Convert vs Format NTFS

[Guest]

Question...

I already converted my HD from FAT32 to NFTS. I ran the "fsutil fsinfo
ntfsinfo c:" and it shows my cluster size of 4096 KB. BootIT NG also confirms
the 4KB cluster size.

So..Is that all I needed to do? Is there an advantage of formatting a HD
directly as NTFS?

Is the convert command (with the 4KB cluster size) enough or will a
re-format give better security, performance etc.?

P.S. I already converted to NTFS!

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

That's all you need to do. 4,096 is the optimum cluster size for NTFS. On odd occassions, the Convert command will give you a 512 cluster, due to the alignment (starting position) of the Partition. BootIt NG actually takes this into account, and if you tell it to create a new partition and format it using FAT32, one of the options is to "Align for NTFS conversion". If Convert gave you a 4,096 cluster size, formatting directly will not give you any better performance.

 

[Rich Barry]

Conversion to NTFS is like converting from Methodist to Baptist.
Either way your still a Christian.

 

[Leythos]

That's all you need to do. 4,096 is the optimum cluster size for NTFS. On odd occassions, the Convert command will give you a 512 cluster, due to the alignment (starting position) of the Partition. BootIt NG actually takes this into account, and if you tell it to create a new partition and format it using FAT32, one of the options is to "Align for NTFS conversion". If Convert gave you a 4,096 cluster size, formatting directly will not give you any better

performance.


That's only partly true - Optimal for the "Norm" is more like it. In the
case of a large database setup, larger cluster sizes is better. In the
case of a lot of SMALL files, smaller 512byte cluster sizes is better.

It's all about the average size of files and how much slack space you
want to waste.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the answer. The HD was formatted as FAT32 with Win XP and that's
why I believe I got the 4 KB cluster in one go.

Thanks again!

 

[Lil' Dave]

Its been said the convert will normally take 4KB cluster size.

I started from scratch, no partition etc. Used the XP HE install CD to
create and format a 26GB partition on empty space. The cluster size is 512
bytes. I did nothing but select NTFS for the partition. The empty space
was after two hidden primary partitions, and before an extended partition
with logical drives if that matters. All the remaining partitions were/are
FAT32.

 

[Steve N.]

Conversion to NTFS is like converting from Methodist to Baptist.
Either way your still a Christian.

I've read an awful lot of stupid analogies here, but this one takes the
cake.

Stteve

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

It's all about the average size of files and how much slack space you
want to waste.

Not only that - it's also about the processor's natural paging size
(4k), the speed impact of tiny clusters and fragmentation, etc.

Where data recovery is possible, larger clusters can make this easier,
but NTFS is so weak on that anyway that I don't think it's a factor.

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