Fat32 to NTFS on E drive only?

[Tajinder]

I have read all the posts about FAT32 to NTFS conversions.
However I still have doubts

I use Windows XP, I have 5 partitions on a 160 GB HD.
C: 18.63 GB
D: 33.12 GB
E: 32.59 GB
F: 32.96 GB
G: 31.71 GB

I want to make DVDs into ISOs on my computer and as you know FAT32 only allows 4GB file so I want to convert to NTFS.

All my drives are Fat32 I want to convert it like this:
C: FAT32
D: FAT32
E: NTFS
F: FAT32
G: FAT32
So my question is
Can I covert only my E drive to NTFS without any problems like PC slowdown, software not working etc
For example if I have installed a game in E: drive, will the game slowdown?

I have got PowerQuest PartitionMagic Version 8.0 in which it seems partitions can be converted, merged, resized, split in one click but it seems dangerous to me.

I also have some files on E drive which I don’t want to lose.

[vijay_7287]

thts no a prob

u dont need a third party s/w

go to commandpromt
and type help convert
follow the neccessary instructions
and it will be done

[go4saket]

No problem at all. Just go to My Computer, right click on the partition you want to format, select the file system you want to, NTFS in this case, and click format.

As for conflict, be sure you wont have any as the OS will handle it all. But remember one thing, if you start you computer with a DOS or Win 98 bootable, you wont be able to read the contents of a NTFS partition.

[vijay_7287]

^^^
he is talkin abt converting without formating it
converting without loss of data

just go to command prompt
and type
convert e: /fs:ntfs

it will be done

[theraven]

be careful u cannot access ntfs partitions if ur primary partition ( os partition) is fat32

[vijay_7287]

^^^
i dont think thts true
when ur OS is XP u can access NTFS partitions, even if ur OS is on FAT32 drive

[alib_i]

Originally Posted by theraven

be careful u cannot access ntfs partitions if ur primary partition ( os partition) is fat32

You sure about this ?
I've never seen this happen !


-----
alibi

[theraven]

afaik ..
ive never been in this situation so im not sure if what u ppl say is true

but as much as i know abt file systems ( very little ) ntfs is not accesible via fat32 ...
or atleast u cannot write to it from fat32 system ...
if u can .. then im obviously mistaken

[Tajinder]

Thanks for the replies.


Taken from
http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=14497

Hi:

I have two hard disks: one is master and the other one is
slave on the same IDE. The first hard disk is divided to
two FAT32 partitions and the second hard disk is one whole NTFS
partition. All the partitions are primary partitions.
Windows XP is installed on the first FAT32 partition
of the master hard disk which is drive C:. However, Windows
XP assigns drive D: to the NTFS partition which is
on the slave hard disk and E: to the second FAT32 partition
on the master disk. I can use disk manager to change the drive letters,
but is there a way to tell Windows XP to keep the drive letter orders
same as the hard disk orders, maybe a registry key? That's:

Hard Disk 1, Partition 1, FAT32, Drive C:
Hard Disk 1, Partition 2, FAT32, Drive D:
Hard Disk 2, Partition 1, NTFS, Drive E:

Thanks

It seems it can be accessed from a Fat32 primary partition
I think it can’t be accessed if you are using an OS like win98.
I’m using XP sp2. Hopefully I’m correct

Are there any other problems?
I just want to be sure there are no problems as going back to fat32 without loss is near impossible.

[vijay_7287]

there wont be any problems dude (as long as u r on XP)
i have been thru it
just go ahead
but make sure ur UPS is fully charged
as it might take 2-3min

[satbir]

ya tajinder...... no probs at all.......... unless u install win 98(which u r surely not gonna do)



and theraven......... u can surely access NTFS from fat ........ the condition is that ur OS should support NTFS............ u can access it and even write on it........... aoedsn't really matter if ur OS is loaded on an NTFS or a FAT filesystem.............

[dOm1naTOr]

Hi guys I use windows on a FAT32 drive and I also have some NTFS partitions also. No conflicts. WIN XP treats them as same apart from some file sharing(used in networking). FAT32 does not support single files larger than 4GB!!!!!

[__Virus__]

Originally Posted by satbir

and theraven......... u can surely access NTFS from fat ........ the condition is that ur OS should support NTFS............ u can access it and even write on it........... aoedsn't really matter if ur OS is loaded on an NTFS or a FAT filesystem.............

Wow never knew. Could you please explain wht do you meanby "OS should support" I was never able to access ntfs from 98...confusing

[TechGuru#1]

Ok,if u can convert FAT32 to NTFS in Win XP OS,DO U HAVE TO MAKE THE CONVERSION "ONLY" THROUGH THE RUN SYNTAX COMMANDS?
/or also by RIGHT CLICKINg the Drive?

[dOm1naTOr]

By right clicking, u r doing a format of the partion in NTFS file system and all data on the partition will be lost. But using that command will only convert specified partion into NTFS. Then also I reccoment have a backup of the important files incase anything goes wrong.

[vijay_7287]

Originally Posted by __Virus__

Wow never knew. Could you please explain wht do you meanby "OS should support" I was never able to access ntfs from 98...confusing

dont get confused,
WIN-98 doesnt support NTFS, so u cannot access those patitions thru 98

win-XP supports NTFS, so u can access those partitions thru XP
even if ur OS is on a partition which is on a FAT-32 file system, it can access NTFS partions

[__Virus__]

Originally Posted by vijay_7287

dont get confused,
WIN-98 doesnt support NTFS, so u cannot access those patitions thru 98

win-XP supports NTFS, so u can access those partitions thru XP
even if ur OS is on a partition which is on a FAT-32 file system, it can access NTFS partions

Yupsss knew that was just confused on those words "u can surely access NTFS from fat" Thanks for explanation anyway

[TechGuru#1]

Now,can one tell me quickly >>
which format NTFS or FAT32 would be MORE appropriate for a big HDD(say 250GB),on which Principally would b used for saving DVD Movies & Large Multimedia files?
Also,would PERFORMANCE be HURT,if the entire disk is NTFS,instead of trying the FAT32 format?

[tanmoy_rajguru2005]

without loss of data ......

just go to command prompt
and type
convert e: /fs:ntfs

i think this command also format the drive

[__Virus__]

Originally Posted by tanmoy_rajguru2005

i think this command also format the drive

No.

[mehulved]

The commands won't erase the contents of the drive unless something goes wrong, it will just change the fs type.

[tanmoy_rajguru2005]

The commands won't erase the contents of the drive unless something goes wrong, it will just change the fs type.

thank u for correcting me.

[vinaypatel]

convert e: /FS:ntfs