How can I properly CONVERT from FAT32 to NTFS?

[Antoneo]

Hey guys, I don't have the option to reformat and start all over on this laptop of mine since it came with software needed for schoolwork preinstalled so it will have to be converted.

The operating system is WinXP Pro and the file system is currently FAT32. My hard drive size is 40GB and the system partition is about 10GB. The other partition takes up the rest of the space on that drive and is for data for a total of two partitions on this drive.

I am trying to convert from FAT32 to NTFS and would like to do so in the best manner possible. I have read that sometimes using the convert command will result in a cluster size that is inefficient so I'd like to know the "proper" way to do this. Can I just use the built in WinXP command or am I stuck? I'd like to convert to NTFS to take advantage of the advanced security between users.

Is there a free tool or third party software that would do this better?

 

[n0cmonkey]

There is a FAQ on this. It basically amounts to using the convert program. Partition Magic might be able to do it, but I doubt it will change the cluster size. If you have access to Norton Ghost, or a similar product it *may* allow you to format and restore the way you want. I don't know if it keeps track of FS or not.

 

[SpeedFreak03]

About ghost, I have a image of my 30GB NTFS partition with Win2K, SP4, and windows updates all installed. Anyway, I restored this onto a 13GB FAT32 partiton (there is only about 2GB used in the image) without any problems, so I assume you could restore a FAT32 partition onto NTFS. BTW, I used the ghost that came with Norton SystemWorks 2003 (I think its called Norton Ghost 2003).

 

[AndyHui]

Please read the AnandTech FAQ: How do I convert from FAT32 to NTFS?

 

[Antoneo]

Ahh yes, haven't checked there for a while, thanks guys!