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NTFS Files Maintain FAT Attributes

Article ID: 96621 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q96621

SUMMARY

The Windows NT NTFS file system maintains FAT-style (that is, MS-DOS-style) file attributes as well as Windows NT security information. Unlike NTFS permissions, which are particular to a specific user or group of users, FAT attributes are global for all users.

When you store a file on an NTFS drive with Windows NT, you can set its NTFS permissions by using the Permissions option of the Security menu in File Manager. You can set FAT style attributes (read-only, hidden, system, and archive) by choosing Properties from the File menu of File Manager or from an MS-DOS command prompt with the ATTRIB command. FAT attributes are maintained separately and are not listed in the Permissions dialog box.

Note: FAT attributes take precedence over NTFS attributes. If a user has Full Access (NTFS) privileges to a particular file but the read- only (FAT) attribute is enabled, the user cannot modify or delete the file until the read-only attribute is disabled. Any FAT attributes set before a file is copied from FAT or HPFS drives to an NTFS drive are copied as well.