Encrypting files or folders in FAT32

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sridhar
  • Start date Start date
S

Sridhar

HI,
I want to know how to encrypt files and folders in FAT32.
Everywhere I see that it works only on NTFS, but I really
dont know why it is working in my friend's system on
FAT32. If there is any way in which it is working, please
let me know.
Also I would like to know if the data in that drive will
get corrupted if i convert it into NTFS. Can i convert my
root directory(coz that is the only one i have) of
11.2Gb?
And after converting it into NTFS, can these files be
copied to systems that run on FAT32?

Many thanks,
Sridhar
 
Your friend must be running some 3rd party software. Encryption is not
natively supported on FAT32 drives.

The data should not be corrupted by converting to NTFS, and the files can be
copied to a FAT or FAT32 drive with no problems (other than inherent file
size limitations). As with any procudure that involves your hard disk
data, backup what you can't afford to lose first.
 
The built in encryption in XP only works on NTFS, perhaps your friend is
using a third party utility like PGP to encrypt his files. Conversion from
fat to ntfs is not a lossy procedure, and is very reliable, but always make
a backup of critical data before you do such a task. Only whole partitions
can be converted, use disk manager to manage disks.
For a complete review of this topic:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/itpro/managing/convertfat.asp
Files can be copied from/to different file systems with no problems usually,
only special attributes are loss when copying from NTFS to fat.
 
Thank you for your message. But I wanted to know if I am
on a network & only mine is NTFS, will it be possible to
share files and folders through the network?

Does the size of the hard disk pose limitations during
conversion?

Many thanks,
Sridhar
 
Network file sharing has nothing to do with the local file system type. You
can safely convert your partitions to NTFS. The size of the disk is not an
issue. I don't really understand why people still use FAT32.
 
Jack answered your network question. No, there is no limitation on the hard
disk size. If FAT32 will support the drive/partition size, then NTFS will
as well. The only consideration is that there needs to be "free space"
available for the conversion. The CONVERT utility will tell you how much it
needs, and will stop if there isn't enough.

You may want to read this article, written by MVP Alex Nichol. It contains
a wealth of information, that you should be aware of.

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfs.htm
 
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