Do i, or don't i?

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FragaL
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Do i, or don't i?

Post by FragaL »

Hi all

In a moment of bordem i have been thinking of converting my FAT32 drive into NTFS.

Im currently running :

XP1900
512DDR
Geforce 3 Ti 500
ABIT KR7A
Maxtor 40gb ATA133
Windows XP Pro

I most use my comp for CS and web browsing, is it worth converting to NTFS as i believe i can do this via a short dos command.

What u think?

Cheers
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Joint Chiefs of Staff
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Re: Do i, or don't i?

Post by Joint Chiefs of Staff »

Originally posted by FragaL
Hi all

In a moment of bordem i have been thinking of converting my FAT32 drive into NTFS.

Im currently running :

XP1900
512DDR
Geforce 3 Ti 500
ABIT KR7A
Maxtor 40gb ATA133
Windows XP Pro

I most use my comp for CS and web browsing, is it worth converting to NTFS as i believe i can do this via a short dos command.

What u think?

Cheers
Let me be the first to welcome you to SG. If I'm not the first to do so....hello and welcome anyway.

Check this out. There are many sites that provide feedback to the Fat32 and NTFS file systems. Hope this helps.

I personally run NTFS on my WinXP Pro system and when I use to run Win2k/Win2K Server. NTFS is faster, more secure and more stable.

Just my 2 cents. If you need help converting to an NTFS let me know. I can run you through the conversion process.
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SeedOfChaos
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Post by SeedOfChaos »

You gotta weight the arguments pro and con both file systems... NTFS is a bit more secure (built-in file encryption and access rights, no need to scandisk after a reboot). FAT32 is usually a bit faster though, since my disks are almost always nearly full (see the article posted by JCOS). I doubt you need the file encryption & access rights, I'd only go for the NTFS if you have some important documents and are not planning on going back to Win98SE or ME at all.

See, the thing is both work pretty darn well. I don't think the conversion would do you much good at this time. People, correct me if I am wrong. BTW: All partitions in all my comps are NTFS (Win2k). I have found NTFS to have less hick-ups (small errors like the ones scandisk can correct), and my main reason for installing it was Win98SE's Scandisk f***ing up my entire hdd during a normal scan after a sudden reboot. Went with NTFS; bye bye scandisk. But of course, that does not happen very often.

Cheers,
Ronald
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FragaL
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Location: UK

Post by FragaL »

Thanx for the replies guys.

I think I may try going to NTFS, can you tell me if there are any likely to be any problems with the software on the machine atm.

i.e. Games, Drivers & Applications will there be any problems once converted?

Also can you give me a hand with the process to convert the drive.

Many Thanks
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SeedOfChaos
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Post by SeedOfChaos »

The basic structure of your disk like you see it in the Windows Explorer will not change at all. All files & folders will be there, just like they were before. However, you cannot convert the active partition (the one that has Windows on). You can convert any other HDD partitions to NTFS by using the DOS-Prompt....

CONVERT D: /FS:NTFS

whereas in this example D: would be the partition to convert. Just fill in the appropriate drive letter. I'm looking around searching for a method to convert the system partition without re-installing... I'll let you know when I found it...
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Post by Joint Chiefs of Staff »

Originally posted by FragaL
Thanx for the replies guys.

I think I may try going to NTFS, can you tell me if there are any likely to be any problems with the software on the machine atm.

i.e. Games, Drivers & Applications will there be any problems once converted?

Also can you give me a hand with the process to convert the drive.

Many Thanks
I've had no problems whatsoever with NTFS setup during a clean install or converting a Fat32 into NTFS.

Make sure your Logical Disk Service is set to automatic and your Logical Disk Service Administrative Service is set to manual. That's if you have tweaked your services. If not they should be defaulted to those settings.

Then go to start/control panel/administration tools/computer management.

I'll be right back. I need to get you the commands to do it through the command prompt without having to format. Be aware if you do this through the computer management you WILL LOSE all data on drive(s). The commands that allow you to do this in the command prompt however will not.
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Post by Joint Chiefs of Staff »

Originally posted by SeedOfChaos


CONVERT D: /FS:NTFS

whereas in this example D: would be the partition to convert. Just fill in the appropriate drive letter.
hehehehehe.....you beat me too it. ;)
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SeedOfChaos
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Post by SeedOfChaos »

FragaL, I think I have found a way, Partition Magic 7.0 appears to be capable of doing this job without data loss for you. If you need help obtaining a copy of it, ICQ me, my number is in my profile (click on the "profile" button under this post).... ;)

Cheers,
Ronald
ex-WoW-addict
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