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Off Topic => Engineering => Topic started by: NJAntman on October 16, 2006, 10:32:04 am

Title: Converting Fat32 to NTFS
Post by: NJAntman on October 16, 2006, 10:32:04 am
Anyone out there have experience(s) with converting FAT32 to NTFS. The MS site makes it seem easy, thus I'm wary.

My system started as a WinME but upgraded to XP. I need to convert so I can file share to the new laptop which is NTFS.

Little warning voice in my head says this could be trouble since I have a primary HD split into C/D/E and Alcohol120 ISO disk copies running on virtual drives L thru X.

First instinct is to back up directories, but can backups made from a FAT32 system be read by a NTFS system?
Title: Re: Converting Fat32 to NTFS
Post by: Just plain old Punisher on October 18, 2006, 01:27:54 am
NTFS can read FAT32 but FAT32 cannot read NTFS.

Use the file and settings conversion wizard. It's a very simple process, and NTFS has a much smaller cluster size so you'll probably gain some extra hard drive space.
Title: Re: Converting Fat32 to NTFS
Post by: NJAntman on October 19, 2006, 08:28:53 am
OK, the conversion process was straight forward and easy. But......

Next came the Windows Registration and Activation screen, As I'm alrready registered I opted for acivation only. Is XP seeing the conversion as a hardware change? I don't remember seeing anything on the Win help site about having to re-register or activate after a file conversion.

Lastly and most annoying is the constant pop-up window labeled "Windows - No Disk" and a request to put the disk in a drive. Not sure what disk or what program is requesting it. Tried the XP install disk in both the DVD and CD drives, no joy. Re-mounted all my virtual disk onto their virtual drives just as they were before conversion, still no luck. It won't close-out, even thru Task Manager, but I can move-it aside. I can't even Shut-down normally, I have to choose Shut-down, which at first does nothing, but then I can close-out the pop-up window labeled "Windows - No Disk" which in turn then leads to a Shut-down.

Weird. Anyone think I should even bother calling MS? Or just mark this up to Xp as usual?