Fat32 to NTFS

  • Thread starter Thread starter Geddy Lee
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Geddy Lee

Hi Group,

I have been using my laptop for about 6 weeks now after building everything
new up; only now to realize that I made a little mistake somewhere. My C:
(all my programs are here)is Fat32 and my D: is NTFS(I only have my XP Home
here.) Is there anyway to change the Fat32 to NTFS without losing
everything? I have a HUGE amount of programs that are on it and I do not
want to have to program it all over again.
Or is it okay that the one system runs on Fat32 and the other an NTFS? What
are the ad/disad vantages of using 2 different systems? Up until now
everything has been running wonderfully; but I am not sure if it will have
some sort of bad consequences in the future for me.

Any help or information would be gratefully appreciated

GL
 
You can keep the two volumes like they are or you can convert the one to
NTFS. Here's an article that explains the process in a little more detail
if you're curious:

314875 - The Free Space That Is Required to Convert FAT to NTFS
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314875).

--
J.C. Hornbeck, MCSE
Microsoft Product Support

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In
Geddy Lee said:
Hi Group,

I have been using my laptop for about 6 weeks now after building
everything new up; only now to realize that I made a little mistake
somewhere. My C: (all my programs are here)is Fat32 and my D: is
NTFS(I only have my XP Home here.) Is there anyway to change the
Fat32 to NTFS without losing everything?
Click to expand...


Yes. 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.


I have a HUGE amount of
programs that are on it and I do not want to have to program it all
over again.
Or is it okay that the one system runs on Fat32 and the other an
NTFS?
Click to expand...


There's only one system, not two. You have two *drives* (or
partitions), each using a different file system. There is no
problem at all with that. Windows XP can use NTFS, FAT32, FAT16,
and FAT12, in any and all combinations.

What are the ad/disad vantages of using 2 different systems?
Click to expand...


None. NTFS is arguably better than FAT32, but that has nothing to
do with using two different systems; even if C: and D: were both
FAT32, if you believed that NTFS were better, you might want to
convert both.

Up
until now everything has been running wonderfully; but I am not sure
if it will have some sort of bad consequences in the future for
Click to expand...
me.


None at all. You're worrying about a phantom. There is no problem
using multiple file systems. The only reason to convert is if you
believe that NTFS's improvements are worth it you. Since you say
that everything "has been running wonderfully," you probably
should leave it alone.
 
It's quite easy and safe to convert, I have the
instructions at home. It doesn't take long, saves you a
small amount of disk space, and gives no real benefit at
all. The downside is you can't ever, ever, ever go back
and all your data is only readable from an XP boot up.
You'll loose the facility, in emergency, for booting from
a W98 floppy and rescuing your data.

Think carefully before you jump.
 
Barry said:
It's quite easy and safe to convert, I have the
instructions at home. It doesn't take long, saves you a
small amount of disk space, and gives no real benefit at
all. The downside is you can't ever, ever, ever go back
and all your data is only readable from an XP boot up.
Click to expand...

_All_ data?
Out of curiosity I just copied and renamed a file with several mp3's in from
my #2 hard drive (Win98 and therefore FAT32) to my main drive (XP Pro ;NTFS)
and then copied it back again to the #2 drive.
It all works fine! Did I miss something?
This was a serious experiment as I wish to move 19 gigs of mp3's from #2
drive to #1, and then replace the old 20 gig #2 drive with a 80 gig faster
HD and then move the music to the new drive.
Is this going to work?

snip>>>
 
zulu said:
_All_ data?
Out of curiosity I just copied and renamed a file with several mp3's in from
my #2 hard drive (Win98 and therefore FAT32) to my main drive (XP Pro ;NTFS)
and then copied it back again to the #2 drive.
It all works fine! Did I miss something?
This was a serious experiment as I wish to move 19 gigs of mp3's from #2
drive to #1, and then replace the old 20 gig #2 drive with a 80 gig faster
HD and then move the music to the new drive.
Is this going to work?
Click to expand...

The topic was about converting from one file system to the other. Doing what
you did as an experiment didn't do any converting process from one filing
system to the other.

In any case to your query, on what filing system you place your MP3s won't
change the MP3. NTFS, and FAT32 are simply different storing methods for
data. But to be safe and not lose your files, best to keep your files on the
drive/partition you are not converting, then copy them over to the converted
partition/drive when completed. Read here for more on converting and what it
entails:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm
 
Ok, and thanks1

Tom said:
The topic was about converting from one file system to the other. Doing what
you did as an experiment didn't do any converting process from one filing
system to the other.

In any case to your query, on what filing system you place your MP3s won't
change the MP3. NTFS, and FAT32 are simply different storing methods for
data. But to be safe and not lose your files, best to keep your files on the
drive/partition you are not converting, then copy them over to the converted
partition/drive when completed. Read here for more on converting and what it
entails:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm
Click to expand...
 
_All_ data?
Out of curiosity I just copied and renamed a file with several mp3's in from
my #2 hard drive (Win98 and therefore FAT32) to my main drive (XP Pro ;NTFS)
and then copied it back again to the #2 drive.
It all works fine! Did I miss something?
This was a serious experiment as I wish to move 19 gigs of mp3's from #2
drive to #1, and then replace the old 20 gig #2 drive with a 80 gig faster
HD and then move the music to the new drive.
Is this going to work?
Click to expand...

Zulu, to see what Barry meant .... boot to Win98 and try to find mp3s (or
any file) on the XP NTFS drive. Or boot with a Win98 floppy which will
ignore the NTFS partition.

I happen to like NTFS and don't mind the backup routine I've adopted to
protect my data. I halfheartedly stayed current on backups when using
Win9x. With XP/NTFS, I'm not so lazy.
 
Sharon F said:
Zulu, to see what Barry meant .... boot to Win98 and try to find mp3s (or
any file) on the XP NTFS drive. Or boot with a Win98 floppy which will
ignore the NTFS partition.
Click to expand...
I realise I can't *see* XP (NTFS) from 98SE but nevertheless what I did
worked ok.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, let me explain what I would like to do:

I have 2 HD's...
The original 20 gig drive *D* (now slave and used only for archive) and a
newer 60 gig (faster, 7,200) which is partitioned 20gig *C* (win98SE) and
40gig *F* (XP). The DVD player is *E* and CD (not DVD) writer is *G*. I want
to replace archive drive *D* with a new 80gig HD. I have room on *F* to hold
the files on the old (nearly full)*D* while I swap to the new HD.
So far, any reason why not?

When I get the new drive working and partitioned 40/40, I want to do a fresh
full install of XP to it and I will then freshly install all the software I
decide I want to continue using. I will then transfer all my personal stuff
that I want to keep. When I'm happy that all I need is on the new drive _and
all is working properly_I will refomat the old drive that was C&F and call
it *E* after temporarily renaming the DVD player to M or something, (later
to be called *F*) . Assuming all this is OK, how do I then make XP partition
*C*, and the other partition on that HD *D*?

To hopefully make it clear, I want to finish up wih:
A = floppy drive

New HD:
C = 40 gigs (1/2) main drive with XP installed (NTFS)
D = Other 40 gigs of main drive to be used mainly for recording movie stuff
on.

Old *new* HD:
E = 60 gigs for archives

F = DVD player
G = CD writer
(may be replaced shortly with DVD writer when I'm confident the rest is
working OK.)

What do you reckon?
:-)
 
Anyway, to cut to the chase, let me explain what I would like to do:

I have 2 HD's...
The original 20 gig drive *D* (now slave and used only for archive) and a
newer 60 gig (faster, 7,200) which is partitioned 20gig *C* (win98SE) and
40gig *F* (XP). The DVD player is *E* and CD (not DVD) writer is *G*. I want
to replace archive drive *D* with a new 80gig HD. I have room on *F* to hold
the files on the old (nearly full)*D* while I swap to the new HD.
So far, any reason why not?
Click to expand...

No problem. Files are files. They'll sit happily on D until you can move
them back to the new drive.
When I get the new drive working and partitioned 40/40, I want to do a fresh
full install of XP to it and I will then freshly install all the software I
decide I want to continue using. I will then transfer all my personal stuff
that I want to keep. When I'm happy that all I need is on the new drive _and
all is working properly_I will refomat the old drive that was C&F and call
it *E* after temporarily renaming the DVD player to M or something, (later
to be called *F*) . Assuming all this is OK, how do I then make XP partition
*C*, and the other partition on that HD *D*?
Click to expand...

Your plan needs some work here. XP does not letter drives as DOS and Win9x
did. The drive letter designations are more for our benefit than XP's. It
sees the drives as controller 0, drive 0, partition 1 and so on. Many
programs, of course, like nice tidy letters too. And while you could
conceivably move the XP drive into primary master position, you cannot
change the letter of the drive that holds the operating system after it is
installed.

You could do what you want *if* you added a third party boot manager that
would hide one drive from the other. This gets rather complicated
especially if you've never done it before. You'll be hiding drives, showing
drives, copying data back and forth and then bringing both drives together.
But it is do-able.

What I would do is move the data off of the existing drive (put that burner
to good use). Remove the old drive and install the new one. At this point I
would prepare the drive and restore an image of XP but a clean install
would work too.

Drop the old drive back in. XP may or may not work with it but it's worth a
try. If XP will work with the drive, delete what you no longer need. If it
won't work with it, partition and format. Then transfer your data that was
backed up to CD over to the second drive.

There is also the utility that comes with new drives that will copy the old
drive to the new drive. You could go that route too. (I don't have much
confidence in these but many folks use them successfully.) Get the new
drive working. Get the old drive setup the way that you want. Then when
you're ready, address the new drive again: Do a clean install if you still
feel that's what you want to do.
 
Sharon F said:
No problem. Files are files. They'll sit happily on D until you can move
them back to the new drive.
Click to expand...

OK, I thought that was the case
Your plan needs some work here. XP does not letter drives as DOS and Win9x
did. The drive letter designations are more for our benefit than XP's. It
sees the drives as controller 0, drive 0, partition 1 and so on. Many
programs, of course, like nice tidy letters too. And while you could
conceivably move the XP drive into primary master position, you cannot
change the letter of the drive that holds the operating system after it is
installed.

You could do what you want *if* you added a third party boot manager that
would hide one drive from the other. This gets rather complicated
especially if you've never done it before. You'll be hiding drives, showing
drives, copying data back and forth and then bringing both drives together.
But it is do-able.

What I would do is move the data off of the existing drive (put that burner
to good use).
Click to expand...

Lordie! it'd take forever, and about 30 discs all told :-((

Remove the old drive and install the new one. At this point I
would prepare the drive and restore an image of XP but a clean install
would work too.
Click to expand...

I need a clean install!
Drop the old drive back in. XP may or may not work with it but it's worth a
try. If XP will work with the drive, delete what you no longer need. If it
won't work with it, partition and format. Then transfer your data that was
backed up to CD over to the second drive.

There is also the utility that comes with new drives that will copy the old
drive to the new drive. You could go that route too. (I don't have much
confidence in these but many folks use them successfully.) Get the new
drive working. Get the old drive setup the way that you want. Then when
you're ready, address the new drive again: Do a clean install if you still
feel that's what you want to do.
Click to expand...

Oh well, I didn't expect *easy* I guess <g>
My wife (looking over my shoulder) just suggested alternative #2 - stop
making life hard and get a new 'puter.
It's true this one is a bit long in the tooth! It maybe the easiest way. I
could just cable the two puters together then to transfer...(I think!)
I'll print your suggestions out and then have a good think about where I
want to go from here.
Thanks Sharon, you're a star
 
Oh well, I didn't expect *easy* I guess <g>
My wife (looking over my shoulder) just suggested alternative #2 - stop
making life hard and get a new 'puter.
It's true this one is a bit long in the tooth! It maybe the easiest way. I
could just cable the two puters together then to transfer...(I think!)
I'll print your suggestions out and then have a good think about where I
want to go from here.
Thanks Sharon, you're a star
Click to expand...

You're welcome and thank *you.* Good luck with whatever path you choose for
this.
 
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