convert fat32 to ntfs question

[Mike Hollywood]

Hi,
I bought a used computer that has XP home on it, and it is FAT 32.
I looked through the help files,
and saw a command that you run from a dos prompt
and it will convert to NTFS. It's a 60 gig hard drive with only about
10 percent used.

Is it safe to convert it? I mean, will it leave the operating system,
programs, and files in tack, or will it reformat the hard drive and
leave me with nothing by an empty ntfs hard drive?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Mike

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I bought a used computer that has XP home on it, and it is FAT 32.
I looked through the help files,
and saw a command that you run from a dos prompt
and it will convert to NTFS. It's a 60 gig hard drive with only about
10 percent used.

Is it safe to convert it? I mean, will it leave the operating system,
programs, and files in tack, or will it reformat the hard drive and
leave me with nothing by an empty ntfs hard drive?

By definition, to "convert" means that all data, programs, etc. are kept
intact. But note that conversion is a big step, affecting everything on
your drive. When you take such a big step, no matter how unlikely, it is
always possible that something could go wrong. For that reason, it's prudent
to make sure you have a backup of anything you can't afford to lose before
beginning.

To convert to NTFS, you use the CONVERT command. But first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I bought a used computer that has XP home on it, and it is FAT 32.
I looked through the help files,
and saw a command that you run from a dos prompt
and it will convert to NTFS. It's a 60 gig hard drive with only
about 10 percent used.

Is it safe to convert it? I mean, will it leave the operating
system, programs, and files in tack, or will it reformat the hard
drive and leave me with nothing by an empty ntfs hard drive?

You've been given good advice about the conversion already - but I feel the
need to point out something..

You bought this USED computer that already has everything on it.
Personally - if I was to buy a used computer, I would WANT to format it and
reinstall because I have NO IDEA what the last owner did/left on there
(good/bad/indifferent) - so you then KNOW what all is there

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,
I bought a used computer that has XP home on it, and it is FAT 32.
I looked through the help files,
and saw a command that you run from a dos prompt
and it will convert to NTFS. It's a 60 gig hard drive with only about
10 percent used.

Is it safe to convert it? I mean, will it leave the operating system,
programs, and files in tack, or will it reformat the hard drive and
leave me with nothing by an empty ntfs hard drive?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Mike

You can safely convert your current hard drive 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

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[Stan Brown]

Thu, 8 Dec 2005 15:55:35 -0700 from Ken Blake, MVP

By definition, to "convert" means that all data, programs, etc. are kept
intact. But note that conversion is a big step, affecting everything on
your drive. When you take such a big step, no matter how unlikely, it is
always possible that something could go wrong. For that reason, it's prudent
to make sure you have a backup of anything you can't afford to lose before
beginning.

To convert to NTFS, you use the CONVERT command. But first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.

Also, as I understand things, there may be issues with permissions
afterward. FAT32 doesn't enforce user-based permissions, and NTFS
does. So a limited user might not be able to run some programs
afterward, or they might not run correctly, until the administrator
tweaks the permissions.

This is something I'd like to educate myself about, viz. the specific
issues of file and registry permissions after running for a few
months (with many installed programs) and then converting to NTFS?

 

[Dragunov]

*Hi,
I bought a used computer that has XP home on it, and it is FAT 32.
I looked through the help files,
and saw a command that you run from a dos prompt
and it will convert to NTFS. It's a 60 gig hard drive with onl
about
10 percent used.

Is it safe to convert it? I mean, will it leave the operatin
system,
programs, and files in tack, or will it reformat the hard drive and
leave me with nothing by an empty ntfs hard drive?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Mike *

Perfectly safe :^) Although, if it were me, I'd kill it then reloa
it.

Draguno


-
Draguno

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Mike Hollywood wrote:

Perfectly safe :^)

A conversion like this is never *perfectly* safe. Although the risk is
small, there is always some risk of losing everything, and for that reason
it's prudent to be sure you have a backup of anything you can't afford to
lose before beginning.

Also, before running the Convert command, Mike should read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.

Although, if it were me, I'd kill it then reload
it.

Same here. If I bought a used computer, the first thing I would do with it
would be to reinstall the operating system cleanly. You have no idea how the
computer has been maintained, what has been installed incorrectly, what is
missing, what viruses and spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live
with somebody else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddie porn,
etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do either.