Reformatting Question

[BabyGirl2013]

I recently had to reformat my machine, and HP Pavillion, and I had XP PRO on it and reformatted using the same. However this time, I noticed it reformatted as a FAT32 partition and not NTSF. Should I reformat now and fix that? Or will it be ok like this? I am afraid there is not as much security or something using FAT 32. Thanks!

[HeadBand]

ntfs is more secure and it wouldnt hurt to reformat if you just did anyways but if you are not on a network or just a home LAN where you dont mind who accesses the files then its no big deal

[BabyGirl2013]

Well, it is just a home computer but I want to try and keep all viruses and such out, considering, I have been hit before and am trying to take all the right avenues this time to make sure it does not happen again. Now, are there any free, decent firewalls out there? I cannot seem to access the XP firewall because I am using Walmart Connect, which is an AOL partner. Thanks.

[John Prophet]

some features in XP wont work with FAT32

your main security stuff like "NTFS permissions" only work on NTFS partitions.

Also XP's built in compression only works on NTFS.

There are other advantages also.

[Redwolf]

You don't have to reformat to get NTFS. There is a program that comes with XP called 'convert'.

Straight from the horses mouth:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;214579

The following limitations should be recognized before converting a FAT partition to NTFS:

* The conversion is a one-way process. After a partition has been converted to NTFS, it is not possible to convert the partition back to a FAT partition. To restore the partition as a FAT partition, the partition would have to be reformatted as FAT (which would erase all data from the partition) and then data can be restored from backup.
* The system partition of a RISC-based computer cannot be changed to NTFS. The ARC specification requires that the system partition be FAT. It is possible to create a small (1 MB) FAT partition for the system partition and install Windows on an NTFS partition (the boot partition).
* Convert.exe requires a certain amount of free space be present on the drive in order to convert the file system. For additional information about the amount of free space required for a conversion, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

156560 Free Space Required to Convert FAT to NTFS

NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

1. Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.
3. Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.


CONVERT may present the following error:
Convert cannot gain exclusive access to the [driveletter]:, so it cannot convert it now. Would you like to schedule it to be converted the next time the system restarts (Y/N)?
This error will occur if any of the following three conditions exist:

* If you run the CONVERT command while the current directory is on the drive that is to be converted (for example, you type CONVERT F: /FS:NTFS at the F:\> prompt). To solve this, either answer "Yes" to the prompt and restart the system, or change to a directory on another drive and retype the command.
* If an application has a file open on the drive that is to be converted. To solve this, either answer "Yes" to the prompt and the drive will be converted the next time the computer is restarted, or close any applications that may be using files on the drive to be converted. Remember that this also applies to users accessing files on the drive over the network. This also includes a page file that resides on the drive.
* If you attempt to convert the partition from which the operating system is running. It is not possible to convert the boot partition while the operating system is running. To convert the boot partition, it will always be necessary to issue the CONVERT command, answer Yes to the prompt, and then restart the computer. The partition will be converted the next time the computer is restarted. As an alternative, it is possible to boot the computer to an installation of Windows on a different partition and convert the partition from that installation of Windows.

[HeadBand]

AVG is a good free antivirus and zone alarm is a good free firewall

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

[Redwolf]

I will say I've used AVG for 2 years now and never had a problem. I had problems with ZoneAlarm, but from what I hear they have been fixed up, and it is a great program.

[BabyGirl2013]

Thanks guys so much!

I did hear that using Convert you might not get the same results as reformatting. I figure, there is not much done on the drive now, so I am going to go for the gusto! hehehe

Thanks

[bill1971]

I agree with HeadBand and Redwolf. AVG is a great free anti-virus program - just remember to set it to remind you to update it.
I update mine about once a week, or when I hear of a new virus, like I did today. . .

Also, concerning conversion to NTFS file system, isn't NTFS what helps to make WinXP a more stable platform? I thought I had read that FAT was one of the causes for Win98/Me instability(?)

- Bill