Fat32 or NTFS ???

[Guest]

Installed larger laptop HD; reinstalled XP Home with laptop mfg cd;
reinstalled XP Prof upgrade. Problem is it installed FAT32 and i was
expecting NTFS. Started to 'CONVERT' to NTFS but saw warning about loss of
performance and other probs as opposed to a "clean XP install". There seems
to be some controversy about the two. Which is more stable? i run three or
four large progs and internet up/down load simultaneously. which is more
stable/better?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

NTFS is the preferred file system for Windows XP.

Benchmarking on Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/benchmark.mspx

NTFS Preinstallation and Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/winpreinst/ntfs-preinstall.mspx

Read the following article before converting to NTFS.

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

[Courtesy of Alex Nichol, MS-MVP]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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:

| Installed larger laptop HD; reinstalled XP Home with laptop mfg cd;
| reinstalled XP Prof upgrade. Problem is it installed FAT32 and i was
| expecting NTFS. Started to 'CONVERT' to NTFS but saw warning about loss of
| performance and other probs as opposed to a "clean XP install". There seems
| to be some controversy about the two. Which is more stable? i run three or
| four large progs and internet up/down load simultaneously. which is more
| stable/better?

 

[Guest]

Thanks, but WHY did it install as Fat32? i was never asked which system i
preferred, so why install Fat32 if NTFS is preferred?

 

[Ron Martell]

Thanks, but WHY did it install as Fat32? i was never asked which system i
preferred, so why install Fat32 if NTFS is preferred?

It must be the original CD for XP Home. If that is a "system
recovery" CD it most likely just contains a disk image of the factory
fresh install of XP Home, including a predefined choice of file
system.

The subsequent upgrade to XP Pro would not include any option to
change the file system.

Hope this explains the situation.

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."