Convert FAT32 to NTFS

[coconutboy]

hey i was just wondering if its possible to convert FAT32 to NTFS on my main drive without losing any files or settings. i am using winxp.
also is NTFS better and more reliable than fat32?

[SPEEDO]

Take a look here...............

[vserlnv]

If you just convert, you will take a large performance hit. It is far better to format the drive and install NTFS straight from the getgo.

My recommendation would be to save all your important stuff to another drive and start fresh.

[soulja]

well NTFS is good but a real pain having to convert back to fAT32 cause windows want that like after a format

[DoctorReno]

vserlnv,
I don't doubt the performance hit from converting but do you have any idea why this occurs?

[Siliconjunkie]

Originally posted by soulja
well NTFS is good but a real pain having to convert back to fAT32 cause windows want that like after a format

Especially the part where you CANT convert NTFS to FAT32 without something like partition magic.

The benifits of NTFS are file security/permissions and encryption (w/ XP Pro). It is more robust about things like unexpected shutdowns, but unless you are having a problem with FAT32 or need these features I don't see a reason to do it.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;140365

Cluster size mismanagement. Convert.exe will always leave you with 512 byte clusters, slowing down performance.

[OuTpaTienT]

512 byte clusters is a GOOD thing. Would you rather have 32,000 byte clusters?

With the size of drives today, FAT32 is just an extremely poor choice. Plus if you're running other NTFS dives along with your FAT32 drive then you're asking for trouble. I speak from experience.

Whenever your NTFS disks encounter an error or minor hiccup, then nearly always Win2k or WinXP have no problem automatically fixing it. But with FAT32 all it takes is a minor disk error and you may find Windows won't boot or is giving blue screens. And this can be EXTREMELY problematic in W2k or WinXP.

I'd advise you move away from FAT32 unless you have a specific need to hold onto it.

And any performance hit is negligible at best.

[mpc]

You can convert and still get 4kb clusters by doing it this way:

http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

On a freshly formatted install of an NTFS partition, the MFT (Master File Table) is created at the beginning of the disk and about 12.5% of the disk space is reserved for it. When you convert, it ends up wherever there is free space, and ends up fragmented. Having cluster sized below 1024 bytes (1k) will also allow the MFT to fragment. Larger than 4096 (4k) clusters will cause disk compression and some third party disk maintenance programs to no longer work.

So what's the big deal about the MFT anyway?

The MFT stores all the information about file location and their attributes for the partition it is on, like an index of the volume. Any file on your drive must access the MFT. As your MFT gets more fragmented, your disk performance will degrade. It can get VERY slow if the MFT is very bad. Even if the files on your drive are contiguous, if your MFT is fragmented, your disk will take extra I/Os to access the file.

Many utilities that defragment NTFS volumes cannot move MFT entries. Diskeeper can defragment your MFT, though. MS Defrag cannot.

Due to the difficulty the MFT can cause, I always recommend starting from scratch with your NTFS partitions.

FAT 32 partitions are more efficient for small disks, due to the extra disk resources the NTFS requires.