WinXP: NTFS or FAT32 installation?

[Megalanuth]

I grabbed a copy of WinXP Pro, after having read the positive statements form other XP users on SF. I read over and over 'It's been able to handle every game and program I throw at it.' So, I installed XP with an NTFS format, hoping to get the most out of it. Now, I experience lots of game incompatibilities, for example:
Thief 2 refuses to run cutscenes, won't even start if XP compatibility is active;
American McGee's Alice plays sound with LOTS of static, or no sound at all;
Giants: Citizen Kabuto plays all sound with an EAX setting making it sound like it's in a metal warehouse. It's pretty, but the game is outdoors, so this doesn't sound right;
Black and White occasionally vanishes without explanation, no errors, no complaints, just no longer running, and it's diagnostic tool from EA detects nearly nothing in the system due to an NT format;
XP complains that several hardware driver upgrades, written for XP, do not have an XP digital signature and therefore are not XP compatible and definately should not be installed at risk of corrupting the system.

I've only been running XP for a week. I'm not even halfway to restoring my backed up files and programs from my old system and already I wonder if I should stop and reformat my drive again. It's frustrating since I coughed up the $300 in the hopes of never having to erase another hardrive. (MY 19 gig runnning Win98SE had to be reformatted about twice a year without fail.)
Do these problems sound like an OS problem? Did I do the wrong type of installation? XP users, which installation do you prefer, especially those of you who play many games?
Or perhaps my XP settings need some fine tuning? Or maybe it's a hardware incompatibility?
I was guessing it's the OS since the only error message I actually get to read complains about an NT system. (Funny, since the OS requirements for that game say win98/2000/ME.)
Let me know what you all think.

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[Tuf]

Sorry to hear of your troubles moving over to XP. I originaly upgraded a new Laptop that was running Me, it ran everythiing well was significantly faster and more reliable. So I reformatted the drive and spent a day reloading all my productivity software and new drivers. It now runs even better.
Sounds to me you may having more driver issues than OS problems. I certainly wouldn't think that NTFS would make any real difference to an Ap.
I would make sure I have hardware drivers that are written for XP. Maybe check the Game Makers websites to see if there are updates to run on XP. Some software require their own DLL files to run properly and XP may not allow the Apps to replace MS's version for thier own. I am not a gamer so there may be some other suggestions these guys here can make to help.
Best of Luck,
Tuf

[Azkikr]

I wouldn't think that there is a problem with the NTFS partitions on the computer, but rather how the operating system handles the NTFS structure. I would install Window 2000 if you have it with NTFS partitions and see if you have the same problem.

Try re-installing the OS and using the set up utility to make and format the partitions from scratch. When in doubt go back to basics.

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[DJBeanPole17]

It says on the Windows XP website for installing and formatting, that generally, if your HD is less that 32 GBs, you should use FAT32 - but if its more than 32GB, and you want better file security, etc, the use the NTFS or whatever it is.... yea.

The beanPoel*

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[SilverNitro]

It is not the NTFS thats causing you the problem. It is the drivers.

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