No need to reinstall. Just convert the FAT drive to NTFS.
Go to Start -> Run and enter cmd.exe in the Open box.
At the prompt type Convert X: /fs:ntfs where X is the drive
letter you want to convert.
Keep in mind that this is a one way process. Once you "convert"
the drive to NTFS the only way to go back to FAT32 is to format
the drive. You'd need to backup the contents of the drive and
restore any files and folders you saved after the format. Also,
if this computer was dual booting with Window 95/98/ME the NTFS
drive would not be visible from the earlier operating system.
Before you convert the drive, you might want to find out why
the drive was formatted FAT32 in the first place. Was it
shipped from the factory this way? If so, there may be a reason
the manufacturer installed XP on a FAT32 partition. You might
want to check this out before making any changes.
Take a look at these articles for more info:
How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file
system in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307881
How to Use Convert.exe to Convert a Partition to the NTFS File
System
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;314097
How to Convert FAT Disks to NTFS
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/convertfat.mspx
Before you dive into encrypting files, make sure you are
thoroughly familiar with the process especially the need to
backup your encryption certificates. These newsgroups are
littered with sad tales from people who can't recover their
encrypted files.
With that in mind, here's an article you might want to add to
your Favorites:
Recover an encrypted file or folder without your file
encryption certificate
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/5500edef-4716-4cb8-bee9-9eea586bc7031033.mspx
Good luck
Nepatsfan
(e-mail address removed),
