Windows XP Home Edition SP2 NTFS

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I have just converted from FAT32 to NTFS.

Does Windows XP Home Edition SP2 support and recommend the use of NTFS?

Thanks to all those who reply.
 
Hi

Yes - NTFS is more secure than FAT32.

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Will Denny
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Thanks.

Can you see any problems with converting from FAT32 to NTFS using Windows XP
Home Edition?

In particular, I'm concerned about the hard drive becoming faultly i.e bad
sectors etc and any slow issues?

Thanks, Jot
 
Hi

Check your hard drive before converting to see if there are any errors on
it. Personally I've had no problems converting from FAT32 to NTFS.

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Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
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Yes, unless you're dual booting an OS that can't read NTFS,
the new technology is superior.


|I have just converted from FAT32 to NTFS.
|
| Does Windows XP Home Edition SP2 support and recommend the
use of NTFS?
|
| Thanks to all those who reply.
 
Hi,

There are no errors on it at the moment. I am concerned whether converting
from FAT32 to NTFS using Windows XP Home Edition could cause any future
problems.

Thanks, Jot
 
Hi

You shouldn't have any problems - especially as your hard drive is 'clean'.

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Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
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A file system cannot physically damage a hard drive, not can an Operating
System.
If you get bad sectors it has nothing to do with XP or NTFS, you would have
gotten them anyway.
 
Hi

Agreed - no software can physically damage any hardware. However hardware
does deteriorate over time.

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Will Denny
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The obvious is sometimes overlooked!!!!

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Will Denny
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Jot said:
I have just converted from FAT32 to NTFS.

Does Windows XP Home Edition SP2 support and recommend the use of NTFS?

Thanks to all those who reply.
Click to expand...


Personally, I wouldn't even consider using FAT32 when NTFS is an
option. FAT32 has no security capabilities, no compression
capabilities, no fault tolerance, so support for files larger than 4 Gb
(videos, anyone?), and a lot of wasted hard drive space on volumes
larger than 8 Gb in size. (Just try finding a hard drive that small,
nowadays.) But your computing needs may vary, and there is no hard and
fast answer.

To answer your questions without getting too technical is
difficult, but has been handled quite well by the late Alex Nichol in
the article here:

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm

Somewhat more technical information is here:

Limitations of the FAT32 File System in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=kb;en-us;Q314463

Choosing Between File Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winntas/tips/techrep/filesyst.asp

NTFS file system
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/ntfs/

You can safely convert your current hard drive to NTFS whenever
desired, without having to format the partition and reinstall
everything. As always when performing any serious changes, back up any
important data before proceeding, just in case. A little advance
preparation is also strongly recommended, so you can avoid any
performance hits caused by the default cluster size:

Converting FAT32 to NTFS in Windows
http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm



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Jot said:
There are no errors on it at the moment. I am concerned whether
converting from FAT32 to NTFS using Windows XP Home Edition could
cause any future problems.
Click to expand...


The only issue is that conversion, if not properly prepared for, usually
results in 512-byte clusters, instead of the default of 4K. This negatively
impacts performance.

Read here: http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm
 
Thanks !!!

Just one final question I used the CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS command. Is the
correct way to avoid any waste in cluster size etc ?

Jot
 
Hi

Cluster size can be problematic when initially converting. Best to convert
from FAT32 to NTFS 1st - then decide if you want to alter the cluster size.

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Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
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Not so. Settings in the BIOS (software on a flash memory chip) can be set to
overclock CPU and memory speed to the point of overheating and hardware
damage. Software programs for graphics cards can do the same thing. The
utility 'Speedfan' can cause hardware failure if used improperly.

mi
 
Hi

Depends on what size hard disk you have as to whether you need to change the
cluster size.

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
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Hi

Run Disk Defragmenter to Analyze your hard disk, then click on 'View
Report'. What cluster size do you see?

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Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
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