Convert to NTFS

[Mike W.]

Hey y'all,

I want to convert my additional drive partitions to NTFS (C:/ is already
done at install of XP).

How safe is the 'convert option?

Any drawbacks compared to a re-format?

TIA,

Mike W.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Mike,

How safe is the 'convert option?

Not too dangerous, most conversions go very smoothly.

Any drawbacks compared to a re-format?

Nope, nothing worse than losing all your data.

Seriously now, you should still backup any data that is critical to you
before proceeding., just in case. For the most part, the switch is harmless.
Just open a command prompt (start/run cmd) and run "convert <drive:>
/fs:ntfs" to begin. If a drive is in use, you will be prompted to dismount
it first (you can't convert it while it's being accessed).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I want to convert my additional drive partitions to NTFS (C:/ is
already done at install of XP).

How safe is the 'convert option?

Any drawbacks compared to a re-format?

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 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.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You can safely convert your 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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