HDD setup

[jb03952]

Im runnign winXP pro with ntfs file system , i heard fat32 is a lot faster , should I convert to fat 32 ? Also my bios can change which mode the hdd runs in (lba, chs, large) which of those 3 is best . I have WD 80 gig . i have a windows sytem partition (C then a extended partion then D: for data . Do i need that extended one in there ? I download a lot of movies and games in a bunch rar file parts and save them to D: but when i unrar them my system gets really really slow to deal with so i have to sit back and wait instead of multitasking what can i do about this .

 

[John]

Set HDD to auto, or use LBA if you wish
NTFS
one big c:

 

[jb03952]

so LBA is the best mode ? why ntfs ? I heard its mroe secure and what not but I might want to trade that for better speed , i;ve read soem hard drive reviews which test them in ntfs and fat32 in win 2000 and fat 32 seems a lot faster , is it different for XP ?