Is it easy to covert to NTFS in XP Home?

I have a home PC with XP Home running 1 x Admin account, 2 x Limited and 1 x
Guest accounts. I cannot seem to create any private files, as when i go into
(folder)/Propeties/Sharing my "Make this folder private" checkbox is greyed
out. I have been told I will need to covert from FAT or FAt32 to NTFS. What
effect will this have on my current files and programs? Help......Im losing
my sanity

It's easy and you don't lose any of your data.

Look here for the instructions and some background info:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307881


--
Colin Nash
Microsoft MVP
Windows Printing/Imaging/Hardware



"Rick Jones" <trafel@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:%23LxfwKYYEHA.3596@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>I have a home PC with XP Home running 1 x Admin account, 2 x Limited and 1
>x
> Guest accounts. I cannot seem to create any private files, as when i go
> into
> (folder)/Propeties/Sharing my "Make this folder private" checkbox is
> greyed
> out. I have been told I will need to covert from FAT or FAt32 to NTFS.
> What
> effect will this have on my current files and programs? Help......Im
> losing
> my sanity
>
>

Colin's information is only partially correct, since he doesn't account for the fact that you're running XP Home. Yes, it will allow you to convert your file system to NTFS, but XP Home does not expose the same user interface that XP Pro does, as far as file and folder security.

You cannot password protect individual folders in XP. You restrict access by assigning permissions to drives, folders and files.

To do this, you must be running NTFS as your file system on the drive in question. If your hard disk/partition is not NTFS you will need to convert it. To do this, open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command:

CONVERT X: /FS:NTFS

Where X: is the drive letter you wish to convert. You may also want to see http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm to ensure that you're getting the optimal conversion.

After this step is completed and you've rebooted the computer, if necessary:

XP Home: By default, you can only make files and folders under My Documents "private". This is done by right clicking a folder or file and selecting Properties, Sharing. To change the permissions on other folders, you need to boot the computer to Safe Mode and log in on the built in Administrator account. In this mode, you'll see the Security tab in Properties, and you can assign permissions based on user name or group membership.

How Do I Get the Security Tab in Properties - XP Home (makes the Security tab appear outside of Safe Mode)
http://www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips section

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;en-us;308418

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and Folders
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;308419

HOW TO: Disable Simplified Sharing and Password-Protect a Shared Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;307874


--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows Media Center\Windows Powered Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Per user Group Policy Restrictions for XP Home and XP Pro
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

"Rick Jones" <trafel@dodo.com.au> wrote in message news:%23LxfwKYYEHA.3596@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>I have a home PC with XP Home running 1 x Admin account, 2 x Limited and 1 x
> Guest accounts. I cannot seem to create any private files, as when i go into
> (folder)/Propeties/Sharing my "Make this folder private" checkbox is greyed
> out. I have been told I will need to covert from FAT or FAt32 to NTFS. What
> effect will this have on my current files and programs? Help......Im losing
> my sanity
>
>

Greetings --

You can safely convert the partition to NTFS whenever desired,
without having to format the partition and reinstall everything. As
always when performing any serious changes, back up any important data
before proceeding, just in case. A little advance preparation is also
strongly recommended, so you can avoid any performance hits caused by
the default cluster size:

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH


"Rick Jones" <trafel@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:%23LxfwKYYEHA.3596@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> I have a home PC with XP Home running 1 x Admin account, 2 x Limited
and 1 x
> Guest accounts. I cannot seem to create any private files, as when i
go into
> (folder)/Propeties/Sharing my "Make this folder private" checkbox is
greyed
> out. I have been told I will need to covert from FAT or FAt32 to
NTFS. What
> effect will this have on my current files and programs? Help......Im
losing
> my sanity
>
>