Converting FAT32 to NTSF

G

Guest

I am considering converting from FAT32 to NTSF but don't know if I should. Will converting harm any existing programs? I would like to convert to enable me to capture large digital video movies.
 
J

Jupiter Jones [MVP]

Data should be safe during conversion.
Back-up important data just in case.
http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
An easier way to read newsgroup messages:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/newsgroups/setup.asp
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Raels said:
I am considering converting from FAT32 to NTSF but don't know if I
should. Will converting harm any existing programs? I would like to
convert to enable me to capture large digital video movies.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Greetings --

Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, and a lot of wasted hard drive space
on volumes larger than 8 Gb in size. 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 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 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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having both at once. -- RAH


Raels said:
I am considering converting from FAT32 to NTSF but don't know if I
should. Will converting harm any existing programs? I would like to
convert to enable me to capture large digital video movies.
 

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