Windows XP: risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS
risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS
by vera kofler - 5/15/06 4:10 AMwindows XP SP2
MDAthlon(tm) 22oo+
1800GHz 512MB Ram
In a Cnet course "Speed up your Windows" I participated, they highly recommend to change from Fat 32 to NTFS files, and I would like to know if its safe for me to do it by my own, and what risks do I could have in doing so
thank you for your advise.
I have three disks
C whith the operating system 30 Gb and partition in 15Gb and 5Gb
back up
by Mark5019 - 5/15/06 4:59 AM In reply to: risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS by vera koflerwhat you cant afford to lose
but its worth it in long run
if you have back up no worries
I've never personally done that
by retired - 5/15/06 5:01 AM In reply to: risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS by vera koflerBut have read numerous articles about things going wrong, especially losing data. Here is an article on the subject.
First, back up your data. Pictures, Word files, whatever it may be, save it all to something off of that drive/partition. Also, by doing this, understand that there is always the risk of data loss. So if something goes wrong, you are the responsible party. Also, make sure all applications are closed before doing this.
OK, now get yourself to a command prompt. Just Start, Run, CMD will get you there. Now type
CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS
You will be asked to press Y or N. You will want to say N to unmounting right there and then. You will then be prompted schedule a conversion. Say Y to this. From here, just follow the instructions. Now if memory serves me, you will have to reboot. After the PC has restarted, let it run without you doing ANYTHING. I'd say about five minutes ought to do it. And that should do it for you!
Can the reverse be done C::\Convert FS FAT32??? using CMD
by DarCLew2 - 5/16/06 3:54 AM In reply to: I've never personally done that by retiredDarrell Lewis
Don't do it for speed
by drat_ninny - 5/15/06 8:10 AM In reply to: risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS by vera koflerIf you're talking strictly about speed, FAT32 is the faster filesystem having lower overhead from being a much simpler filesystem.
You use NTFS for a number of reasons. Security, efficiency of storage, and fault protection. NTFS supports file permissions both in a traditional Unix style and also Access Control Lists (ACLs), which can work to help contain viruses and other unwanted pests. NTFS is also considerably more efficient about using the storage capacity of the hard drive to that of FAT32. NTFS also has some journaling features which help prevent data loss when things such as a sudden power loss occurs.
However, NTFS is NOT as fast as FAT32, so putting it into a "speed up your computer" guide was hopefully a simple case of someone's well intentioned ignorance at CNet. One important thing to note, is that while FAT32 may be faster than NTFS, the speed difference is so minute that it may as well not exist. It is worthwhile to use NTFS over FAT32 if able. The best way to do this is to back everything up and format the computer, making sure to use NTFS instead of FAT32. There is a conversion program included with XP, but it just turns FAT32 into a sort of NTFS Lite.
dont do it for speed
by vera kofler - 5/15/06 1:35 PM In reply to: Don't do it for speed by drat_ninnythank you very much, I am going to stay where I am after all.
Corruption
by Scott Simontis - 5/16/06 6:34 PM In reply to: risks about changing fat 32 to NTFS by vera koflerI did this on a client's machine the other day. Everything seemed fine until they restarted the computer, and got a disk error. It turns out that when the XP installer converted the hard drive, it corrupted the Windows files as well. I ran out of options, and had to copy off their data and wipe the drive clean.
It is probably rare, so just make sure you back up your data first. I have heard of it happening with several people, but it doesn't seem too widespread at all.
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