Switching fat32 to NTFS and Back Again

[darkrats]

I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change to
NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[AllenM]

When installin XP you will be prompted to select what type of file system
you would like to format the partition. It is right after you select the
partition you want to install XP on.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an

option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Richard Urban]

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error after
error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[George Hester]

1) Windows XP gives you an option to change the file system from FAT32 to
NTFS. You cannot go back except through a 3rd Party application such as
Partition Magic. If you orginally install with the NTFS files system again
Win XP itself does not have an option to switch to the FAT32 system. How
long it takes depends on the amount of used space w/r to the total space on
the partition. Anywhere from a few minutes to hours.

2) No. When you do a clean install it first removes the partiton and then
sets it up with the file system you choose during the setup process. If you
intend to install over your existing partion without removing what you have
then #1 I would not do that that is asking for trouble. But if so the answer
is No.

 

[AllenM]

you cannot go from NTFS to FAT32. Not possible unless you reformat and
reinstall. If all your looking to do is to change your C: partition from
FAT32 to NTFS you do not need to reinstall XP. You can do this with a DOS
command.

CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error after
error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[darkrats]

I'm a little confused by the replies.
One says you cannot go back to FAT32 without something like Partition Magic.
Your suggestion is to reformat the partition to FAT32.
What, exactly do you mean when your say this? How would you do it?

Continued thanks!

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error after
error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[George Hester]

Actually AllenM you can. Using Partition Magic trouble is as Richard Urban
said it is highly likely it will fail but PM does give you that option. The
issue arises because PM has to shut Windows down then goes to DOS to do it.
Then when you come back to the Operating System the boot.ini is either
missing or no longer applicable and the system will not start. That is the
trouble.

--

George Hester
_________________________________

you cannot go from NTFS to FAT32. Not possible unless you reformat and
reinstall. If all your looking to do is to change your C: partition from
FAT32 to NTFS you do not need to reinstall XP. You can do this with a DOS
command.

CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error after
error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In darkrats <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[AllenM]

OK let me set you straight. Within XP you cannot revert back to FAT32 from
NTFS. You can with a third party tool such as Partition Magic. For what
reason you would want to is beyond me but that is a personal option to you
so I'll leave it at that.

You are asking "I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the
option to change to NTFS."

So if you want to "reinstall" and revert to NTFS you can do that and will be
prompted at to which file system you would like apply when formatting. You
will lose all your data obviously.

If all you want to do is revert C drive from FAT32 to NTFS you can use the
DOS command "CONVERT".

I'm a little confused by the replies.
One says you cannot go back to FAT32 without something like Partition
Magic.
Your suggestion is to reformat the partition to FAT32.
What, exactly do you mean when your say this? How would you do it?

Continued thanks!

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error
after error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic,
and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In darkrats <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to
change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[AllenM]

George,
Thanks I do know that. I took for granted speaking from within the XP OS
that you cannot. See my last post. Probably confused the hell out of him by
now.

Actually AllenM you can. Using Partition Magic trouble is as Richard Urban
said it is highly likely it will fail but PM does give you that option.
The
issue arises because PM has to shut Windows down then goes to DOS to do
it.
Then when you come back to the Operating System the boot.ini is either
missing or no longer applicable and the system will not start. That is the
trouble.

--

George Hester
_________________________________

you cannot go from NTFS to FAT32. Not possible unless you reformat and
reinstall. If all your looking to do is to change your C: partition from
FAT32 to NTFS you do not need to reinstall XP. You can do this with a DOS
command.

CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error after
error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition to
fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get
an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic, and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In darkrats <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get
an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

You can convert from FAT32 to NTFS by using the Convert function..

CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS

All done from the Command screen..

There is no good reason to convert back.. in fact, there probably is no good
reason to have any FAT32 partitions unless you are dual booting with a Win
9x/ME operating system..

You do NOT have to re-install XP in order to convert to NTFS..

 

[All Things Mopar]

Today Richard Urban commented courteously on the subject at
hand

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32
is very problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great
difficulty (error after error). One time I lost the whole
partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat
the partition to fat32. Then copy everything back.

Partition Magic 8 failed on both my extended partitions to
convert from NTFS back to FAT32, which I wanted to do for
performance reasons (yes, and it /did/ improve it immensely!).

In my care, I copied the entire contents of both partitions to
my Maxtor external, deleted the entire partitions, and rebuilt
them with PM. Worked great. Then, I did the reverse to get the
Maxtor also on FAT32.

 

[lobo]

I have been lurking on this thread with interest. When I first installed
WinXP-Pro, I chose Fat32 for the 60gig drive. Now that I have added an
160gig slave drive (which is NTFS due to the size) can I change my original
drive to NTFS from Fat32 without loosing any data or files so both drives
will be the same?
Thanks in advance.
Ray

OK let me set you straight. Within XP you cannot revert back to FAT32 from
NTFS. You can with a third party tool such as Partition Magic. For what
reason you would want to is beyond me but that is a personal option to you
so I'll leave it at that.

You are asking "I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the
option to change to NTFS."

So if you want to "reinstall" and revert to NTFS you can do that and will
be prompted at to which file system you would like apply when formatting.
You will lose all your data obviously.

If all you want to do is revert C drive from FAT32 to NTFS you can use the
DOS command "CONVERT".

I'm a little confused by the replies.
One says you cannot go back to FAT32 without something like Partition
Magic.
Your suggestion is to reformat the partition to FAT32.
What, exactly do you mean when your say this? How would you do it?

Continued thanks!

Even using Partition Magic, converting from NTFS to fat32 is very
problematical. I have done it 3-4 time, with great difficulty (error
after error). One time I lost the whole partition.

My suggestion is to copy what you need and then reformat the partition
to fat32. Then copy everything back.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?

No.

[[You cannot convert back, except possibly by use of Partition Magic,
and
that is not always successful. Windows XP has no tool for converting
from
NTFS to FAT32.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In darkrats <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
I've always used FAT32 whether installing Win9X or WinXP.
I currently have 4 partitions, all FAT32. WinXP on C partition, the
others
for storage of data.

I want to reinstall WinXP to c partition and choose the option to
change
to NTFS.

1. How long during the install does it take to convert from FAT32 to
NTFS?

2. If I reinstall XP again over my new NTFS c partition, will I get an
option, during install, to convert NTFS to FAT32?


Thanks.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Partition Magic 8 failed on both my extended partitions to
convert from NTFS back to FAT32, which I wanted to do for
performance reasons (yes, and it /did/ improve it immensely!).

How large were these partitions? How much was "immensely"? How did you
measure the speed increase?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have been lurking on this thread with interest. When I first
installed WinXP-Pro, I chose Fat32 for the 60gig drive. Now that I
have added an 160gig slave drive (which is NTFS due to the size) can
I change my original drive to NTFS from Fat32 without loosing any
data or files so both drives will be the same?

First, although I recommend NTFS in preference to FAT32, there is no need
for both drives to be the same.

But to convert to NTFS, you use the CONVERT command. But first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.


Also note that conversion is a big step, affecting everything on your drive.
When you take such a big step, no matter how unlikely, it is always possible
that something could go wrong. For that reason, it's prudent to make sure
you have a backup of anything you can't afford to lose before beginning.

 

[R. McCarty]

Speed variances (with matching Cluster sizes) will only be 2-3%, if that.
You have to be careful doing benchmarks between NTFS & FAT32.
Unless you need prior OS support, NTFS is the best choice.

 

[AllenM]

Which is what I've been trying to tell him all along Mike. thanks for the
reiteration.

 

[lobo]

First, although I recommend NTFS in preference to FAT32, there is no need
for both drives to be the same.

But to convert to NTFS, you use the CONVERT command. But first read
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm because there's an issue regarding
cluster size that isn't obvious.


Also note that conversion is a big step, affecting everything on your
drive. When you take such a big step, no matter how unlikely, it is always
possible that something could go wrong. For that reason, it's prudent to
make sure you have a backup of anything you can't afford to lose before
beginning.

Thanks Ken.
Ray

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Speed variances (with matching Cluster sizes) will only be 2-3%, if
that. You have to be careful doing benchmarks between NTFS & FAT32.
Unless you need prior OS support, NTFS is the best choice.

You don't have to convince me. I'm with you on this.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks Ken.

You're welcome. Glad to help.