Converting FAT32 To NTFS Without Formatting The Drive/partition?
Aug 9, 2005
With W98/W95B you could easily use a tool to convert FAT16 to FAT32 from within windows and not lose the data (most of the time anyhow) that was on that drive/partition.Is there any tool to convert FAT32 to NTFS without wiping (formatting) the drive/partition? I haven't been able to locate any tools to do this with and so far have been moving/copying the data I want to save on a partition to another partition and then right clicking the partition I want to convert and choosing FORMAT to NTFS instead.
I have 2 internal HDDs, and 3 external HDDs. However, the recent addition of a Mac by my sister has forced me to be able to share the external HDDs between computers. I understand that the Mac OSX reads/not writes NTFS but will read/write FAT32. Having been advised by other senior Windows users many years back, all my HDDs are in NTFS. I have found no solution to convert NTFS back to FAT32. Does anyone know if you can do so; without damage/corruption? There is much family pictures, common music in these external HDDs; so needless to say, they are precious
Having read the article found here...http//aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.php I made the bootable floppy ( I hope) with BOOTITNG.EXE as suggested. The article then says I should boot this floppy...this is where I am stuck. I am a little hesitant as to how I can do this. I don't want to mess this up. The remainder of the instructions in this article seem so simple once I get past the 'boot this floppy' part.
On a newish Asus laptop (Series A9Rp) and before using an included Conversion .bat file... I successfully restored this machine to it its original state, adding drivers etc from a third CD-ROM. I also, for the purposes of learning, restored it to a full installation using the hidden partition which appears to be located on C: drive After doing this I converted to NTFS.
Been trying to reformat my harddrive, format goes well but it will only format it to the fat32 and i want it in the ntfs. now i have tried to convert using the cmd command butit tell me it will convert then restart and for a few seconds it will tell me that it is going to convert may take a few minutes then a few seconds later windows will start and its not converted over. i have the windows xp service pk 2 upgrade cd i tried using that but it never gives me a choice on wwhich file system to use. i know the option is there thou because i installed xp on my mother's as an upgrade from win me and it ask me if i wanted to convert.
I am using Win2000 on both my business laptop and my home desktop. On the desktop, because I loaded Win2000, I chose to use NTFS ... I was told that works better with a home network. The laptop came loaded and is using FAT32.Is there a benefit to switching the laptop over to NTFS and can it be done without losing all my files and being a hassle?
i used to have win98se before and then i upgraded to winxp pro but fat32 was still there. i used fat32 for quite a while but then i had to use ntfs due to file size limits (2gb) and so i needed to convert fat32 to ntfs. i did that using convert command from cmd prompt. it didnt do it from windows, it said it needs to restart and then do it, so it did thatafter the first reboot windows didn't load up, instead i just got no signal error on my monitor. i tried turning on/off the system but this time not even the boot up details showed up - i just got "no signal" error straight from the restart.
I've heard that when burning DVD ISO files to you HD, you need to have NTFS file system, is this true?I bought a new laptop running XP and it has FAT32 file structure. Is there any what to convert this to NTFS without loosing information and reformatting?
To convert your drive or partition from fat32 to ntfs, type the following at Start Run (assuming it's drive c:): CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS. If you are asked if you want to dismount the drive, you must answer yes. Alternatively, you can use a utility such as Partition Magic.
i have an IDE 200 gb HD and 185gb of i think is used there is 43000 files on it i started the conversion using partition magic and it started DOS to do the coversion and now its stuck at the point where is says coverting file system: thats was 30 hours ago and its still the same.the pc didnt freez the curesr in the DOS window is blinking and when i open task manager it says the DOS is running but but there is no CPU usage in task manager for DOS or partition magici cant access MY_Computer too
I bought a new computer.It appears to have been partitioned into a NTFS format and FAT32 format.The default drive for my documents & my pictures etc is the NTFS which I have been using happily. It is Media Centre Edition so I also have a few large files (>4GB) - though I dont keep them long term.NTFS partition has fulled up - but I cant move my large files to other partition to free up space
I've done a little bit of reading but my question is "Should I reformat the FAT32 to make it more of use to me?".I cant really see the need arising to access older OS files, except .JPG's (photo's I had on my old Windows ME Comp) or "Should I move all my smaller files (documents and photo's) to the FAT32 partition and use the NTFS drive for the bigger files?"
laptop comes with win xp home, and is formatted in fat32. also has a partition right down the middle of the HD. How would I remove the partition and convert to ntfs? will i lose any of the information or files if i do this?
I wanted to convert NTFS or FAT32 but my laptop don't have a floppy drive so I can not use the win98 or ME start up disk. I can not format my drive but I can use fdisk from the win98 cd.
This is the problem I'm faced with and don't know what to do from here. After deleting current partition and then formatting in NTSF file system, it goes through the process of preparing for installation. When it reboots, it says the following:"couldn't open drive multi(0) disk(0) rdisk(0) partition(1)NTLDR: couldn't open drive multi(0) disk(0) rdisk(0) partition(1)"If I take the XP CD out it just has blank screen with blinking cursor in the top left corner.
I'm trying to boot to my trusty 98 bootup disk and it says it can't read the c:....my only guess is that it's an ntfs partition.how can I format this thing?
I want to install Vista RC1 as a dual boot with my Windows XP.What is the best way to do this and what software do I need (free would be nice) to create a new partition on my drive? I have a 160GB drive with lots of free room was thinking about using 30GB for the new partition?
is there any advantage of converting my filesystem from FAT to NTFS?will it cause and problem to the existing data on my drive if i convert to NTFS from FAT?or if i convert back to FAT from NTFS if i dont like it??i want to convert drive e: to NTFS.but since i use both ME and Xp.once i convert to NTFS..i wont be able to access drive e: thru Win ME rite?
I'm running XP Pro; recently acquired a new LaCie 500Gb ext. HD and trying to convert the thing from FAT to NTFS.Keep getting message"Incorrect Volume Label"
I started the process of conversion to NTFS from FAT32 and I got a response that included: This conversion will also remove your previous operating system backup. Then: Convert may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID (their caps). Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? What are opened handles? What happens when they are invalid?
And how do I find my backup(s)? I have a folder on my desktop Created Oct.29, 2006 that is faded and labeled _RESTORE. Properties shows that it is 1.21GB and has 951 files that are marked Read-only and Hidden but when I open the folder it shows only 4 files of 64KB dated 2002 and 2004. Is that folder related to backups?I want to create a current backup or restore point but I have only 5.15GB left free. Help, please.
I am currently running Fat32 and as noted in a previous post I am building a new computer. I have copied some files on to cds. What I would like to know (if someone has done this) is that can these files be transfered to the new build as I plan on going NTFS. Will they convert from fat32 to NTFS when copied from the disc or even work at all? Or just out of luck and have to start all over?
Any strong views on the advisability of converting a FAT32 drive to NTFS, after upgrading from Win98se to WinXP Pro? And perhaps a word on the best and safest method to use if implementing this
I recently destroyed file structure due to mistakenly writing a partition table to the wrong hard disk drive on my machine while installing an experimental version of OS X. The saving factor is that the partition that may have formatted was only 20GB out of 200GB and the rest was unallocated free space. I have installed a temporary instance of WinXP to use data recovery software and recover the majority of files from the drive (it is installed on the non-corrupted drive).
I've acquired an older Dell computer with the FAT 32 file system. I want to convert it to NTFS. I've found many articles with directions on how to do this but I'm having a real problem. After I go to Command Prompt and enter "convert c: /fs:ntfs, and hit enter, it tells me to enter the "volume label for the drive".I've tried many different combo's but always get the notice that I have "entered an incorrect volume label".
I have an EXTERNAL HD. I formatted it in FAT a few months ago. Ever since then, my laptop PC was unable to recognize the unit, but the Mac (which is not working right now, unfortunately) never had a problem with it. When I connect it to my laptop PC via USB, the USB icon shows up and the "USB Mass Storage Device Properties" says the "device is working properly." But the folder doesn't show up in My Computer, and diskmgmt.msc says the device is "Unallocated." Hopefully that doesn't mean the unit crashed because I have some stuff on there.Without losing the data (that should be on it, unless it crashed), I want to convert this thing to NTFS. I did some Google searching, but the instructions on how to do this (they say use convert.exe) aren't working. Moreover, no one mentioned how to convert an External, secondary HD.
