one another. Since Windows 8.1, it is possible to support ReFS volumes, but it is not possible to install the operating system on them. So users of client versions of Windows could not take advantage of it. but with Windows 11 operating systemThings must change.

Windows 11 supports ReFS, moving away from NTFS?

In the Windows 11 build 25281 (available through the Windows Insider Program Dev channel), it is possible that ReFS support. This feature allows on the one hand to format a secondary hard drive in this format, but also to install the operating system there. Note, however, that turning this option on is still very uncertain at the moment: some users managed to set up Windows 11 on a ReFS partition, while others did not. Also, it is not enabled by default (ID 42189933 must be used under Velocity).

Read also: Windows 11 – File Explorer will get a major facelift

But by the way, what is ReFS? According to Microsoft, ReFS is designed to “maximize data availability, efficiently scale large data sets across diverse workloads, and provide data integrity with resilience against corruption. This system is intended to support more storage scenarios and provide a foundation for future innovations.” Simply put, it is an improved version of NTFS, which makes it easier to manage large amounts of data.

Does this mean that Microsoft will quickly abandon NTFS? Maybe not right away. But it is possible that the file system will be offered in the next versions of Windows 11 at the time of installation. And in the long run, Microsoft prefers it over NTFS, which has been showing its weight over the years when it comes to handling large amounts of data.

If you’d like to take a look at this new Windows 11 feature, Xeno (Tweet below) has released an unofficial “patched” Windows 11 build 25281.