Convert FAT32 to NTFS

[ctowers]

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to convert Windows XP
from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: < http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html > which
states:
=======
If you've been hanging onto your old FAT32 hard-disk format, it's high time
you switched to NTFS. Besides being faster and more secure, NTFS also gives
you encryption, folder and disk compression, and other superior features.
About the only reason to stick with FAT or FAT32 is if you need to be able
to access your disk from DOS or Windows 98 (puh-leaze!)
Don't worry; you can switch to NTFS without reformatting your hard disk and
restoring your apps and data from a backup. Just choose Start, Run, type
cmd.exe, and press <Enter> to open a Command Prompt window. Now type convert
followed by a space, the drive letter, a colon, another space, and finally
/fs:ntfs. For example, enter convert c: /fs:ntfs if you want to convert your
C: drive to NTFS.
=======
A few months ago I purchased a new notebook with XP MCE2005 that uses the
FAT32 format and my questions are "should I convert it to NTFS?", "should
any precautions be taken?" and "is there any risk?".

 

[Jim]

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to convert Windows
XP
from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: < http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html >
which
states:
=======
If you've been hanging onto your old FAT32 hard-disk format, it's high
time
you switched to NTFS. Besides being faster and more secure, NTFS also
gives
you encryption, folder and disk compression, and other superior features.
About the only reason to stick with FAT or FAT32 is if you need to be able
to access your disk from DOS or Windows 98 (puh-leaze!)
Don't worry; you can switch to NTFS without reformatting your hard disk
and
restoring your apps and data from a backup. Just choose Start, Run, type
cmd.exe, and press <Enter> to open a Command Prompt window. Now type
convert
followed by a space, the drive letter, a colon, another space, and finally
/fs:ntfs. For example, enter convert c: /fs:ntfs if you want to convert
your
C: drive to NTFS.
=======
A few months ago I purchased a new notebook with XP MCE2005 that uses the
FAT32 format and my questions are "should I convert it to NTFS?", "should
any precautions be taken?" and "is there any risk?".

Yes
Yes
Yes

Make backups of all important data before embarking on any potentially
hazardous operation such as this one.

Also, before starting the procedure, investigate how and whether to increase
the disk allocation size. The above instructions keep this value at 512
bytes, but you may find better performance with a larger number.

Jim

 

[DL]

NTFS is more secure/efficient and is reccommended for win2k/winxp
It is completely bizare that any supplier should supply a PC formated in
FAT32
As allways, wise to backup data.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[John John]

You should take necessary precautions so that you do not end up with 512
byte clusters after the conversion. You want to align the partition
before you convert to NTFS. Make sure you have a backup of your data
before you proceed, if things go bad during the conversion you may lose
all your data! Also, regardless of what PC World says, NTFS is not
necessarily faster than FAT32. Read here before you proceed:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

John

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to convert
Windows XP from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: < http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html

I'm not a fan of any of these magazines and this article is a good example
of why. It misses a very important point, that simply doing as they suggest
will very likely have you end up with 512-byte clusters instead of the
default 4K ones, with a consequent hit in performance.

Converting to NTFS is a good idea, but first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm for information on how to overcome the
cluster size problem.

Also 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.

 

[Nepatsfan]

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to
convert Windows XP from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: <
http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html
If you've been hanging onto your old FAT32 hard-disk format,
it's high time you switched to NTFS. Besides being faster
and more secure, NTFS also gives you encryption, folder and
disk compression, and other superior features. About the
only reason to stick with FAT or FAT32 is if you need to be
able to access your disk from DOS or Windows 98 (puh-leaze!)
Don't worry; you can switch to NTFS without reformatting
your hard disk and restoring your apps and data from a
backup. Just choose Start, Run, type cmd.exe, and press
<Enter> to open a Command Prompt window. Now type convert
followed by a space, the drive letter, a colon, another
space, and finally /fs:ntfs. For example, enter convert c:
/fs:ntfs if you want to convert your C: drive to NTFS.
======= A few months ago I purchased a new notebook with XP
MCE2005
that uses the FAT32 format and my questions are "should I
convert it to NTFS?", "should any precautions be taken?" and
"is there any risk?".

You might want to check with your laptop's manufacturer to see
if there's a reason why they used FAT32. It's possible that the
method for restoring the operating system
requires a FAT32 partition. If your laptop did not come with an
XP installation CD and
you convert to NTFS, you may have problems should you need to
reinstall XP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[ctowers]

You might want to check with your laptop's manufacturer to see if there's
a reason why they used FAT32. It's possible that the method for restoring
the operating system
requires a FAT32 partition. If your laptop did not come with an XP
installation CD and
you convert to NTFS, you may have problems should you need to reinstall
XP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Bingo!
The manufacturer [Acer] partitioned the drive into "c:", "d:", and a hidden
partition.
The first time I started the computer, I was urged to backup the factory OS
using their internal software "eRecovery Management", there was no
installation CD.
I don't understand why that was a reason for them to use FAT32, but it
looks like I should leave well enough alone!
Thanks.

 

[DL]

The fact that it has two partitions is not an explanation as to why they
used FAT32.
If you perform a destructive recovery it will recover to however the
recovery was configured

You might want to check with your laptop's manufacturer to see if there's
a reason why they used FAT32. It's possible that the method for restoring
the operating system
requires a FAT32 partition. If your laptop did not come with an XP
installation CD and
you convert to NTFS, you may have problems should you need to reinstall
XP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Bingo!
The manufacturer [Acer] partitioned the drive into "c:", "d:", and a hidden
partition.
The first time I started the computer, I was urged to backup the factory OS
using their internal software "eRecovery Management", there was no
installation CD.
I don't understand why that was a reason for them to use FAT32, but it
looks like I should leave well enough alone!
Thanks.

 

[Nepatsfan]

You might want to check with your laptop's manufacturer to
see if there's a reason why they used FAT32. It's possible
that the method for restoring the operating system
requires a FAT32 partition. If your laptop did not come
with an XP installation CD and
you convert to NTFS, you may have problems should you need
to reinstall XP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Bingo!
The manufacturer [Acer] partitioned the drive into "c:",
"d:", and a hidden partition.
The first time I started the computer, I was urged to backup
the factory OS using their internal software "eRecovery
Management", there was no installation CD.
I don't understand why that was a reason for them to use
FAT32, but it looks like I should leave well enough alone!
Thanks.

I'm not familiar with the procedure but looking at the
documentation on their web site concerning eRecovery
Management, it sounds like the partitions need to be FAT32 if
you want to restore using a backup image stored on the hard
drive.

From Acer's web site
eRecovery Management, check out page 14
https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer eRecovery Management.pdf

As I suggested earlier, you might want to check with Acer to
see what the consequences would be if you converted both C and
D to NTFS. It's possible that some of the recovery options for
your laptop wipe the hard drive prior to reinstalling the
operating system.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[koffeedude]

One thing you should be aware of, if you have XP Home. If you change
to NTFS you can't give permissions to users for programs you install.
My original XP Home was installed on FAT32 because the tech didn't
trust NTFS and I was new and didn't know any better. I bought a book
on XP and followed all the rules for permissions and was successful.
By the time I bought a computer for my wife I decided on NTFS and found
that the only way we could use programs we installed was to be in an
Admin profile. Not a good way to do daily computer work. I had it
changed to FAT32 and was able to give permissions to her profile to use
all the programs she wanted. If you have XP PRO this doesn't apply.
Koffeedude

 

[Bruce Chambers]

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to convert Windows XP
from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: < http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html > which
states:
=======

Not the best way to do it....

=======
A few months ago I purchased a new notebook with XP MCE2005 that uses the
FAT32 format and my questions are "should I convert it to NTFS?", "should
any precautions be taken?" and "is there any risk?".

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, so support for files larger than 4 Gb
(videos, anyone?), and a lot of wasted hard drive space on volumes
larger than 8 Gb in size. (Just try finding a hard drive that small,
nowadays.) The only reason I can think of to remain with FAT32 would be
if you anticipated a high likelihood of having to connect that external
drive to a Win9x machine. But your computing needs may vary, and there
is no hard and fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is
difficult, but has been handled quite well by the late Alex Nichol in
the article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

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

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[ctowers]

"ctowers" <[email protected]> wrote in message

An article in PC World suggests a relatively easy way to
convert Windows XP from FAT32 to NTFS:
See: <
http://pcworld.com/article/id,127734-page,4-c,xp/article.html
which states: =======
If you've been hanging onto your old FAT32 hard-disk
format, it's high time you switched to NTFS. Besides being faster
and more secure, NTFS also gives you encryption, folder and
disk compression, and other superior features. About the
only reason to stick with FAT or FAT32 is if you need to be
able to access your disk from DOS or Windows 98
(puh-leaze!) Don't worry; you can switch to NTFS without
reformatting your hard disk and restoring your apps and data from a
backup. Just choose Start, Run, type cmd.exe, and press
<Enter> to open a Command Prompt window. Now type convert
followed by a space, the drive letter, a colon, another
space, and finally /fs:ntfs. For example, enter convert c:
/fs:ntfs if you want to convert your C: drive to NTFS.
======= A few months ago I purchased a new notebook with
XP MCE2005 that uses the FAT32 format and my questions are "should I
convert it to NTFS?", "should any precautions be taken?"
and "is there any risk?".

You might want to check with your laptop's manufacturer to
see if there's a reason why they used FAT32. It's possible
that the method for restoring the operating system
requires a FAT32 partition. If your laptop did not come
with an XP installation CD and
you convert to NTFS, you may have problems should you need
to reinstall XP.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Bingo!
The manufacturer [Acer] partitioned the drive into "c:",
"d:", and a hidden partition.
The first time I started the computer, I was urged to backup
the factory OS using their internal software "eRecovery
Management", there was no installation CD.
I don't understand why that was a reason for them to use
FAT32, but it looks like I should leave well enough alone!
Thanks.

I'm not familiar with the procedure but looking at the documentation on
their web site concerning eRecovery Management, it sounds like the
partitions need to be FAT32 if you want to restore using a backup image
stored on the hard drive.

From Acer's web site
eRecovery Management, check out page 14
https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer eRecovery Management.pdf

As I suggested earlier, you might want to check with Acer to see what the
consequences would be if you converted both C and D to NTFS. It's possible
that some of the recovery options for your laptop wipe the hard drive
prior to reinstalling the operating system.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

I'm not going to make a change without there being a way to recover the OS
should something go wrong. At this point I don't believe additional
questions and answers will get me closer to that goal.

The manufacturer must have had a valid reason for deciding on the system
they used and I'll probably need additional software before I'm able to make
a switch.

 

[Gordon]

ctowers wrote:

I'm not going to make a change without there being a way to recover the OS
should something go wrong. At this point I don't believe additional
questions and answers will get me closer to that goal.

The manufacturer must have had a valid reason for deciding on the system
they used and I'll probably need additional software before I'm able to
make a switch.

if you have a Recovery CD then it will just "recover" the system. Doesn't
matter what the HDD is formatted in. You could have Linux on it, the
Recovery CD will still "recover" the system. (As long as it doesn't need a
hidden partition that has been deleted....)

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Gordon

Do you understand the implications of what is in this link?

From Acer's web site
eRecovery Management, check out page 14
https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer eRecovery Management.pdf

Please explain so that the rest of us can understand?

--

Regards.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gordon]

Gordon

Do you understand the implications of what is in this link?

From Acer's web site
eRecovery Management, check out page 14
https://www.synapsenow.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer eRecovery Management.pdf

Please explain so that the rest of us can understand?

I have *NO* idea how that page is relevant to this thread. Could you
enlighten please?

On a different note, I actually have an Acer F1. The Recovery CD that is
supplied has in the past, replaced a Linux system with XP Pro.

 

[ctowers]

On a different note, I actually have an Acer F1. The Recovery CD that
is supplied has in the past, replaced a Linux system with XP Pro.

There is a difference Gordon, the computer we are discussing was not
supplied with a CD.
An image was created on (2) DVD's using the "eRecovery Management" program
when the computer was first turned on.

I don't know enough about it and you may be right. Please explain how would
you go about converting the drive(s)?

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Gordon

The page is part of the Manual for the computer belonging
to the person who started this thread!

What did you think it was? A Doctor Who Annual?


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Gordon]

Gordon

The page is part of the Manual for the computer belonging
to the person who started this thread!

What did you think it was? A Doctor Who Annual?

Ok so I missed that bit of the thread.....