Set-up and file system change

[Guest]

I plan to upgrade from W98SE to XPProf(with S.P.2). There are 2 H.D.'s in my
system. Iwant to format C and on D I have all the XP compatible drivers to
install. When I format C I assume I will be given the opportunity to set up
the NTFS file system on C. Will I be given the same oppurtinity for D and if
I do change the file system on D will it effect my data. If the data is
effected can I leave it as FAT 32 , install the drivers when required and
then convert the file system.
I ran the M.S system analyzer and everything seems compatible with XP.
Thanks for the help.
Chas

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

Your assumption is correct.

To convert a FAT or FAT32 disk to NTFS format, use the command-line
Convert utility. This utility uses the following syntax:

convert d: /fs:ntfs

You cannot do the reverse.

I would suggest you back up your data to CD just incase something goes
wrong.

Windows XP will read FAT23 volumes without difficulty, the only
advantage in coverting to NTFS would be smaller cluster sizes and the
ability to use EFS encryption (but be careful with this as you could
end up being unable to access your data files entirely).

Look at:-
http://tinyurl.com/4ucsp
http://tinyurl.com/9xmvk
for more information on EFS and its dangers.

 

[Ron Martell]

I plan to upgrade from W98SE to XPProf(with S.P.2). There are 2 H.D.'s in my
system. Iwant to format C and on D I have all the XP compatible drivers to
install. When I format C I assume I will be given the opportunity to set up
the NTFS file system on C. Will I be given the same oppurtinity for D and if
I do change the file system on D will it effect my data. If the data is
effected can I leave it as FAT 32 , install the drivers when required and
then convert the file system.
I ran the M.S system analyzer and everything seems compatible with XP.
Thanks for the help.
Chas

I don't understand your concerns about preserving data if you plan on
formatting both drives. Formatting destroys everything on the drive
so there is nothing to preserve.

The file system used by a drive has no effect on the usabiliity or
accessibility of the data stored on that drive, unless the file and
folder level security features of NTFS are used to protect specific
data items.

You can convert the existing partitions from FAT32 to NTFS by using
the CONVERT utility that comes with Windows XP. However using this
utility will almost certainly result in the NTFS drives using a
less-than-optimal 512 byte cluster size because of partition alignment
considerations with FAT32 partitions. In order to successfully
convert FAT32 partitions to NTFS and avoid the small cluster size it
is first necessary to align the existing partitions correctly for
NTFS, a task which requires a special partitioning utility such as
Partition Magic (Symantec) or BootItNG (www.bootitng.com).

For further information see the article on converting partitions to
NTFS by the late Alex Nichol, MVP at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Guest]

Thanks Greenie and Ron for your prompt replies to my request . I guess I
wasn,t too clear. I mean to format C on which drive I am installing XP and
leave Drive D as it is so that I can extract the drivers after XP is
installed. I wasn't sure if XP could read FAT 32 , but as was pointed-out it
can.
Thanks again
Chas