OK to have an NTFS 2nd drive if FAT32 for primary?

[KWW]

My question is, will XP have any issues with the OS running on a FAT32 disk
but having the slave disk running NTFS?

My son's PC in college needs an additional drive. Currently he is running XP
SP2 but with FAT32 for the primary drive (just realized it the day before he
had to leave... and that didn't leave enough time to converet it AND ensure
that there were no issues).

I got him an additional drive which a friend of his will install for him
once he gets back to school. I was thinking that it would be good if I
preformatted it, and also I think it would be better for it to be NTFS
rather than having to convert it when he gets home this summer.

TIA.

 

[Kerry Brown]

That will work fine.

 

[Paul Johnson]

My question is, will XP have any issues with the OS running on a FAT32
disk but having the slave disk running NTFS?

You shouldn't, no.

I got him an additional drive which a friend of his will install for him
once he gets back to school. I was thinking that it would be good if I
preformatted it, and also I think it would be better for it to be NTFS
rather than having to convert it when he gets home this summer.

Why not let him know that he should format it NTFS? He's a college boy,
right? Let him do it himself. Computer repair is a survival skill these
days.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My question is, will XP have any issues with the OS running on a
FAT32 disk but having the slave disk running NTFS?

No, no problem at all. Windows XP can read and use NTFS, FAT32, FAT16, and
FAT12, in any and all combinations--separately or together-- and regardless
of what file system it itself is installed on.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My question is, will XP have any issues with the OS running on a FAT32 disk
but having the slave disk running NTFS?

My son's PC in college needs an additional drive. Currently he is running XP
SP2 but with FAT32 for the primary drive (just realized it the day before he
had to leave... and that didn't leave enough time to converet it AND ensure
that there were no issues).

I got him an additional drive which a friend of his will install for him
once he gets back to school. I was thinking that it would be good if I
preformatted it, and also I think it would be better for it to be NTFS
rather than having to convert it when he gets home this summer.

TIA.

WinXP can read FAT12 (the file system used on 3.5" diskettes), FAT16,
FAT32, CDFS (the file system used on most CDs), and NTFS with equal
facility. Further, the file system on any one disk/partition or
diskette has absolutely no affect upon the operating system's ability to
read other compatible file systems on other disks/partitions.


--

Bruce Chambers

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