convert ntfs to fat 32?

[Machine Messiah]

We've got an Xp machine that seems fried. BSOD at boot, convert to prior
configuration doesn't work. Pc was a hand-me-down and came without an XP
cd of any sort (doubt they realize they were supposed to hang onto that).
We have a lot more experience with Win98SE and tried to install that.
That's no go either because the machine insists it only has a 54 mb hd
(it's 30 gigs). Is there anyway to tell what if this machine was using
fat 32 or ntfs? Is there a freeware tool that will partition the drive to
fat 32?
I think this machine has more problems than the os won't start. The
motherboard fan disintigrated when we blew the dirt and cobwebs out with
compressed air (we replaced the fan already). We tried putting in a hd
with a working os (98se) but the drive wasn't recognized.
Any ideas?
TIA.

 

[Guest]

You cannot convert NTFS to FAT32, so...
if you dont mind loosing the data

boot your computer with the harddisk in it and a windows 98 boot disk (hopefully your floppy drive is first in the bios boot order)

choose Start with cd rom support
at the A:\, type: fdisk
select "yes" for large disk support
from here you can display the current file system and all partition information
and choose to remove a partition and create a new one

note: you will have to remove logical drives then partitions, dont worry about messing it up your gonna loose it anyways.

to create a windows 98 boot disk
got to a win98 computer
start, settings, control panel, add/remove programs, startup disk, create disk

after you have completed the creation of you new FAT32 parition

boot your computer once again and start win98 installation

 

[Barry Watzman]

You need to consider that machine "toast" as a working system, and every
part in it as "suspect", including the cpu, motherboard, memory, hard
drive and power supply. What you have now is a hardware problem, not a
software problem. However, once you find out what's good and replace
what's bad, you need to just "blow away" the hard drive and start over
-- completely.

XP is a better OS than 98, but if you are more comfortable with 98, you
could install either 98 or both 98 and XP in a dual boot configuration.
To do this, I'd recommend:

Install 98 on C:, FAT32, probably an 8 gig partition
Install XP on D:, FAT32, probably about a 12 gig partition
Use the rest of the drive as an E: partition for data (common to both 98
and XP), FAT32

I'd advise against creating FAT32 partitions larger than 16 gigs

XP is not tied to NTFS and can be installed on and will recognize FAT32
partitions. However, 98 works only with FAT and FAT32 partitions, and
won't even see NTFS partitions at all.

 

[neil]

Sounds like you need to boot using a win98se bootdisk then type "fdisk" at
the command prompt. You will need to select "delete primary partition" then
create a new partition that is FAT32. You may be best rebooting between
delete & create.

best of luck

Neil

 

[neil]

Not necessarily true...........

You need to consider that machine "toast" as a working system, and every
part in it as "suspect", including the cpu, motherboard, memory, hard
drive and power supply. What you have now is a hardware problem, not a
software problem. However, once you find out what's good and replace
what's bad, you need to just "blow away" the hard drive and start over
-- completely.

XP is a better OS than 98, but if you are more comfortable with 98, you
could install either 98 or both 98 and XP in a dual boot configuration.
To do this, I'd recommend:

Install 98 on C:, FAT32, probably an 8 gig partition
Install XP on D:, FAT32, probably about a 12 gig partition
Use the rest of the drive as an E: partition for data (common to both 98
and XP), FAT32

I'd advise against creating FAT32 partitions larger than 16 gigs

XP is not tied to NTFS and can be installed on and will recognize FAT32
partitions. However, 98 works only with FAT and FAT32 partitions, and
won't even see NTFS partitions at all.

 

[sgopus]

Sorry this won't work!!

98 doesn't see NTFS.

You would either need a W2k install cd, or NTDOS disk
to see the NTFS partition. you can download a boot floppy
image from the net.
http://www.bootdisk.com

Good luck!

-----Original Message-----
You cannot convert NTFS to FAT32, so...
if you dont mind loosing the data

boot your computer with the harddisk in it and a windows

98 boot disk (hopefully your floppy drive is first in the
bios boot order)

choose Start with cd rom support
at the A:\, type: fdisk
select "yes" for large disk support
from here you can display the current file system and all partition information
and choose to remove a partition and create a new one

note: you will have to remove logical drives then

partitions, dont worry about messing it up your gonna
loose it anyways.

 

[TT]

We've got an Xp machine that seems fried. BSOD at boot, convert to prior
configuration doesn't work. Pc was a hand-me-down and came without an XP
cd of any sort (doubt they realize they were supposed to hang onto that).
We have a lot more experience with Win98SE and tried to install that.
That's no go either because the machine insists it only has a 54 mb hd
(it's 30 gigs). Is there anyway to tell what if this machine was using
fat 32 or ntfs? Is there a freeware tool that will partition the drive to
fat 32?
I think this machine has more problems than the os won't start. The
motherboard fan disintigrated when we blew the dirt and cobwebs out with
compressed air (we replaced the fan already). We tried putting in a hd
with a working os (98se) but the drive wasn't recognized.
Any ideas?
TIA.

motherboard fan??? Does the Northbridge have a a fan on it? If so,
thats not an old board...may be under warranty still...
just my $.02...

 

[Barry Watzman]

I'm not saying that it IS toast, I'm saying that it's sufficiently
suspect that it needs to be regarded that way until each major component
in that system is tested and found to be good (or bad).

Which IS necessarily true.

 

[XS11E]

-----Original Message-----

98 boot disk (hopefully your floppy drive is first in the
bios boot order)
partitions, dont worry about messing it up your gonna
loose it anyways.

Sorry this won't work!!

98 doesn't see NTFS.

It works, fdisk sees the NTFS partitions as non-dos partitions and will
delete them. BTDT!

 

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

It works, fdisk sees the NTFS partitions as non-dos partitions and will
delete them. BTDT!

That's because, strictly speaking, FDisk isn't (looking at the world
of) Win98 - it's a system-level tool. The system level is the bedrock
on what any number of OSs ride, but is not in itself part of any OS.

It starts with BIOS POST and ends when BIOS (through its proxy, the
system-level MBR code) boots an OS.

The OS begins within the boot volume, from the boot code of that
volume. Unlike diskettes, hard drives can contain multiple boot
volumes on the same physical "disk" (drive), and the MBR code is what
locates and runs the one that is marked active.

-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking
a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol.