Can XP be installed on a Fat32 partition?

  • Thread starter Thread starter letterman
  • Start date Start date
L

letterman

I have never installed XP, but when I installed Win2k, I had the
option of using NTFS or Fat32. I'd rather use Fat32 because I can
access my files from Dos and I still use some Dos programs too. I
want to upgrade from Win2K to XP, but prefer keeping the Fat32
partitions. Is this possible?

Thanks

LM
 
I have never installed XP, but when I installed Win2k, I had the
option of using NTFS or Fat32. I'd rather use Fat32 because I can
access my files from Dos and I still use some Dos programs too. I
want to upgrade from Win2K to XP, but prefer keeping the Fat32
partitions. Is this possible?
Click to expand...

I installed Windows XP Home Edition over Windows Me. I am pretty sure it
would have updated the system files on the FAT 32 partitions of WinMe, if I
had allowed it, instead of overriding the update (I opted to run a clean
install on an NTFS partition because there was nothing I wanted from the old
OS).
 
I have never installed XP, but when I installed Win2k, I had the
option of using NTFS or Fat32. I'd rather use Fat32 because I can
access my files from Dos and I still use some Dos programs too. I
want to upgrade from Win2K to XP, but prefer keeping the Fat32
partitions. Is this possible?

Thanks

LM
Click to expand...


Yes, it can..
 
I have never installed XP, but when I installed Win2k, I had the
option of using NTFS or Fat32. I'd rather use Fat32 because I can
access my files from Dos and I still use some Dos programs too. I
want to upgrade from Win2K to XP, but prefer keeping the Fat32
partitions. Is this possible?

Thanks

LM
Click to expand...

Yes, and there are very few good reasons to use FAT32. Only if you need to
*boot* to a Win9x or DOS environment is this necessary, and then you might
add a separate small partition for those apps.

Many DOS apps will run fine under XP. Once they are running under XP, the
filesystem doesn't matter.

The XP install cannot format a FAT partition greater than about 40 gig. If
you need more space than that, you have to format it separately.

HTH
-pk
 
I have never installed XP, but when I installed Win2k, I had the
option of using NTFS or Fat32. I'd rather use Fat32 because I can
access my files from Dos and I still use some Dos programs too. I
want to upgrade from Win2K to XP, but prefer keeping the Fat32
partitions. Is this possible?

Thanks

LM
Click to expand...

Yes, it will work fine. You will give up the benefits of the NTFS file
system, but for some people that's no big deal. e.g. 4 Gig file size
limit (hard on backups occasionally), security/ access permissions,
things like that. Wikipedia has a pretty good run down on it.

HTH,

Twayne
 
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