Which operating system (OS) uses the NTFS (New Technology File System) file operating system?

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the standard, proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. It has been the primary file system for its Windows NT family of operating systems since Windows NT 3.1. Windows 8, being a member of this family, uses NTFS as its default file system for system and data partitions. It supports features essential to modern operating systems, including access control lists (ACLs), file system journaling, and encryption. While other operating systems can interact with NTFS partitions via third-party drivers, it is native only to Windows.

A. Linux primarily uses file systems like ext4, Btrfs, or XFS. NTFS support is available but not native.

B. Mac OS X v10.5 uses HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus) as its native file system, not NTFS.

C. Mac OS X v10.4 also uses the HFS+ file system as its native file system.

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1. Official Vendor Documentation: Microsoft Corporation. (2023). NTFS overview. Microsoft Learn. Retrieved from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/ntfs-overview. (This document explicitly states, "NTFS is the primary file system for recent versions of Windows and Windows Server.")

2. Peer-reviewed Academic Publication: Carrier, B. (2005). File System Forensic Analysis. Addison-Wesley Professional. In Chapter 10, "NTFS Concepts," the introduction states, "The New Technology File System (NTFS) is the primary file system for Microsoft's Windows NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7, and 8 operating systems." (p. 269).

3. University Courseware: O'Hallaron, D. R., & Bryant, R. E. (2015). Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective (3rd ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 9, "Virtual Memory," the text discusses file systems used by major operating systems, identifying NTFS with Windows, HFS+ with macOS, and the ext family with Linux. (Section 9.9). This textbook is widely used in university curricula, including at institutions like Carnegie Mellon University.