# NTFS file system interface module

The NTFS FSIM lets EVMS users create and manage Windows® NT® file systems from within the EVMS interfaces.

## Creating NTFS file systems

NTFS file systems can be created with `mkfs` on any EVMS or compatibility volume that is at least 1 MB in size and that does not already have a file system. The following options are available for creating NTFS file systems:

label

  Specify a volume label for the file system. The default is none.

cluster-size

  Specify the size of clusters in bytes. Valid cluster size values are powers of two, with at least 256, and at most 65536 bytes per cluster. If omitted, mkntfs cluster-size is determined by the volume size. The value is determined as follows:

      Volume size	Default cluster

      0-512 MB	512 bytes
      512 MB-1 GB	1024 bytes
      1 GB-2 GB	2048 bytes
      2 GB+		4096 bytes

mft-zone-mult

  Set the MFT zone multiplier, which determines the size of the MFT zone to use on the volume. The MFT zone is the area at the beginning of the volume reserved for the master file table (MFT), which stores the on disk inodes (MFT records). Note that small files are stored entirely within the node. Thus, if you expect to use the volume for storing large numbers of very small files, it is useful to set the zone multiplier to a higher value. Note that the MFT zone is resized on the fly as required during operation of the NTFS driver, but choosing a good value will reduce fragmentation. Valid values are 12.5 (the default), 25, 37.5, and 50.

compress

  Enable compression on the volume.

quick

  Perform quick format. This skips both zeroing of the volume and bad sector checking.

## Fixing NTFS file systems

The NTFS FSIM can run the `ntfsfix` utility on an NTFS file system.

`ntfsfix` fixes NTFS partitions altered in any manner with the Linux NTFS driver. `ntfsfix` is not a Linux version of `chkdsk`. `ntfsfix` only tries to leave the NTFS partition in a not-so-inconsistent state after the NTFS driver has written to it.

Running `ntfsfix` after mounting an NTFS volume read-write is recommended for reducing the chance of severe data loss when Windows NT or Windows 2000 tries to remount the affected volume.

In order to use `ntfsfix`, you must unmount the NTFS volume. After running `ntfsfix`, you can safely reboot into Windows NT or Windows 2000. Please note that `ntfsfix` is not an `fsck`-like tool. `ntfsfix` is not guaranteed to fix all the alterations provoked by the NTFS driver.

The following option is available for running `ntfsfix` on an NTFS file system:

force

  Force `ntfsfix` to write changes even if it detects that the file system is dirty. The default is false.

## Cloning NTFS file systems

The NTFS FSIM can run the `ntfsclone` utility to copy an NTFS file system from one volume to another. `ntfsclone` is faster than `dd` because it only copies the files and the file system data instead of the entire contents of the volume.

The following options are available for running `ntfsclone` on an NTFS file system:

target

  The volume onto which the file system should be cloned.

force

  Force `ntfsclone` to copy the file system even if it detects that the volume is dirty. The default is false.

## Removing NTFS file systems

An NTFS file system can be removed from its volume if the file system is unmounted. This operation involves erasing the superblock from the volume so the file system will not be recognized in the future. There are no options available for removing file systems.

## Expanding and shrinking NTFS file systems

An NTFS file system is automatically expanded or shrunk when its volume is expanded for shrunk. However, NTFS only allows these operations if the volume is unmounted.