FAT to NTFS conversion

[Guest]

When converting from FAT or Fat32 to NTFS will a reformat occur or will all
of my data on the computer be safe?

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

That's a loaded question. Your data is never so safe that it doesn't
require a backup and before attempting any function, even one that should
not destroy your data, you should make sure you are well backed up as things
can and do go wrong.

If you use the NTFS convert option, no formatting is done and assuming
nothing goes wrong, your data should remain intact. If you format NTFS as
opposed to using the convert option, your data will be lost.

 

[Dave]

When converting from FAT or Fat32 to NTFS will a reformat occur or will
all
of my data on the computer be safe?

The data should be safe, but back it up incase there is an unexpected error.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Thanks Michael,

I agree with you regarding backing up data and in fact, I do that quite
frequently. I was just curious how big of a head ache I'm looking at if and
when I do the conversion.

Thank you so much for your help

 

[Guest]

Thanks Dave.

The data should be safe, but back it up incase there is an unexpected error.

Dave

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

You're welcome. As you may know, these are peer to peer newsgroup and
questions and answers are posted for the benefit of all. I knew some would
answer that your files should be fine but that really requires an
explanation and I didn't want users getting the wrong idea.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

When converting from FAT or Fat32 to NTFS will a reformat occur or
will all of my data on the computer be safe?

You can safely convert the partition 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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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
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both at once. - RAH

 

[MSN]

Very good example you said. Can I put in this way:
You have different size containers A (NTFS) and B (FAT32). So no matter
WHERE the water (data) from or WHAT kind of water (data), it will goes
according to different shade of container; yet the quality of water (data)
still the same. Can I interpret in this way?

I have another worry: Between NTFS and FAT32 format in my Disk C and D.
Meaning my XP is running in NTFS, my data is saved in FAT32 Disk D.

Is safe to maintain in this way? Base to your concept, that should be fine.
Then how if I have a data file which saved in both C and D disks. Is there
any problem for editing and save afterward? Will the file (data) will be
saved to different format to C and D in NTFS and FAT32 again?

The extra question is: further more if I save it in a floppy disk (consider
as C container). In all cases, will there any problem later I open this data
file in my system? How if I take the floppy disk to someone who runs W98?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Chong
====================================================

No. It's the *data* in the files which is transferred over the
network, not the file systems in which they are stored. You can
transmit files stored in *any* file system over a network without
a problem. The CD is neither NTFS nor FAT32, but even if you were
transferring files from a FAT32 HD to an NTFS one (or vice versa)
there would be no problem.

Think of downloading files over the internet (which is a
network). You have no idea what file system is used at the other
end, but you nevertheless have no problems with the files you
download.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Think of

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

A floppy disk is always FAT as opposed to NTFS. The question of being able
to read or open a file is dependent upon whether or not the person trying to
open and read the file has the an application compatible with the file type,
not file system type. The file system type does not alter the file type.

 

[Guest]

When converting from FAT or Fat32 to NTFS will a reformat occur or will all
of my data on the computer be safe?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

The convert utility does not destroy your files. Back up as usual before
any important change but convert is designed to change the file system
nondestructively. I have used it many times with no problems.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

will all of my data on the computer be safe?

By definition, "converting" means that all data, programs, etc.
are kept intact.

However there are no guarantees that it always works perfectly.
However unlikely, it's always possible that something might go
wrong. For that reason it's prudent to be sure you have a backup
of anything you can't afford to lose before beginning.