- ReFS offers low security and poor compression, which is not optimal for OS.
- There is no support for applications. It can only be used for storage, which would be expensive.
- NTFS replaced ReFS.
Reasons Why Microsoft is Removing ReFS from Windows
1. You Can’t Install OS on a ReFS partition
The first limitation of ReFS is that it doesn’t support the installation of any OS, not even Windows Server editions. ReFS currently only serves one purpose: storing data. Windows or Linux can’t identify a ReFS drive as bootable.
2. Limited Compression & Encryption Support
ReFS doesn’t support file-level compression and encryption in its current version, and its support for Windows Bit-locker is a little finicky, unlike NTFS, which is fully compatible.
Compression is essential for someone with a lot of data, and encryption is crucial for protecting sensitive data.
3. Performance Restrictions
Unlike its NTFS counterpart, ReFS consumes more system resources and significantly impacts a disk’s IOP. This is not a factor in a server environment, but on a standard PC, it can impact usage.
The bigger the ReFS disk array, the more RAM, processor cycles, and disk IOPs it will use to check file integrity.
4. Apps Cannot Be Installed
In line with the first reason, a ReFS drive does not support installing apps or programs. This is because ReFS does not support hard links.
Few programs allow installation on ReFS disks, but they even experience problems while running.
5. Profits Profits and more Profits
The last reason isn’t technical but has more to do with business strategy. Like Windows 10 S is only available pre-installed on a Surface laptop, Microsoft wants to use this tactic to coerce users to upgrade from Pro to Pro Workstation and increase sales.
While optimizing an OS for the vast server hardware is expensive, disabling features already available in an edition is undoubtedly not consumer-friendly.
What Should I Do If I Have ReFS Drive?
Your data will not go anywhere if you already have a disk or VHD formatted in ReFS. Microsoft is disabling the ability to create new ReFS disks, and you can still access ReFS drives.
What is ReFS?
ReFS is a new file system that Microsoft introduced in 2012 as an alternative to/successor to the popular and old NTFS we all use. It had new improvements, like support for longer file names, and was much more resilient to data corruption in a multi-disk array. However, many of its new features came at the expense of some basic features, elaborated below.
