NTFS/FAT32 Compatibility?

A friend told me that if i want to network, say, two PCs together, that for all the folders to be shared equally they all have to be the same file system. Is it possible to network them together if one uses NTFS and the other uses FAT32? Can one hard drive in one PC be FAT32 and the other NTFS?

Also, my ethernet cables, card, and hub were bought used with no software. Is there a way to make the connections using Windows' own networking software? All the networking gear is made by NetGear.

 

The Hardware does not need its own software. The Actual Network software is part of Windows.

Log to this page it has a lot of links to instructions to Windows Network Settings, and Sharing.

Link to: Windows Network - Installing & Sharing.

Ethernet is Ethernet it does not care what the OS you are using, you can even exchange files with iMAC.

You can Not run the files through the Network if it is of different formats. However you can copy and transfer with no problem.

 

Just to expand on what cat5e said, your friend is mistaken. NTFS and FAT32 are just different ways that data is stored on a hard drive. Data and networking protocols transmitted over a network are independent of the file system on the various PCs on that network. For example the TCP/IP protocol and the mpeg file format are the same regardless of the platform or the file system.